We make choices every day.
What to eat.
What to wear.
What to carry.
What to replace.
What to keep.
Most individual purchases may seem small.
But our purchasing habits collectively influence what businesses produce, what materials are demanded and which kinds of work remain economically viable.
This does not mean that consumers have to carry the entire responsibility for changing the system.
Businesses, manufacturers, designers, policymakers and supply chains all have important roles to play.
But consumers have a role too.
We can ask questions.
We can look beyond the label.
We can choose quality over unnecessary quantity.
We can value existing materials.
We can learn who made what we buy.
And we can keep using what we already own.