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Stand Up to Corporate Power: 5 Ways to Get Free

Published on January 20, 2009

by Catherine Bailey, of Yes! Magazine

Making lifestyle choices that protect the environment, reduce global injustice, reflect social responsibility, and contribute to richer communities can also move us away from corporate control.

Here are five suggestions for a freer life:

1. ENTERTAINMENT

Big corporations stifle independent music, books, and movies.

Good: Buy music directly from the artist. Support independent bookstores. Watch independent movies.

Better: Make your own. Sing, play music, tell stories. Only 100 years ago, almost everyone did. Draw out the creativity around and within you.

2. CLOTHES

Fashion fuels the ad industry. Many clothes are made in sweatshops.
Good: Choose union—and U.S.—made clothing.

Better: Make your own, patch holes, buy secondhand. Avoid big brand names.

3. FOOD

Most domestic food is grown using GMOs and vast amounts of petroleum. Importing food contributes to global warming.
Good: Eat seasonal foods. Buy local/organic.

Better: Try the 100-mile diet. Start a garden. Support farmers’ markets.

4. MONEY

U.S. economic activity consists mainly of moving money around.
Good: Make sure your investments are socially responsible. Put your cash in a local bank or credit union.

Better: Use a local currency system, or start one. Barter for goods and services to get away from money altogether.

5. FUEL

Oil profits are skyrocketing. Peak Oil drives resource wars.

Good: Switch to biofuels made from waste. Carpool.

Better: Bike. Meet your needs close to home.

Provided by YesMagazine.com, a non-profit, ad-free magazine that covers topics of social justice, environmental sustainability, alternative economics, and peace. The magazine is published by Positive Futures Network.

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