The sky’s the limit when it comes to putting the ecofeminist principles into motion. The most important thing is to approach this subject matter with clarity and practicality. I thought up until the last few moments on what I would put into practice for the end of semester praxis project. Ultimately what really resonates with me is “thinking carefully about where I spend my money”, similarly like the article says 13 simple ways to support feminist activism on International Women’s Day” says, “Choosing to shop with ethical brands that ensure a fair wage and a safe working environment is an act of feminism and a huge push towards equality, not only bet
ween genders but also between different groups of women” (Devaney & Crockett). My idea for the practice is to intentionally shop/ buy from only small, local, women, ethical, and environmentally conscious stores/ brands for the next fourteen days. It is also my hope to incorporate more of the sustainable practices I am familiar with like recycling and plastic free lifestyle. There is a Black owned mini grocery mart named Bumpy’s Natural and Organic Foods, about 25 mins from my house that I have shopped at a few times in the past. This will be my go to place for food until the end of the semester.
I hope to achieve a better dependency on the local businesses in my community. I also think one of my hopes is that I have enough success that it inspires other people in my ecosystem to intentionally shop from small minority owned businesses. I think this plan will be effective because when I implemented this before in 2020 in my personal life I saw a lot of people doing the same. In the height of the pandemic social media platforms like Instagram would highlight small businesses through hashtags that you could seen based on location. I myself used that to find the minority business in my area to support and highlight.
I included the graph below because long term if eco-consciousness was to be at the forefront of the decisions we make in our communities the graph depicts how the health of a community would grow.
Hi Jillian! I really appreciate your initiative as I would have never thought about shopping small and local as a way to promote ecofeminism. Another idea for shopping, would be local farmers markets if you have them near you. Here in Charleston, with the weather significantly warming up tons of local farmers markets are opening up as well as local festivals that highlight locally grown foods. Such as the Strawberry Festival and GRITS Festival. Farmers Markets, especially highlight a wide range of local farmers that you can ask questions to about how they grow and source their foods and materials and gain a better understanding of the process. I look forward to reading your conclusion!