my wallot*

Who doesn’t love a little retail therapy? That rush of dumping a bag full of NEWness onto the bed when you get home? Swiftly finding hangers and a spot in the closet for the new items. I’ve spent an indulgent amount of time folding and refolding a new addition to the T shirt drawer. 
I have a friend who puts things away with the tags attached so she gets a second bonus rush when she finally wears it. I am in too much of a hurry to claim it. I immediately clip tags and palpate fabric for those plastic swift tacks that like to hide in seams and scratch and stab at soft skin. At some later date, like a stray fishbone ruining a delicious meal, one of those plastic needles will lodge uncomfortably between fabric and skin spoiling the garment’s first outing. Why is the ratio of tag to swift tack so imbalanced??

It doesn’t have to be clothes, shoes or even gadgets, an investment in a decadent treat offers a great return on joy. I learned to eat dark chocolate like a french girl so a really deluxe bar can last a week. Knowing those daily squares are hanging out in my cupboard puts a spring in my step each time I cross the kitchen threshold.

But sometimes those same delights can sour like curdled dairy.

When I was a middle schooler I lived for the tartness of a Granny Smith apple. My saliva glands activated as I brought the shiny green orb to my mouth. That feral moment when my teeth broke the taught skin and ripped. That first sour crunch of fruit in my mouth, it’s juiciness trickling down my chin and arm. The tang piercing my rooftop and overloading my senses. Fruit bliss. I was the only one in the family who liked them so I knew the bag of five or so apples mom unpacked from the grocery store were my treat for the week.
And then one weekend there were no Granny Smith apples. An oversight. But again the next weekend? I searched my memory for the transgression I was being punished for but there was none. Before a third week of deprivation began I had to know. 

When I asked she answered simply, they didn’t have any.
Huh? Not possible. I had seen them in the lunch bags of others.
She clarified, the store didn’t have any that weren’t from South Africa. Thus began my first lesson in economic boycotts. When you vote with your dollars your wallet is a ballot. A Wallot.

My mother wasn’t radically political but she was fiercely principled. The money she worked so hard for wasn’t going to help a corrupt regime oppress her South African brothers and sisters. She didn’t topple the Apartheid regime, but she didn’t help to prop it up. When I shopped with her I learned to not just compare prices but to scrutinize sources. She taught me well. I read my labels and am wary of trends. Fast food and fast fashion camouflage the slow death of whole communities. There is always a reason some bargains are ‘too good to be true’.

Is it inconvenient to vote with your dollars? Hells ya. But investing in my civil rights, equal rights and reproductive rights means divesting from those actively lobbying against my best interests. And it’s getting trickier all the time; companies with ethics I support are bought by those I avoid, investors of brands I align with turn around and use their profits to fund politicians and proposals that threaten my very personhood. As long as Ronald Lauder continues to back 45 I have to take a pause on purchases from MAC and Bobbi Brown.  Sometimes things conveniently align, like my resistance to spin classes at Soul Cycle.
It’s not always easy, some votes are full of conflict, and sometimes it’s just so damn inconvenient. But I can’t imagine not voting — in every way possible.

These links help make things less burdensome…
This spreadsheet maintained and updated by Shannon Coulter tracks companies with financial ties to 45 #GrabYourWallet
With the Buycott App at your fingertips you can make an informed purchase.
Done Good is an awesome site helping you use your purchasing power for good.

There are so many great companies and enterprises striving to make a difference to our planet, our health and our societies. What are some of your faves? I’m always curious to discover. Please share what’s on your wallet’s ballot.