In October 2016 I started an obsession. As I was learning about the basics of investing I came across an article about ethical investing. The article described ethical investing as an investment strategy where companies and sectors are negatively screened considering environmental and social factors, so that industries considered harmful for the planet, like gambling, tobacco and oil, are not included in the portfolio. The article noted how significant portions of people’s superannuation could be invested in these industries.

It never crossed my mind that money I owned could be funding companies that I considered harmful for planet, and also that it was technically my choice. But I was pleasantly surprised to find many ethical investment options to choose from, including superannuation funds.

Making the switch to an ethical super fund gave me some kind of post-purchase satisfaction I hadn’t really experienced before. This positive feeling and the fact the change didn’t cost anything (in fact recent research shows ethical funds outperforming mainstream funds) was what triggered the obsession to add “ethical choice” to almost every research for products or services I made since then.

I switched my power company to a carbon neutral alternative. I started buying Thankyou body care and Who Gives a Crap toilet paper. I switched my bank to a customer owned bank with a focus on responsible investment. I started composting and buying seasonal veggie boxes from local farmers. I also bought a KeepCup and became a regular at a social enterprise coffee shop.

I realise I'm not the only one going through this obsession, social responsibility is actually a rising trend amongst my generation.

I’m generally skeptical about these things, so I did wonder whether I was falling pray to marketing claims or trying to boost my ego. In the end I came to the conclusion that marketing and ego may also influence any other choice for a product or service, but in this case the net result still seems to be more positive for the planet.

UPDATE: I've recently launched a marketplace for seed savers called Local Seeds: https://www.localseeds.com.au. It makes it easy for people to buy and sell untreated, non-GMO, heirloom, open pollinated, organic seeds online from local growers.

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