Beyond the High Street - extending the concept of sustainable shopping

Buy locally and keep the air miles down. We’ve all heard it, and probably ad nauseum. And, like me, you probably associate sustainable shopping with buying fruit and veg and checking the labels to see the country of origin. However, Der Nachhaltige Warenkorb (The Sustainable Shopping Basket) published by the Rat für Nachhaltige Entwicklung (The German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE)) goes further. Much further.

It covers everything from computers to cosmetics, DIY to driving, T-shirts to toys and white goods to washing powder. But although the title is about shopping, the message is more about lifestyle choices. You are asked to consider where you put your savings, to evaluate your travel choices, to rethink how you spend your free time.

So many of the ‘think green, act green’ messages, seem to be about making daily life more grey, coming as they do laden with things that you shouldn’t do if you want to be a responsible member of society. This publication, however, is more realistic. It recognises that some people have more limited budgets or less time than others. It says making responsible choices can be fun – for example, spending more time with friends can be a sustainable practice.

The message is to work out your priorities, your financial constrainst and the limits on your time, then to consider how you can incorporate an element of socially responsible consumerism into your existence. As a result, you will make changes to your routines that will be, and will feel more, positive than painful, and your life will be enriched as a result. Changing your routines will lead you to try new things which will in turn reveal different options which will be sustainable - and fun.

My experience of Germans is that they are in tune with where their food comes from and what grows in what season. However, just in case there are readers who don't fit into this generalisation, the Nachhaltige Warenkorb includes two calendars, one for fruit and one for vegetables, of what is in season, when. For me, looking down the list of items introduced a further element of sustainable consumerism, the reminder that some nations eat more parts of a product than others, for example, the leaves which Brits simply put onto the compost.

Every product is now splattered with symbols that purport to tell the consumer he or she has made the right choice by buying that brand or that item. But, assailed as we are by labels, how can we know which is of value? This is not only a jungle but a minefield. Thankfully, help is at hand! This publication also provides an explanation of what such labels mean. Further, the editors have also shown whether the awarding of the symbol recognises social considerations such as whether the producers are paid a fair wage for their work. For example, the designer of the new RCE leaflets, 'Learning together to create a sustainable world' and 'Gemeinsam lernen für eine nachhaltige Welt', told me our choice of paper means we can use the Blue Angel symbol. I hadn't heard of this. Der Nachhaltige Warenkorb tells me that this label refers to the ecological impact of a product, not to social considerations.

The publication is extremely well designed. Despite being jampacked with information, the reader does not feel overwhelmed. This is because the design means you can read it in one go, by looking only at the running text; you can look up only the chapters as and when you need them, for example, ahead of renovating your house; you can read the quotes from personalities or the tips; or you can really get to grips with the subject and read all the boxouts, examine the graphics and look up the links.

The introduction says the booklet came about as a result of requests and suggestions, and invites people to send more. I would like to add one that the authors might include in the next issue - libraries. Most readers will have engaged with this enjoyable and sustainable form of entertainment since they were small. Likewise, although the publication notes that many children have mountains of toys and suggests that fewer items, of higher quality, would not only be more sustainable but safer and more fun for the child, it doesn't mention the existence of toy libraries. These do exist in Germany. I checked! According to Der Verband Deutscher Spieliotheken/Ludotheken e.V they are known by different names depending on which part of the country you live in. It seems 'Spieliothek' is used in the north of Germany, and 'Ludothek' in the east and south.

You can download English and German versions of the sustainable shopping guide from the links above. For larger numbers contact Yvonne Zwick (yvonne.zwick at nachhaltigkeitsrat.de) at Der Rat für Nachhaltige Entwicklung.