"There is no such thing as ethical consumption under capitalism."
Truer words have never been said.
Capitalism has resulted in the creation of a giant economic food chain.
At the very bottom of said food chain is our planet, which has suffered immeasurably as thousands of trees, plants, animals and gallons of oil are ripped from its crust. This is hardly surprising considering that our natural resources are at the mercy of Americans’ frivolous and wasteful consumption. Once we consumers have filled our homes, garages, cars and storage units with stuff, we won’t hesitate to throw our old items into a landfill to pollute our planet forever, and make some room for that cool, brand-new gadget we found on clearance! All the while, the Earth is screaming and choking.
Next on the food chain are the underpaid, poorly accommodated sweatshop workers across the globe, exploited and worked to exhaustion on a daily basis. With no labor laws to protect them, women, men and children miserably slave away in unsafe buildings at sewing machines and workstations to create what Americans will soon view as the newest, trendiest item in Forever21, all for less than two dollars per day.
Right smack-dab in the middle are us, the consumers. We go to the store, grab some things we need and admittedly, some that we didn’t. Made in China. Made in Indonesia. Made in India, the tags read. “Only five dollars? What a steal!” We think. But what we have all repressed from our minds, what we know deep down to be true, is that the item in our hands was created by a real, breathing person. One with a family and a with a name. And that person was not treated fairly as they made this item.
And of course, at the very top, are the owners of America’s top corporations and companies, living lavishly and soaking in their great profits, not thinking twice about the effects of their cut corners.
So, there really is no such thing as ethical consumption under capitalism. Profit would simply not be possible if everyone were paid fairly and resources were harvested sustainably. And without profit, of course, capitalism is not an effective economic system. This reality is simply heartbreaking.
There’s still hope!
We, the consumers, are the people that have the power to control this entire food chain, as capitalism relies so heavily on supply and demand. If we are buying more and more from these companies, we steer the entire production of goods to adjust accordingly and churn out more product for us to buy. More resources are destroyed and more people are taken advantage of as such. We simply cannot support these types of companies. Doing so would be the equivalent of saying that behavior if this type; destroying the environment and abusing the rights of people across the ocean, is fine!
What can we do?
-What we need to do is simple; consume less. Think to yourself, “Do I really need it?”
-If you do need to purchase something, opt for brands that do their best to separate themselves from the food chain, ones that are as sustainable and ethical as possible.
-Avoid this mess altogether by shopping secondhand! By doing this, you are not only giving a new life to items that were destined for the landfill, but you also avoid enabling companies to continue exploiting people and the environment!
Let’s change the game!
Let’s take a stand against this terribly flawed system. I encourage all of you to do your best to boycott these companies where you can, and buy secondhand as much as possible. If we all work together, we can shut this economic structure down and, in the media’s eye, demand a new one. How can we accept capitalism as a ruling part of our country when it is destroying our ecosystems, supporting unfair wages and unsound working conditions, as well as unhealthy consumption habits. It is up to us. Let’s rid the world of capitalism once and for all.