Tricks of The Trade Volume 3 #2 December 2006

CONSCIOUS SHOPPING

Enjoy shopping with your client's dollars? Don't be bashful….it's your job!! For those of us in production, we are charged with spending "client dollars" to actualize our visual presentations. Set-dressers, wardrobers, producers and artists of all genres are REQUIRED TO SPEND MONEY.

Do you care where you shop?
Aside from what's close, what's open late and who can make your budget dollars go the farthest, there's one more thing to think about: World peace… well, not exactly, but what you spend and where you spend it, ripples in the pond of politics, human rights and power.

How can you know and why should you care?
"We're working on a project, should we stop and look up every store", well, maybe. Sometimes. There are a couple of places to get information, the same way you may check up on a charity, before making a donation.

For web users: try www.buyblue.org. This site acknowledges the concept that spending supports political agendas. It offers analysis of merchants and investment direction. "Stop supporting companies that don't support your values. Reward companies that have a triple bottom line: People, Planet and Profit"

For readers: The Blue Pages, by Carol Pott, available through Propville - click here to order.

Keep this in your car and when you have a free minute, check out some name brand shops. Nationals, Multinationals... just for fun. (You'll be amused, it's full of surprises).

The reviews stay in your head and the next time you shop, you'll have a little more information. It will make a difference in your spending. Take it easy on yourself, sometimes you may still occasionally choose a store that does not align with your political viewpoint. Transformation takes time.

This review of The Blue Pages from Bonnie Britt. "This is not the kind of book anyone reads cover to cover. It's a tiny, encyclopedic spending guide. Whether its beer, toys or cell phone service, chances are it's listed in The Blue Pages.

Open it to your area of interest, in a clothing, grocery, home improvement, or car parts store, and read a few lines about the store where you are shopping or brand you hold in your hand.

The Blue Pages are jammed with lots of little known but, in some cases, unsettling information-- recent details you really do want to know before pressing your credit card into their hands. The book is slim as is its price, and worth every dime."

Book Description from the Publishers

Using this pocket directory, consumers can be politically conscientious about something they do every day - shop. The Blue Pages lists companies' political contributions to the Democratic and Republican parties and rates them by their partisanship.

Each listing has a paragraph describing unique features of their business practices that may include charitable causes, social programs, labor practices, domestic partner and child care benefits, nondiscrimination policies, treatment of disabled employees, and environmental impact.

Companies are organized alphabetically into 15 sectors, including: Clothing, Shoes, and Accessories, Health and Beauty, Finance, Real Estate and Insurance, and so on, making it easy to find a particular type of product or service. The A to Z index includes thousands of popular brand names and companies.

Formatted like the highly successful Zagat Survey restaurant rating guides, The Blue Pages is slim and portable, perfect for backpack, glove compartment, or purse, and an ideal gift for the activist."

Please take a minute to reflect on a business that has fed and clothed us this past year, while allowing our lucky souls to work in a visual medium, fulfilling a deeper need than a just a paycheck. Spend wisely, mindfully and don't forget to vote with your wallet.

Order your copy of The Blue Pages