Speech on 30 March 2021; Edited 30 March 2025
We all love shopping and discovering new products, don’t we? Do you know that most of the time our shopping is not ethical? I would like to introduce you to two of the most unethical shopping practices that we may not be aware of and the actions that should be taken to combat those practices.
Firstly, people often buy imported products as they think they come with a better quality than locally grown produce, especially the ones from the West. Imported products are so common that you can easily find them in supermarkets, stores and even your local grocery store. Have you ever thought of the fact that imported products have to travel from their country to our region? Have you ever thought of the fact that a lot of carbon emissions would be produced in the delivery and shipping process? Once imported goods are added to the CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions, the number will be increased by a total of 7%, or 1607 MT to be specific, not to mention the fact that the carbon dioxide produced during delivery would definitely harm the environment. In addition, you would need to pay a higher price for imported goods, as you’re paying for the shipping and the delivery as well. For example, Uniqlo and MUAH are Korean fashion brands in Hong Kong (branch) which offer imported clothes, and some other famous imported fruit brands such as Aloha and Del Monte.
Another unethical shopping practice is impulse buying. This seems obvious at first, but a lot of people still make impulse buys, not just because they want to buy something to cheer themselves up, but also because of fear of a lack of the product(s) they buy. My grandma often buys me extra food, not just because of an act of love, but in my opinion, she often couldn’t resist the temptation of sales and the fear of a lack of food for me and my family. According to reliable sources and data, over 90% of people who often shop, make occasional impulse purchases that they didn’t intend to buy initially, and up to 20% of the average household’s grocery bill comes from items that are purchased on impulse alone, not to mention The fact that impulse buying decreases by 13% on plant shopping trips. This proves that most impulse purchases often occur during unplanned shopping trips, and in turn, it may waste a lot of products that could potentially be more important to other planned shoppers. Also, impulse buying may also put us in a bad mood once we realise that we have bought something extra again, and this is when we realise that the more we spend, the worse we feel.
It seems that we often shop unethically, which begs the question: how do we solve it? You wouldn’t want to keep on shopping unethically, would you? So for combating the problem of imported products, buying local produce is recommended. There is a misconception among people that imported goods have a higher quality, but that is far from the truth. There is actually organic locally grown food available in the market, not only are you supporting local farmers by buying their products, but the price is cheaper than imported ones too. There are also places to buy local organic food, including Fruitful Organic Farm in Yuen Long. In addition, City Farm, which is located in both Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong, takes it to the next level by providing consumers with a planting experience, which you can pay for experiencing the planting process with the local farmers.
In terms of combating the impulse buying practice, there are a lot of solutions. But in my opinion, you should use three useful ways to combat this problem. Firstly, you should think twice before buying a product, and ask yourself if the product is needed. I found this method extremely helpful, as I often check out products at the checkout while waiting in line, and I think most of you have had similar experiences before. That way, we reduce the chance of buying these useless items, therefore reducing waste. Also, you can prevent shopping when you’re down or in a bad mood. Avoid going to the shops when you’re in a rage. This way we can buy wisely, independent from our mood, as a bad mood may probably lead us to buy on impulse, according to research. In addition, we can also plan before shopping, like writing a shopping list beforehand, which may make impulse purchases way less likely to happen. If you’re in a situation where you have already purchased on impulse and worry if you’re starting to waste, don’t fret, because you can easily stop wasting by giving out those items to different people in need, such as donating extra garments to the elderly. There are also community centres present around you, so you can also donate your interest to them, or recycle them in recycling centres. If you think you are frightened about the lack of the product you buy and you don’t know what to do, counselling teams will have you covered. I’ll then recommend you have a chat with them, and they will give you some useful advice and help you to solve the problem altogether.
So, in short, stopping being an ethical shopper is not as hard as some may have thought. Given the above, it is not difficult to shop ethically. If you think it’s hard to start shopping this way, I strongly recommend you start with the basics – maybe just buy some locally grown products first as your starting point, or think twice before shopping to help yourself be less wasteful. The more you shop ethically, the happier, or wiser, you’ll be. You’ll know what’s best for you, the producers of the products, and the environment. If we all cooperate and shop ethically, I think we can truly make a huge difference and make the world a better place.
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