My decision to start a conscientious consumer blog

In the midst of 50 million things, I have decided to take up this project. The purpose of this blog will be:
*to research companies in an effort to determine which are worthy of being supported monetarily through my purchases
*to set goals to heightened responsibilty of purchases
*to become a more informed consumer
*to track my progress towards goals
*to serve as inspiration for myself and others with shared interests in preserving the planet and respecting life through educated purchasing power
*to generate ideas of how these goals can be accomplished
*to serve as a base of tools - to whom should letters be sent - maybe provide direct links to companies, perhaps even provide demo letters in word format?

The straw that broke the camel's back for me was the latest Anthropologie Catalogue of June 2007 that features $298.00 handmade tapestries (andean arpilleras). This art form has a rich history of communal narrative and of sociopolitical protest. They have been used for decades in the Andes of South America as a means of expression, throughout Perú and Chile especially, and have served as a form of political protest (and were considered contraband) in times of dictatorship and violent repression. They may now be found sandwiched between measuring spoons and floral sundresses on page 35.
Arpilleras are hardly something that belong in a neocolonialist price-gouging chain store such as Anthropologie. The description mentions the talented Andean women...I wonder what their proceeds were for each of these "no two alike" handmade items - could each "talented andean woman" have received anything close to $298.00 a piece? I would love to believe that they have been appropriately compensated...but I somehow doubt it. My husband found me in tears with the catalogue loosely gripped in my hands. That's it, I said. Now it's personal.

I resolved to investigate, to organize, and to act.

I thank you for reading my thoughts - and, armed with intelligence, good intentions, and canvas shopping bags, I hope that we can aid each other in our quest to become conscientious consumers.