Ordinarily, Trader Joe’s is my favorite grocer — the home of obscure organics and the best prices available on orchids — an excellent faux-Hawaiian alternative to other stores.

I love T.J.’s as an aficionado of cuisine, I can find ingredients and products that are sold nowhere else — and those which can be purchased elsewhere are always a better value at T.J.’s. Their store brands of bottled salad dressings and sauces are high enough quality that food snobs like me are willing to use them instead of making our own mayonnaise or gyoza dipping sauce. Even during a weekday morning, when patrons must battle one another in one of the most unpleasant co-mingling experiences I know of besides Costco in the mid-afternoon, the struggle is worth it to get exotic cheeses while retaining enough money for rent.

Last week, in anticipation of entertaining guests two nights in a row, I made an expedition to T.J.’s, shopping list in hand.

Finding my sought items, including tortellini, pecans and gorgonzola, I also found excellent fresh produce and bought what turned out to be the best strawberries I’ve known for years. I was disappointed that T.J.’s does not stock quarts of heavy cream, so I was reduced to buying four half-pints of a small, locally produced organic cream — but for the record, this, along with the chicken-friendly organic eggs, made a better crème brulée than Lucerne ever could.

By the time I was ready to check out, I probably carried products representing exports from at least three different countries — and even the locally produced cream came in four individual cardboard cartons and was a study in over-packaging. I did manage to not buy an orchid — an impressive feat for me — but they, along with many of the other cut flowers and potted plants, are shipped here from Hawaii.

As I stood in the checkout line, my foul attitude from being boxed in and berated by women of a certain age at the cheese counter quickly melted to indignant environmental guilt.

The lady in front of me was chatting in feverish animation with the checkout clerk about how the strawberries were so terrible to buy, given that they were not actually organic or grown in Washington. They concluded, though, that occasional indulgence in non-eco-conscious purchases could be overlooked — they then discussed how “special” the texture was of something else the environmentally friendly shopper had selected.

When it came my turn, I felt guilty for not shopping based on my carbon impact, and that made me think of the rug I bought at Urban Outfitters from India — and the tropical fish I have that are shipped overnight from who-knows-where before they get to a pet store — and the amazing diversity of countries-of-origin represented in my closet and dresser.

Part of living in a globalized society is the access we have to such diversity of merchandise, and at excellent prices — you would not believe the deal I got on that rug.

However, the cost associated with this access goes beyond dollars saved or spent. Being part of both a globalized society and environmentally conscious population is a conundrum: With which side do you truly belong, regardless of your feelings on the subject?

I would like to consider myself at least mildly environmentally aware: I have my own canvas totes and walk pretty much anywhere I need to get. I use the library and have three trash cans under my sink that I have labeled, in English and French, “garbage,” “paper, plastic and metal” and “glass” for recycling purposes.

But what does this matter if I will also make impulse buys of houseplants grown cheaply in bulk in Mexico or Hawaii just for the American consumer? And does the environmental benefit of my totes get canceled out because I buy imported rugs, curtains and table clothes from India or Pakistan?

Developing an understanding of the global cost of these goods is essential in today’s day and age. Take the time to look at the items you buy and become familiar with the impact they — and you, as a consumer — make on the planet. I’ll probably still buy strawberries but will also make an effort to understand and improve my consumerism.

Reach columnist Matt Jackson at opinion@dailyuw.com.