What does it mean to "ethically" consume? What does it mean to be an "ethical consumer"? What is "ethical consumerism"? You may or not be familiar with this concept, but it came on my radar a few weeks ago and ever since I have been questioning my own ethics and behavior regarding consumption.
The basic premise of ethical consumerism is the rejection of traditional mainstream consumer practices which are characterized as unethical - according to ethical consumerists. The desired alternative is a supposedly more sustainable mode of consumption. Already here there is a red flag of sorts: can we really sustainably consume? Meaning, can we consume in a way that supports the three pillars of development - economic, environmental, and social - while ensuring that future generations will be able to answer their needs? In the world we live in, governed by sporadic market fluctuations, ever-increasing monetary flows, and power moves, I don't know if that is possible.
The ethical consumerism debate should be about trying to improve systems of production and consumption for the good of people and the planet, but really it has turned into a fight about moral virtuosity. Like kids fighting about who is better than the other, the "ethical" consumer is pitted against the "non ethical" consumer. Oh yeah, because we can't resist binaries, we assume that whoever is not buying everything organic or clothes from recycled materials is "non ethical". Red flag #2.
Ethical consumerists claim moral superiority - if not explicitly then implicitly. I am guilty of this. The thing is they don't realize they've fallen for the trap. The trap set up by the same system they want to oppose.
I certainly fell for it.
We have been made to believe that the solution to political and social issues is more consumption. It may look like cleaner consumption, but it is still consumption. We believe that consumers, as individuals, have the power to make drastic change. They do, in some regards, but not nearly as much as is needed to make sustainable change. We should examine how it is we approach societal issues. Too often, it is with the idea that the individual is more important than the collective, and consistently downplays the role of large corporations.
This tension between our private lives and public ones, the personal and the societal is at the crux of today's most pressing issues.
Continuing to buy a lot even if it is from presumably more ethical sellers doesn't solve anything, it just perpetuates the same problematic system. The other issue is that it is really hard to find a way out of the system. As much as you would like, you can't avoid it unless you decide to stop buying everything and go live somewhere in the wild like a hermit.
This being said, I don’t think we should stop trying to make more environmentally and socially conscious decisions when consuming (ie being "ethical"). We are all trying to do our best, and that is a good first step. The next step would be to hold the corporations accountable. Many low income people would not survive without the existence of large corporations - that is where they work. Getting rid of them is not right. What we need to do is reform how these companies function - how they treat their workers, how they pay them, how they acknowledge them. Equally, how they treat the planet. We need to stop literally buying into the lie that more purchasing will solve issues of inequality, poverty, or environmental degradation.
To be honest, I don't know what the moral of this story is supposed to be, if there even is one. I wish I had something more positive to end with, but I just don't have the answers. I am still trying to grapple with my own consumer behaviors. I wanted to write this seeing as it's Black Friday weekend, which is basically the pinnacle of mass consumption in the US. Maybe take this as an invitation to do some reflection. Maybe you have ideas as to how we can make better, more sustainable change. If you do, please share!
If you have the time, I highly recommend reading this article entitled The Twilight of the Ethical Consumerist which is where this whole tangent started from. You can develop your own opinion about the issue.
Have you been seduced by the appeal of “ethical consumerism”?