Think before you shop

Though shopaholics adhere to the slogan 'shop till you drop', policy makers, the ecologists, the economists, the philosophers, the medical experts and many others do not buy the thought.

Interestingly, Gandhiji used the adage 'Think before you shop' during the Swadeshi Movement. He gave the clarion call to boycott foreign made goods to promote indigenous industries.

In the present scenario, 'Think before you shop' has been advocated by ecologists to warn that indiscriminate behaviour on our part may affect the environment adversely. In fact, the market is flooded with products made from animal parts making the animals vulnerable. In other words, we should think twice before buying any product. We should consider the possible environmental effects before buying any product.

Economists want us to think before shopping as our shopping behaviour has many economic implications. It affects local, regional, national and international economics. If, for example, we start buying imported goods then this will gradually deplete our foreign exchange reserve.

Medical experts and psychiatrists advise us to think before we shop as the products we buy may have negative effects on our health. On the other hand, social activists advocate us to be very cautious while shopping, as the products we are going to buy might have been produced by child labourers.

To conclude, the adage 'Think before you shop' is loaded with implications. It is indeed a very important directive for all of us as our shopping behaviour has multidimensional impact on the world we live in.