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Conscious credit cards
From TipThePlanet
The fees connected to a credit card—annual and late fees, interest payments—all go to the issuing bank. That bank may use your money to finance projects such as an oil pipeline that could destroy animal habitats.
- To put at least some of your credit card fees toward a good cause, consider an affinity card—an option offered by large banks that bears the logo of a charity or nonprofit. Each time you use an affinity card, the issuing bank donates a set percentage to the charity or nonprofit. (Note, though, that since these cards are usually connected to a mega-bank, your money may still indirectly support objectionable projects financed by that bank.) One of the best affnity cards is MBNA's Working Assets Visa card. It donates 10 cents with every purchase to a pool of 50 nonprofits.
- To ensure that your credit card's fees and interest payments go toward projects that support people in need and protect the environment, use a card issued by a community investment bank. When making loans, community investment institutions (CIIs) take social benefits like education for low-income communities—not just profitability—into consideration. Two CIIs that offer credit cards are Shore Bank Pacific and Albina Community Bank. Based in Ilwaco, Washington, ShoreBank Pacific uses 50 percent of the income from its Salmon Nation Visa Card to fund the environmental stewardship efforts in the area where wild salmon live. And one percent of every purchase made using the Scholastic Plastic Visa card issued by Oregon's Albina Community Bank goes to fund instrumental arts and athletic programs at Portland schools.
- Alternative to the banks, there are credit unions available usually at the local level due to the regulation which forces all credit unions to operate under some mission and hence has various conditions in order to participate. Thus most credit unions are bounded by region and affiliated organization. Credit unions operate as a democratic non-profit institution. Members themselves vote for the director and advisers to run the organization. Therefore, it is likely that their investment will be more environmentally sound than that of banks. If one is seeking for a credit card which will do less hard to the environment, subscribing from a credit union will be one of the most prominent and effective choices.
