A. A responsible consumer only uses the resources that they need to operate in their life. They will try to reduce the amount of waste and resources used with the products and services they use throughout their daily life. They will consciously try to purchase and consume products that are produced in a sustainable way and will be conscious of the entire life cycle of their product-- up to responsibly disposing or recycling the products they are using.
B. On the most regular basis, I buy food and drink. There is nothing I buy daily. Once or twice a week, I will buy coffee from the local coffee store. About twice a week, I will also buy a meal from a restaurant or a café- this could be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Once every two weeks I will go grocery shopping- this will have all the food products I will need to cook meals, as well as any household products I will need (like utensils, aluminum foil, sponges, and other cleaning supplies. Everything else I buy is not on a regular basis, including things like gifts, food and drink to entertain, and school supplies and technology.
C. Most of my purchases will be in person. I will order food and drink in person. My grocery shopping is evenly split between online ordering and going to the store itself. Online ordering will be delivered locally to my house, and when I go to the store I will either walk or drive. The irregular things, such as gifts, technology, and school supplies, will most likely be bought online and shipped from a variety of distribution centers. Some of these will be based in the United States, but many others will come from international sources.
D. When choosing a product, I care the most about quality and durability. Especially with more expensive purchases, I want to buy something that will last a long time and has many use cases. In this way, I want to minimize the number of things I have by buying products that serve multiple purposes and last a long time. When I buy consumables, I try to buy in bulk to minimize packaging but do end up shopping for convenience which can lead to non-sustainable choices.
E. When making the purchase, I can already think about end of life by considering the packaging and how it will eventually be disposed. Especially with food products, I can look for biodegradable or easily compostable materials. In addition, I can think about foods with more waste products. Meat with bones in it will inherently have more waste, or fruits with large husks and peels. You can also think about alternate uses of packaging or the product itself, so toward the end of life it can be repurposed for another use.
F. I can be a more responsible consumer by thinking about the carbon footprint of the online orders I do. Things like rushed Amazon shipping or delivering a meal instead of cooking it will lead to a higher carbon footprint from transportation. I can also be much more mindful of end-of-life of the product, especially in the products that I choose and the way that I dispose of them. I can also try to optimize the amount of groceries I am buying, to make sure I am buying exactly what I need to avoid food waste.