The mindful choice. How to make better choices as a consumer?

Every choice we make will have some reasoning process we go through. Each time we will consider our past experiences, any beliefs we hold about the product or service, as well as the particular situation we are in when facing the decision. The ultimate goal is to pick the best option. Sounds simple, right? In real life, however, we often find that some choices (especially those ethical ones) can appear harder than others. Why is it so? Well, the reason could be a lack of information, or simply fear of making the wrong choice. Sometimes we can feel like we have not much control over the decision at all. 

The truth my friend is, that when it comes to mindful choices, the instinct is helpful, but the power comes form awareness. In the words of Ellen DeGeneres: “Knowledge is power. And you need power in this world. You need as many advantages as you can get.” 

We put together three tips to try out that will hopefully make your decision-making process easier:

1. Do your research and dig deeper.

When we commit to changing our lifestyle into a more eco-friendly one, the importance of educating yourself on products and services we use daily becomes super important.

The more you know, the better choices you will make as a consumer. If you are unsure about the brand business policies regarding manufacturing, ingredients or product origin, simply email, Instagram or Facebook them about it! The old-school letter will do too. Bit of a hassle? Yeah, but it can help you reduce your impact on the environment and also help to determine if your favourite brand is truly that transparent and worth those extra pennies.  

2. Be picky. 

Nowadays, we often are extremely influenced by other’s opinions on literally everything. The content that we consume and expose ourselves to every day through socials and other media will have a subconscious impact on our decisions. There is nothing wrong with looking for advice or inspiration out there but it is good to be selective of what you see. Avoid the sponsored content and focus more on finding the accounts that share relevant, authentic and informative content that you are actually interested in. 

3. Know your power. Your choice really does matter.

We need to become more aware of our daily habits and the power we have as a consumer. The producers and service providers are as dependable on us as we are on them. One can not exist without the other. We often might feel that our daily choices do not matter in this whole big, complex system. What we need to realize is that the smallest change can have a real impact in the long term scenario. At the end of the day, the tiniest good choice you make consciously is better than not making a choice at all. You chose who you support. 

The Choices we made at Tempo: 

Recently, we also had to take some time to have an honest look at our operations, products and the team. The choices we made meant to help us become more transparent as a business and  provide more value to our community. We implemented small changes such as reducing the cup size, exploring more reusable packaging options, providing more information on our suppliers and products. We also started our monthly Tempo Challenge and fortnightly live Q n’ A series on our Instagram