I honestly just research whatever item I want to buy and look into the company that makes it. I also don’t buy a lot of superfluous shit so I barely ever buy anything anyway. Plus every town I’ve ever lived in, there are people/mom and pop shops who make and sell stuff themselves.
Globalization of trade has done so much damage to our sense of humanity. People so easily ignore that they’re buying stuff from sweatshops because it’s not in the town they live and they can put it out of their mind with the wave of a hand.
You aren’t special in some frontier town that only buys things from local grocers and smiths your own tools.
Even those shops you are buying from are sourcing dozens of products that are exploitative or damaging. That’s what globalization is, as well. It’s impossible to escape exploitation in a global supply chain, and even the most local producers are buying things from international companies to do their work.
No matter what your hands are stained, we all don’t have a choice but to participate. It’s a real drag!
This is the one thing I regularly get so mad about. 99% of people I know have the means to shop responsibly but act so helpless and get so defensive of their need to buy nonsense from Walmart and Amazon. I realize I’m acting very high and mighty but I have family in very poor parts of Mexico, I’ve seen how awful their working conditions are, let alone the kids in sweatshops in China. I sound like a jerk/troll because I’m so fucking pissed that everyone can’t be bothered to care.
I love the response that unless every bit of what I do is flawless in every way, then none of it means anything and I might as well buy stuff made by slaves. Yes, I acknowledge I’m acting very high and mighty, but stop being so defensive of your need to buy the cheapest stuff available. If you actually saw first hand what these kids go through, I guarantee you’d feel differently. 99% of people I know act like they’re so poor and then immediately spend their paycheck on the dumbest bullshit. I’m just infuriated by how checked out people are about this issue.
I’m going to largely agree with you because I do my best to buy local, to buy from locations that market that they go out of their way to get ethical goods, etc etc. But I’m going to also say that I have the incredible privilege to be able to do so. I have the money that I can drop on things that cost more (and these things often do), and I live in a location that has stores that are conscientious about this sort of thing, that know that there’s a market for it in the area. I don’t live in a food desert or the middle of bumfuck nowhere. I’m really grateful for that. And I recognize not everyone has either of those boons.
I think it’s important to let people know those options are out there. And it’s important to understand that not everyone can reasonably live up to that standard.
To those who are still reading and are genuinely interested in making a swap, start small and work your way up. My first change was when I had to switch to reusable grocery bags. It was state mandated. But it got me thinking about what else I could change, like no longer buying cases of water bottles and instead buying water filters. One step at a time, as opportunity permits.
I see you’ve picked a few hardest examples and picked specifically difficult items.
RTX 4090 is specifically produced in areas with specific tech and infrastructure to do so. My big question here is why are you looking at specifically buying a top end graphics card, that is better than 95% of cards in existence? Nvidia does have significant sustainability progress, but seen nothing on if its environmental or social.
You asked what you can do? Don’t buy the most expensive, high end, newest card.
It’s all a lie, we create a million ways to launder the little evils that are required to make, ship, and consume.
Even when a group has gone the lengths to try ethically source, the materials and meta materials go far back into supply chains that things like slave labor are literally threaded in. Every time you put in checks and balances for fair wages and ethical material harvesting, you increase the price until you begin pricing people with lesser means out.
Those price increases end up forcing those without the ability to buy a higher priced, ethically-produced thing, to buy things that aren’t like that. By participating in this, you are ensuring the dichotomy remains. But at a certain point in scale of consumption, it’s impossible to consume ethically.
Even when you are assured by organizations that the things you are consuming are ethically produced, they aren’t examining every product, they are doing things in aggregate and reporting a mean or average to you. It’s all a game of cups.
deleted by creator
I honestly just research whatever item I want to buy and look into the company that makes it. I also don’t buy a lot of superfluous shit so I barely ever buy anything anyway. Plus every town I’ve ever lived in, there are people/mom and pop shops who make and sell stuff themselves.
Globalization of trade has done so much damage to our sense of humanity. People so easily ignore that they’re buying stuff from sweatshops because it’s not in the town they live and they can put it out of their mind with the wave of a hand.
You aren’t special in some frontier town that only buys things from local grocers and smiths your own tools.
Even those shops you are buying from are sourcing dozens of products that are exploitative or damaging. That’s what globalization is, as well. It’s impossible to escape exploitation in a global supply chain, and even the most local producers are buying things from international companies to do their work.
No matter what your hands are stained, we all don’t have a choice but to participate. It’s a real drag!
deleted by creator
you sound like a troll lmao
This is the one thing I regularly get so mad about. 99% of people I know have the means to shop responsibly but act so helpless and get so defensive of their need to buy nonsense from Walmart and Amazon. I realize I’m acting very high and mighty but I have family in very poor parts of Mexico, I’ve seen how awful their working conditions are, let alone the kids in sweatshops in China. I sound like a jerk/troll because I’m so fucking pissed that everyone can’t be bothered to care.
deleted by creator
I love the response that unless every bit of what I do is flawless in every way, then none of it means anything and I might as well buy stuff made by slaves. Yes, I acknowledge I’m acting very high and mighty, but stop being so defensive of your need to buy the cheapest stuff available. If you actually saw first hand what these kids go through, I guarantee you’d feel differently. 99% of people I know act like they’re so poor and then immediately spend their paycheck on the dumbest bullshit. I’m just infuriated by how checked out people are about this issue.
I’m going to largely agree with you because I do my best to buy local, to buy from locations that market that they go out of their way to get ethical goods, etc etc. But I’m going to also say that I have the incredible privilege to be able to do so. I have the money that I can drop on things that cost more (and these things often do), and I live in a location that has stores that are conscientious about this sort of thing, that know that there’s a market for it in the area. I don’t live in a food desert or the middle of bumfuck nowhere. I’m really grateful for that. And I recognize not everyone has either of those boons.
I think it’s important to let people know those options are out there. And it’s important to understand that not everyone can reasonably live up to that standard.
To those who are still reading and are genuinely interested in making a swap, start small and work your way up. My first change was when I had to switch to reusable grocery bags. It was state mandated. But it got me thinking about what else I could change, like no longer buying cases of water bottles and instead buying water filters. One step at a time, as opportunity permits.
Not them.
You’re perfectly capable of googling “locally made”, “ethical”, “sustainable” products.
Its as simple as not buying mass produced, not the cheapest thing you can find, and only buying what you actually want.
The fact you are expecting someone to give you a list of places tells me you would never put in the effort to use them anyway.
deleted by creator
I see you’ve picked a few hardest examples and picked specifically difficult items.
RTX 4090 is specifically produced in areas with specific tech and infrastructure to do so. My big question here is why are you looking at specifically buying a top end graphics card, that is better than 95% of cards in existence? Nvidia does have significant sustainability progress, but seen nothing on if its environmental or social.
You asked what you can do? Don’t buy the most expensive, high end, newest card.
It’s all a lie, we create a million ways to launder the little evils that are required to make, ship, and consume.
Even when a group has gone the lengths to try ethically source, the materials and meta materials go far back into supply chains that things like slave labor are literally threaded in. Every time you put in checks and balances for fair wages and ethical material harvesting, you increase the price until you begin pricing people with lesser means out.
Those price increases end up forcing those without the ability to buy a higher priced, ethically-produced thing, to buy things that aren’t like that. By participating in this, you are ensuring the dichotomy remains. But at a certain point in scale of consumption, it’s impossible to consume ethically.
Even when you are assured by organizations that the things you are consuming are ethically produced, they aren’t examining every product, they are doing things in aggregate and reporting a mean or average to you. It’s all a game of cups.