In today's global marketplace, we rarely see what is behind the stuff we buy. Where does a particular product come from? What are the working conditions for the person or people who created

it? What impact has the materials' extraction had on the natural environment? On nearby communities?

If you're tired of standing there in the aisle, confused and feeling vaguely guilty, there's a new website from the Center for a New American Dream — http://www.newdream.org/consumer/ — that will make it easier to know your stuff.

The Conscious Consumer site features 10 short films that introduce you to the people and communities that produce the consumer products we take for granted. These films portray the hidden environmental and personal costs of the world economy and the consumer culture that drives it.

But this new site isn't just to bring that guilty feeling into sharper focus. The fact is, the Center for a New American Dream wants to make your life easier. The sobering pieces are all paired with empowering resources and practical tips. The site will plug you into products that will help you reduce your impact on the environment and contribute to improving labor conditions-with links to online and local sources of all sorts of goods and services that are better for the planet and the people who live on it.

It also provides info on how to recycle just about anything you can think of, loads of information on eco-friendly labeling, as well as environmental and social responsibility ratings on many of the

major corporations you buy things from every day.

http://www.newdream.org/consumer/

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