Ethical shopping
Aug. 8th, 2010 05:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
firefly124It's always "fun" trying to shop ethically. I'm remembering why I used to get ground down, give up, hold my nose, and go to WalMart, considering most of the other affordable options in the area have closed since their arrival. Trying not to do that again.
For the past year, though, things seemed so much simpler. Last July, a Target opened up right across the road from our WalMart. Since then, I've made it a point to shop there instead.
Then they decided to donate a large chunk of cash to MN Forward. Also? Not apparently all that new for them.
The fun part is figuring out where *to* shop.
Groceries? Well, there's Stop & Shop the next town over. Not great hours and kind of out of the way for picking up last minute supplies. There is a closer grocery store, but they kind of stink. Literally. Like, the store smells of rancid chicken blood, a smell ingrained into my sense memory forever and not, obviously, in a good way. So that's not a place I tend to go too often. But since doing the Angel Food Ministries thing, it really is just picking up the occasional additional last-minute stuff, so Stop & Shop will do. Big Y if I'm up in that area, though they're outrageously expensive. Also, Shaw's, which owns Stop & Shop, has an excellent rating from HRC. (Admittedly, Target did as well, and given the way HRC's rating system works, unless something changes, the MN Forward thing won't even affect that.)
Clothes? Target never got much business from me there anyway, at least for myself. Their plus-size selection sucks ass. Baby clothes for my niece, however, were another matter. I don't even know where else to look. Babies 'R' Us are 45 minutes away. Not a great HRC score, but 70's better than WalMart's 40. That'll be the place for soon-to-be-great-niece's baby shower too, since the choices are that or Target for where she's registered.
*pauses for a moment to marvel at the insanity of having another niece and another great-niece born within months of each other*
Electronics? Well, Best Buy's on the same shit list as Target, so other than any future warranty-covered repairs, they're out. Staples, I guess, is next up. Good HRC rating. Haven't really dealt with that side of the company much, but I guess I'm going to find out how good they are. They've always been the go-to place for school and office supplies anyway, so hopefully the computer/tech side will be good as well.
Health and Beauty stuff. Ah. Now there, after groceries, is the stuff that has, till now, mostly come from Target or, previously, WalMart. The closest pharmacy is Rite Aid. Good HRC rating. Pricey, but I guess I'll just have to deal. Paying double for my OTC allergy meds and other things is going to suck though. I think that's the one that really bites.
The one thing that keeps nagging at the back of my brain, though, is that the HRC ratings on these places may mean shit. Target and Best Buy have 100 ratings and, as mentioned above, unless the ratings process changes, the could actually keep them. So what do those ratings really tell me about these other stores I'm planning to take my business to? Not as much as I'd like, obviously, but more than nothing.
Why even post this babble? I'm not sure. Any insights anyone else wants to share on the companies mentioned would be welcome, of course. Mostly it's just me "thinking out loud," I guess.
For the past year, though, things seemed so much simpler. Last July, a Target opened up right across the road from our WalMart. Since then, I've made it a point to shop there instead.
Then they decided to donate a large chunk of cash to MN Forward. Also? Not apparently all that new for them.
The fun part is figuring out where *to* shop.
Groceries? Well, there's Stop & Shop the next town over. Not great hours and kind of out of the way for picking up last minute supplies. There is a closer grocery store, but they kind of stink. Literally. Like, the store smells of rancid chicken blood, a smell ingrained into my sense memory forever and not, obviously, in a good way. So that's not a place I tend to go too often. But since doing the Angel Food Ministries thing, it really is just picking up the occasional additional last-minute stuff, so Stop & Shop will do. Big Y if I'm up in that area, though they're outrageously expensive. Also, Shaw's, which owns Stop & Shop, has an excellent rating from HRC. (Admittedly, Target did as well, and given the way HRC's rating system works, unless something changes, the MN Forward thing won't even affect that.)
Clothes? Target never got much business from me there anyway, at least for myself. Their plus-size selection sucks ass. Baby clothes for my niece, however, were another matter. I don't even know where else to look. Babies 'R' Us are 45 minutes away. Not a great HRC score, but 70's better than WalMart's 40. That'll be the place for soon-to-be-great-niece's baby shower too, since the choices are that or Target for where she's registered.
*pauses for a moment to marvel at the insanity of having another niece and another great-niece born within months of each other*
Electronics? Well, Best Buy's on the same shit list as Target, so other than any future warranty-covered repairs, they're out. Staples, I guess, is next up. Good HRC rating. Haven't really dealt with that side of the company much, but I guess I'm going to find out how good they are. They've always been the go-to place for school and office supplies anyway, so hopefully the computer/tech side will be good as well.
Health and Beauty stuff. Ah. Now there, after groceries, is the stuff that has, till now, mostly come from Target or, previously, WalMart. The closest pharmacy is Rite Aid. Good HRC rating. Pricey, but I guess I'll just have to deal. Paying double for my OTC allergy meds and other things is going to suck though. I think that's the one that really bites.
The one thing that keeps nagging at the back of my brain, though, is that the HRC ratings on these places may mean shit. Target and Best Buy have 100 ratings and, as mentioned above, unless the ratings process changes, the could actually keep them. So what do those ratings really tell me about these other stores I'm planning to take my business to? Not as much as I'd like, obviously, but more than nothing.
Why even post this babble? I'm not sure. Any insights anyone else wants to share on the companies mentioned would be welcome, of course. Mostly it's just me "thinking out loud," I guess.
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Date: 2010-08-09 04:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-09 12:02 pm (UTC)