Our journey here at Mindful Consuming is just beginning so we wanted to start things off by gathering some feedback from the community.  We put together a questionnaire and asked some of our friends and peers from various backgrounds for their thoughts and input.  The goal of the questionnaire was to learn from our community, gauge everyone’s current paths and thought processes as an evolving mindful consumer, and to see if there were any trends in our collective baseline.  We were incredibly encouraged to find out that most people have already been on this journey for a while and are grappling with many of the same questions we have considered.

One question we asked was: What are the first things that come to mind when you hear Mindful Consuming?   The thoughts received were all wonderful points and/or questions to ponder as we openly address our consumptive behaviors.

In no particular order, here are a few quick hitters from those responses…

• Simply stop and think before you buy something, let the critical process begin.
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• Consider the impact of the purchase, particularly how it is connected to the environmental impact and the treatment of their employees.
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• Do I need this or is there an alternative possibility to utilize a shared resource?
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• Consider buying items of higher quality that will last longer.
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• Before throwing something away, can the item be repurposed?
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• Explore the concept of what is “enough” and ask yourself if the item is really needed.
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• Avoid single use plastic if possible.
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• Since food waste is so prevalent, how can I better plan my meals so waste is minimized?
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• Buying more eco-friendly, environmental items when possible.
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• Cultivating a purchasing thought process that considers overall health —for our bodies, community, and planet.