Illustration by Miguel Monkc
Heading into the holiday shopping season, Canadians have many reasons to be wary of overextending themselves.
Looming concerns of a recession, high inflation, soaring interest rates and any number of economic repercussions from the pandemic have combined to make many consumers anxious as they gear up for what is the busiest shopping time of the year. In its annual holiday retail outlook for 2022, Deloitte Canada reported recently that four in 10 Canadians have seen their household finances worsen this year and household spending this holiday season is forecast to fall 17 per cent, to $1,520.
Eight Canadian companies that are making it easier to shop sustainably and with style
But while we might be planning to spend less, there is also evidence that Canadians want to spend their hard-earned money smarter. Conscious consumerism – which means engaging in the economy with more awareness of how your consumption impacts society at large – is on the rise. Many folks have heard the clarion call from environmentalists, conservationists and other civic-minded groups alarmed by bad labour practices as well as the sheer volume of “stuff” we mindlessly accumulate, and have decided to make a concerted effort to change how they shop.
Even though our money isn’t going as far as it used to, the Deloitte survey also found four in 10 Canadian consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable and ethical products. That means there is a desire out there to shop with purpose. To buy quality over quantity. And to buy local and from small businesses.
The dilemma for many, however, is how to stretch their hard-earned dollars to accommodate responsible purchases that often – but not always – have a higher price point. Self-proclaimed “under-shopper” Paul Berton has a straightforward solution: “People simply have to be willing to pay more sometimes – knowing that the quality and durability of these goods, plus the emotional return-on-investment, usually more than makes up for it,” says the author of the new book Shopomania: Our Obsession with Possession. “There needs to be a seismic shift in how we shop.”
Start shopping with intention
Despite feeling squeezed financially, a survey by Interac in September found that two-thirds of Canadians are practising “intentional spending,” or making purposeful purchasing decisions that live up to their financial goals and personal values. The majority of Canadians (67 per cent) are carefully planning their purchases, and more than half (55 per cent) say they are less likely to spend on impulse now than they were before the pandemic.
Sophie Pollon-MacLeod is one of those “intentional” consumers and her “buy less, buy better” mindset kicked in on a shopping trip with her sister. The pair popped into the high-end Bayview Village Shopping Centre in Toronto where Pollon-MacLeod found a blouse she liked. She flipped over the tag, saw it was $170, made in China, and promptly put it back on the rack. On their way out of the mall, they came across a pop-up store called Inland.
A sign outside the store read: “We curate slow-made, hand-made, small-batch, made-to-order collections that are designed locally and consciously created.” She spent more than an hour at Inland, met the owner and some of the designers, and walked out with a $200 skirt she absolutely loved.
“I’m obsessed with it,” gushes the 28-year-old naturopath from Ottawa. “It’s the most beautiful garment and I know I’m going to wear it for a very long time.”
Research your options
Another great way to practise conscious consumption is to follow responsible companies on social media. Many responsible retailers – often small, standalone operators – don’t have large marketing budgets or capacity for advertising and outreach. They often rely on word of mouth or they team up with brand curators such as Inland – which amalgamates small-batch clothing designers into one place – or Montreal’s Goodee, an online boutique for housewares that works exclusively with global artisans who make a positive social and environmental impact.
“Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want,” says Byron Peart, who co-founded Goodee with his brother Dexter in 2017. “We’ve seen a pendulum shift in the last five years,” he says. “A lot of consumers are thinking a lot longer, a lot deeper and they’re asking more questions about how products are made, how long they’re going to last, and if the person behind the product is making a fair wage. Once they understand how much time and effort goes into a product, their perspective on the true value of a good – and its price point – often changes.”
Goodee rarely has dissatisfied customers. Its rate of return is 4 per cent compared with the average e-commerce store rate of return of 20 per cent, according to the National Retail Federation in the U.S. “Ethical shoppers tend to be more satisfied shoppers,” adds Dexter Peart. “At a time when everything in the world seems so unstable, purchasing with intent also seems to bring many of our customers security and peace of mind.”
Think less about price and more about value
“Sustainable doesn’t mean premium price, it means fair price,” says Sarah Power, who launched Inland in 2014 as a bi-annual pop-up for local shoppers to discover and shop emerging Canadian design. “Over the last 20 years, when production shifted offshore, consumers got used to this false reality that consumer goods should be cheap. We’ve been conditioned [because of fast fashion] to think the value of these products has been priced appropriately and it absolutely hasn’t. The people who are paying are the garment makers overseas, mainly women, and the planet is also paying for it.”
Shopping with purpose requires a real mind shift, and a challenging one. Power believes it is the task of companies like hers to help the consumer understand that when they buy something that has been responsibly made, they are investing in a better future, for themselves and for successive generations. “[The pieces we sell] really are not that much more [money]. A pair of pants is roughly $150 and a nice top is probably $150 to $200, which is not so different from mainstream retailers,” she says. “Our job is to get that message across in a world where fast fashion holds so much sway. Shopping local is not a trend or a buzz phrase. It’s a commitment to our neighbours and to ourselves to better preserve our planet, our community and our culture.”
Consciously, hit the pause button
With families under pressure this holiday season to stretch their pennies, financial planner Shannon Lee Simmons says it’s more important than ever to budget, plan where you are going to shop and really consider if making that purchase is going to make you – or a recipient – happy. Impulse purchases are the ones we typically regret, says Simmons, founder of the New School of Finance, a Toronto-based financial planning firm. “In the 15 years of looking at peoples’ finances, the ramp up of online shopping is the single biggest reason for the increase in mindless spending,” she says. “It has become so easy for us to click and spend [on] autopilot.”
To curb those impulses, Simmons suggests going through your credit-card statements for the past month. “If there is a charge, or charges, for things you can’t remember buying, then you know it’s time to rein things in.” She also recommends removing the credit-card credentials autofill from every online retailer that you can. “That, too, makes you pause, and gives you some time to consider whether it’s something you really need or if it’s something frivolous you simply want.” Then if you do add an item to your online cart, wait 24 hours before actually purchasing it and take the time to punch in your payment information to give you more time to think about it.
Finally, Simmons says, shop in real life. “When you’re shopping online you’re in your own little world. There are infinite opportunities and the consequence of spending are not so immediate. Going into a store puts you in a different mindset,” the pro says. “The buy/sell transaction becomes very real, plus you have to physically carry whatever you bought.”
Her final piece of advice for this holiday season? Start early. “Give yourself breathing room because creative, mindful purchasing takes times. Overspending or silly spending usually happens when we’re rushed.”
Shop good, feel good
The Interac survey found that nearly eight in 10 (or 77 per cent) Canadians have positive associations with intentional spending. It makes them feel in control, disciplined, thoughtful, empowered, happy and considerate. Bonita Riehl, a 54-year-old long-term-care worker from Fonthill, Ont., considers herself a responsible shopper and credits her experience, 15 years ago, attending the One of a Kind Show. “It was the first time I got to really know the people behind the products. I took the time to learn why they do what they do, why it’s important to them, and how it makes them feel. It changed my mindset and many of these artisans I now count as friends.”
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