When inflation comes to test our values

Over the past two decades, consumers have become more aware of the impact their purchases and lifestyle have on the planet. They have developed behaviors to match. But when prices rise, how can you stay true to your eco-responsible values ​​in front of store shelves?

Stephanie Berube
The Press

Ecological often rhymes with economic

“We see that people think about what they buy. For us, it’s very positive,” says Andréanne Laurin, co-founder of Loco ecological grocery stores, which now have four stores in Montreal.

The rise in prices would therefore lead to a questioning of the way of consuming for part of the population.

“You see people trying tempeh for the first time because it’s so much cheaper than meat. They appreciate every dollar spent,” she says.

Some choices are easier to make than others, such as going back to cooking at home rather than going to a restaurant.

The grocer also notes that autumn makes you want to cook. She has noticed, since the start of the school year, the return of her clientele who had spoiled themselves a lot during the summer on trips and at restaurants, after two years of a pandemic.

Ecological gestures in consumption are often the most economical, explains Nathalie Ainsley, speaker for the Quebec Association zero waste, member of the collective Mothers at the front.

The math is easy to understand: “Reducing consumption also leads to reducing expenses,” she says.

A very simple example: keep your things longer.

“Am I making this purchase because I need it? asks Nathalie Ainsley. Do I have anything else at home that would do? »

Same thing for transportation. “Keeping your vehicle longer is a great ecological gesture,” she says.

Especially since transport, along with food, weighs heavily on the wallet and the individual energy balance. By saving on this side, we free up the budget for expenses hard hit by inflation, but which are close to our hearts.

“With all the money that I save by consuming less, I have plenty to buy my organic! “says Nathalie Ainsley.

Another simple idea: replace what is disposable. “It would have a gigantic economic impact on the family budget,” she says.

Ask good questions

First, we must reassess our overall consumption, explains sociologist Laurence Godin, professor at the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences at Laval University.

Which means, yes, to buy less, but also to modify certain habitual behaviors that we never question. Laurence Godin took part in a research project in Switzerland a few years ago. People were asked to halve the amount of laundry done in a week and turn down the heat in the house. “The idea was not to freeze, but to feel comfortable,” she explains.

In addition to the reductions in water and electricity bills, participants saved a lot of detergent and time. All this having had no negative impact on their well-being at all.

The Responsible Consumption Observatory of UQAM confirms that we are tending towards more sober consumption. Its 2021 watch measured the impact of the pandemic on our consumption habits. “The health measures seem to repress the attraction towards the values ​​of hyperconsumption: 81.2% have got into the habit of shopping less in the last month”, we learn in this report.

Please, no eco-guilt

“Our values ​​have changed dramatically in the last 20 years,” confirms Rory Smead, associate professor in the philosophy department at Northeastern University in Boston, a specialist in the evolution of consumer behavior.

“In particular, we have discovered that our purchases have an impact on the workforce, which has led to the popularity of fair trade certified products,” he cites as an example.

And what effect will the rise in prices now have on these beautiful stocks?

People react differently and their ways greatly influence choices, he says.

For some who have already considered behavior, if the economic pressure is too strong, it can lead to a questioning of commitment, explains this American professor: “How much do I care? Does my little gesture really have an impact? »

For many it is no longer a choice. If the eco-responsible purchase is more expensive, it will not be made. “When at the grocery store you have the choice between fair trade coffee or no coffee at all, the choice is easy to make,” adds Rory Smead.

Even if it goes against a behavior built on years of reflection.

“Are people morally responsible for these big issues? asks Rory Smead. There are two schools of thought in philosophy: yes or no! »

For Nathalie Ainsley, the answer is no, the individual is not responsible, but yes, every gesture counts.

“We do not ask to do more to those who do not have the means”, specifies however Nathalie Ainsley.

If some people have to abandon sustainable practices for lack of means, guilt must be avoided, insists Université Laval professor Laurence Godin.

To prevent guilt from setting in, the sociologist advises taking the bull by the horns.

“The answer to eco-anxiety, she says, is action. »

Concretely, someone who has to put aside their organic chicken because it is too expensive may be interested in getting involved in a community project, she says.

A collective kitchen, for example, which would make it possible to regain control and be in the action.

“It’s about integrating into sustainability groups,” says Laurence Godin.

Stay true to your principles

Care products and household products

When Les Mauvaises Herbes germinated in 2014 with the blog Les Trappeuses, we were starting to talk about zero waste. Homemade products were gaining popularity. In a few years, the blog became a virtual store, then a storefront store in 2019. “We saw the enthusiasm, explains Marie Beaupré, co-founder of the company. People constantly asked us where to buy the ingredients to make our recipes. We saw a business opportunity there. »

The pandemic has arrived. For Les Mauvaises Herbes, there was an explosion of online sales: people were no longer going to shops and looking for activities. Result: the young company saw its sales triple.

But this meteoric rise was circumstantial. And now, the economic context is turning all that upside down, again. It imposes a stabilization period.

At Les Mauvaises Herbes, inflation has headwinds. One can embark on the manufacture of concoctions with natural ingredients, for the house or the body, for the sake of economy. This would bring in new customers. Conversely, current customers may abandon non-essential products, because cuts have to be made somewhere.

“I think that if we were in a 100% cosmetics market, explains Marie Beaupré, we would have been hit harder by inflation. »

To continue its growth, the group nevertheless had to modify its offer. Essential products will take up more space, since the most superficial sell less.

With our purchasing power diminishing, how can customers stay true to their consumption principles if there is little money at the end of the month?

For Marie Beaupré, the great luxury of homemade is time.

“It is there, the limit of the general public, she continues. You have a stratum of people who don’t have the energy, the structure, the time to put in for this ecological transition. It’s good to talk about nice principles, to have lots of nice ideas and methods to facilitate the transition and put it into practice, but if you don’t have time because you work for minimum wage and you have a child to feed, I’m not going to force you to do your deodorant. It’s okay that you choose the one that’s on discount at the pharmacy. »

Clothes

When Alexandrine Beauvais-Lamoureux wanted to buy clothes in harmony with her consumer principles, she thought it would be quite simple.

First, the important values ​​are established, then the needs and the means are assessed.

First observation: it is very difficult to find clothes in harmony with its eco-responsible values ​​at low prices, especially if you want them to be designed here and, even better, made here.

The baccalaureate student in international relations and international law at UQAM then turned to the ethics range of a major international chain.

The price was good, the claims of the brand, just as much. And then, H&M’s eco-responsible clothing did not pass the test: the Swedish company was sued in the United States by a customer who claimed to have been fooled by its “Conscious choice” products. The company’s green aspirations have been widely contested in the public arena. H&M has just announced that it will withdraw this range in the Netherlands after a government body ruled that the approach behind this label was unclear.

The young woman did not let herself be discouraged.

Next step: turn to second-hand clothes. The offer is abundant and the prices are good, online as well as at organizations such as Renaissance or the Village des Valeurs.

This leads to a new question: can the increased purchasing power in a second-hand goods store have an exhilarating effect and lead to overconsumption?

Yes, answers the student, who is also the founder of the organization for education in sexual violence Scene and save.

For Alexandrine Beauvais-Lamoureux, ethical and sustainable consumption must go hand in hand with a certain social conscience.

“Clothing is also a right to dignity,” she says. If the overconsumption of some limits the purchasing power of others and encourages unnecessary purchases, we are therefore no further ahead.

The student found the option that suited her best: buy her second-hand clothes, but in independent shops where the pieces are carefully chosen. There are more and more of them in Montreal.

“It allows me to achieve a balance, she says, between an environmental conscience, a social conscience and my wallet. »