Conscious Consuming

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has.

-Margaret Mead

Mission Statement

Conscious Consuming seeks to increase awareness of the impact of buying decisions on our health, happiness, and environment. Through education and discussion we encourage people to live in line with their values by better prioritizing time, money, and material things.

Many of the products and services we use in industrialized societies today are disposable, hazardous, and often, unnecessary. Yet our capitalist economy depends on our consumption of such products and services, and we are told that it's un-American to question our role in this arrangement. Conscious Consumers dare to question; a whole host of variables might go into our decision-making, but the important thing is that we do that thinking.

Before we buy, we wonder:

 

Who we are


Cindy Chang, Vice President

Cindy has been interested in environmental issues since she learned about recycling in grade school. In college she became more involved with the environmental justice movement and has worked with Oxfam America, the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, and West Harlem Environmental Action to address environmental equality and social justice. She has been involved with Conscious Consuming since Boston's Alternative Gift Fair, "Gift It Up!," in 2003, and currently serves as the Vice President. Cindy is currently at the Yale School of Management receiving her MBA in non-profit management and at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies receiving a Master's in Environmental Management.

Susan Donohoe, Public Relations Coordinator

Susan spent many hours playing outside as a child, climbing trees, biking in the "dirt hills," going to the Jersey shore, and getting lost in the woods. While living in Oregon after college, Susan became a backpacker, avid hiker, and cross-country skier. She brought this love of the outdoors to her work as an elementary and special education teacher, organizing camping trips for her students and starting school wide gardening and recycling programs. After having children, Susan felt overwhelmed by the culture of consumption that goes along with having a baby, and became interested in voluntary simplicity. She has been involved with Conscious Consuming since 2004, and currently serves as the Public Relations Coordinator. She also teaches yoga part-time, believing that yoga has the potential to contribute to a more peaceful planet, one person at a time.

Marty Wrin

Marty organized Boston's first alternative gift fair, "Gift It Up!," in 2003, and currently serves as the Treasurer and Social Networking Coordinator for the Web.

Randy Ross, President

Randy has always been interested in consumer and lifestyle issues. In the mid-1990's he began to scale back his lifestyle and reduce his exposure to mainstream media. Since then, his friends and family have described him as a "minimalist," "simple living guy," and "cheapskate." Randy has worked in publishing for the last 16 years. Currently, he is on the board of Spare Change News, a newspaper published for and sold by homeless/low income people in the Boston area. Randy has been involved with Conscious Consuming since 2004, and currently serves as the President.

Natasha Nese, Webmaster

Natasha has wanted to be a part of something that challenged all the misinformation screaming from the TV since she was a very small child. In the past few years she has quit watching TV, reduced her commute to a few minutes, started purchasing local organic food as much as possible, and begun to seek out sweatshop-free clothing. Just a few hours before writing this she set up her compost bin. Next on the agenda is re-learning how to ride a bike. Natasha joined the Conscious Consuming team in 2007, and currently serves as the Webmaster.

  • Think.
  • Question.
  • Evaluate.
  • Teach.
  • Join.