#no ethical consumption

[shadowmaat]

Ethics vs. needs

I'm sure I've talked about this before but tumblr search is a shitshow and I can't find it. SO.

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism. We know it. We say it. We understand it. So while I appreciate the folks making lists of "ethical" companies and "sustainable" businesses, it would also be nice if they could recognize the fact that the majority of people shopping at places like A.mazon, W.almart and T.emu aren't doing so because they aren't aware of better alternatives, they're doing it because they have no choice.

If I could afford to buy $60 tank tops and be comforted in the knowledge that the workers who made that tank top were appropriately compensated for their labor and the materials are all-natural and not killing the environment, I would. Since I can't, I buy $5 tanks of dubious quality from ethically ambiguous sources.

I understand WHY small businesses charge more and I agree that those things are worth it... IF one can afford them. But if you're going to make a list of alternatives to the Big Bads, you need to think about pricing, too. And I'm just not sure it's possible to find ethical businesses that are also affordable. The two don't seem to go together. There's a similar issue with "healthy" food vs. "junk." Saying that "you just have to shop smart and look around for deals" is, hmm... less than helpful. Not everyone has the time/energy/resources to "shop smart" and not everyone has a choice of where they can shop.

I'm not saying the small business lists are bad because they're very helpful to some people and can do a lot of good for those businesses in terms of advertising/getting the word out. I just wish folks would stop acting as if it's a matter of choice. 99% of the time, it's a matter of price and convenience. So yes, while it's possible to decide that a single $60 tank is "worth it," that same $60 could buy an entire outfit- or more- at one of the cheap scummy places. Stop shaming people for being poor. Remember what Vimes said about boots.

[normal-thoughts-official]

Please stop seeing politics as an identity and start seeing it as a collective means for change

[peachesingreece]

Reminder to avoid buying anything crochet new from big stores. Crochet (unlike knit) CANNOT be done by a machine and must be done by an actual human being. The person who made it was definitely not paid an appropriate amount for their labour. Most big stores use sweatshops anyway and I know it’s hard to completely avoid buying anything from a major store. But if those specific items don’t sell, we can send a message to companies that we don’t want items made fully by hand using slave labour

This summer, avoid any new crochet items. You don’t need THAT specific top that badly

[st-guliks-fnord]

People who don’t straight up read the sourcebooks are missing out on some banger lines. “A goddammit of Tremere” is fucking hilarious

[clonerightsagenda]

I have absolutely no opinions on the Barbie movie but since I am already seeing discourse about it all over my dash I am begging people once again to get involved in some kind of local activism so they will stop thinking what movies you watch is a hardhitting form of praxis

[thottybrucewayne]

Gentrification, U.S. imperialism, what else are yall gonna excuse as a "fault of the system, not people" so you don't have to think too hard about the role you play in it?

[sidewalkchemistry]

or temu haul

[flaticeball]

hey! as the first season of connor bedard gets underway i, your local indigenous hockey fan, have a request of you: please don't let this kid's sure to be marvellous and jaw-dropping rookie season make you complacent with the racism of the blackhawks as an organization. it is beyond heinous that they were able to secure the first overall pick this year for a number of reasons i'm sure we're all familiar with, but i am pleading with the hockey community not to let the racism of this org fall through the cracks.

they drafted connor bedard and handed him a jersey with a giant racist caricature on the front. their mascot is named tommy hawk. they continuously fail to curtail their fans' egregious displays of anti-indigenous racism at games.

i'm not going to ask anyone not to post about bedard. i know he's huge news and i'm bummed as all hell that i won't be able to enjoy the beginning of what is sure to be an incredible career myself. but i am asking, given that his presence on the team is likely to increase the prevalence of people making and reblogging posts about the blackhawks, that you please care, loudly and actively, about the racism of this organization and how much it hurts indigenous fans to see that go unquestioned so often.

consider mentioning it in posts. consider amplifying the voices of indigenous fans and community members about the issues of these types of sports organizations. consider reading up on the history of the person they claim to 'honour' with their hideous effigy of a logo. consider censoring the logo in your posts if you are able to (please do this if you are able to). consider tagging posts so that indigenous fans are at the very least able to blacklist that team and not have to see it.

above all, please just. don't forget about it. don't forget about us. we belong here too.

[monsterboyfriend]

Watching the leftism leave Fledgling Vampire Daniel Molloy's body when he's reminded that eating humans is incompatible with valuing human life

[thatdiabolicalfeminist]

I do actually think that people should learn what "no ethical consumption under capitalism" really means before they just thoughtlessly repeat it whenever they don't want to even think about the harm caused by some item's production.

Like look it up!! Pick a random product that's a staple of your life and find out who is exploited and what environmental harm is done by its sourcing and processing and distribution. Find out the real, human and environmental cost of something that feels necessary to you.

Then look up the alternatives. Try to find a version that doesn't harm people or the environment. Struggle with the way corporations work hard to keep these harms secret and realize most of what we actually know is only public because activist groups raised the alarm.

Pick another item. And another. Let it really, really sink in what it means that you cannot live under capitalism without being complicit in harm. That "no ethical consumption" is not just a catchphrase to get out of caring.

And now think about how you could contribute, in however small a way, to protecting the people and environments that get destroyed for the products you rely on.

[hussyknee]

I'm really not a villain enjoyer. I love anti-heroes and anti-villains. But I can't see fictional evil separate from real evil. As in not that enjoying dark fiction means you condone it, but that all fiction holds up some kind of mirror to the world as it is. Killing innocent people doesn't make you an iconic lesbian girlboss it just makes you part of the mundane and stultifying black rot of the universe.

"But characters struggling with honour and goodness and the egoism of being good are so boring." Cool well some of us actually struggle with that stuff on the daily because being a good person is complicated and harder than being an edgelord.

Sure you can use fiction to explore the darkness of human nature and learn empathy, but the world doesn't actually suffer from a deficit of empathy for powerful and privileged people who do heinous stuff. You could literally kill a thousand babies in broad daylight and they'll find a way to blame your childhood trauma for it as long as you're white, cisgender, abled and attractive, and you'll be their poor little meow meow by the end of the week. Don't act like you're advocating for Quasimodo when you're just making Elon Musk hot, smart and gay.

[the-badger-mole]

So we all know that that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism, and to a certain extent, we have to acknowledge that our way of life is dependent on the suffering of others. Fortunately, it seems there are people who are pushing against that. If you're in the market for a new phone, I urge you to check out the Fairphone 4. It's made using ethically sourced materials and designed to be modular, so you can make repairs at home- which means if you crack your screen, or the battery stops working, you don't have to buy a whole new phone. I know the world is becoming more and more aware of the horrific conditions being suffered by people in places like DRC to make our smart devices. You can use your buying power to make a change.

I am personally not in the market for a new phone just yet, but if you are looking to get a new phone, I encourage you to look into ethically sourced phones and other tech. If you already have a Fairphone, please reblog this and talk about your experience. Be honest. Give the pros and cons so people can make informed decisions. We can't immediately stop all of the horrors that capitalism has brought on the world, but we have the power to make smaller choices where we can to mitigate the harm done.

Fairphone's main company seems to operate in Europe (website here), but if you are looking to buy in the US and Canada, check out their partner site, Murena (website here).

[vampyrfagg]

my fav thing that nonvegans do is say vegans r hypocritical bc "they dont even care abt (marginalised group) involved in the production of (non-animal product food)" like yeah? the one you also eat? and tell me what r u doing to help these people 😁🎤

[queerxqueen]

sorry sorry one more post but why did i see not one but multiple posts. saying they're leaving the stranger things fandom because of all the zionists. and will now focus on other fandoms such as the last of us. bestie. girlie. pal. have i got some bad news for you about neil druckmann.

[sidewalkchemistry]

from the 'wholistic + abundant {lifestyle}' Pinterest board

[ahappydnp]

I am rewatching the mukbang vid and I am so soft for Phil saying he didn’t want dapg to end ❤️‍🩹 The gaming channel is truly his baby

people give phil so much shit for being no thoughts head empty only vibes but the man just knows what he wants. he said "hey i really enjoy getting lots of money from having hehe silly fun time with my bestie"