Doomed to Consume

Consumption is in the veins, It's up to us to make a change.

[daphnesmi]

Achieving Voice, Exit, and Justice for Canada’s Migrant Workers

Ketchup maker Heinz announced its closure of a 104-year old processing plant in Leamington, Ontario, putting more than 700 employees out of work.  The UFCW, or United Food and Commercial workers union considers themselves as the "defender of migrant workers rights" A labor union is a group that acts to protect workers rights.  They organize strikes to get what they want. workers will go on strike if they believe their work place isn't doesn't fulfill their needs as workers. In this case the labor union is the UFCW and the migrant workers are going on strike because they are losing their jobs.  They will strike until they get what they want.

[daphnesmi]

Black Friday 2013: Canada vs. America (PHOTOS)

I can't believe people are hurting each other, climbing through crowds, and waiting for hours just to save a few dollars.  The sad part is that it is right after thanksgiving.  But that TV was half off! And that outfit… I mean, you would have lost money if you DIDN’T buy it, right? Now you’re tired and broke. 

[daphnesmi]

Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy things we don't need.

Chuck Palahniuk

[daphnesmi]

our enormously productive economy… demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption… we need things consumed, burned up, replaced, and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate.

[daphnesmi]

This picture is showing that TV ads and others can really affect how we see the world.  All people think about is the ads on TV or in magazines.  Their is almost no way for people to get away from consumerism with the beautiful ads.  Sometimes I feel this is our only goal in life and we have to follow the rules that society has made which are “consume, be silent, and die.”

[elartedevillyvillian-blog]

[daphnesmi]

This image shows that magazines and advertisements can make everything glamorous, even death.  The sad part is that a lot of people do believe this and they take extreme measures to look like what is in that picture.  In the end all these pictures are lies because no one actually looks like that.  It’s all edited and photoshopped.  I personally think that  perhaps if no one bought these magazines they would stop making and encouraging these false images.  I never buy these magazines because one of my most important values is if they ask you to change in any way.  These magazines are asking you to become skinnier and change.  

[daphnesmi]

This video was very empowering.  I was surprised that it was an ad for another restaurant claiming to "cultivate a better world" but really it is probably more similar to crow foods.  It is so hard to separate the difference between stores. 

[daphnesmi]

I read a quote once that said “You think you are free? try going somewhere without money.”  This picture really spoke to me because our society is so obsessed with money that without it you will die.  With money you are trapped behind bars and you have to follow the trends and everything that is popular and ‘important’ but without it there is nothing

[daphnesmi]

It is almost impossible to tell if the product you have bought reflects your values because in the end they are all the same.  If you try to boycott a company, by purchasing different products you may just be purchasing the same ones. 

[daphnesmi]

[daphnesmi]

everywhere you go or look: the magazines, the dolls, the tv shows.  Everything is pressuring you to “buy things, where makeup, buy brands.”  All the advertising wants to change everyone into a ‘perfect’ image.  No one is perfect and you shouldn’t be judged by any way because everyone is different.  I hope everyone could stop following societies dreams and start following their own.  In the long run you are the one that will benefit.

[daphnesmi]

Do not let the products you buy define you.  

[daphnesmi]

In my class I am doing a novel study on a book called “Lunch with Lenin”.  For this post, i will be making connections between the Global Issues Novel Study issue in my novel, and my consumerism/economic systems study. Since my book takes place in 10 different settings, I am only going to focus on my favourite, "Pretty Flowers".  It takes place in Afghanistan and is based on a family who couldn't afford their basic needs, so they resorted to growing/selling opium for a living.  In comparison to 1st world countries like Canada the difference between them is devastating.      In a recent news article by mail online news "Afghanistan is the world's third most unstable country!"  Afghanistan has remained one of the most impoverished nations in Southwest Asia and most people must do drastic things like the family in the story to get their basic needs.www.ruralpovertyportal.org states that "Children aged five or under are the most vulnerable segment of Afghan society. As many as 50 per cent of them suffer from chronic malnutrition."  Meanwhile here in Canada our quality of life is so well that we are adjusted to buying many things we want and barely use, but do not need. People in Afghanistan 's identities as a consumer are very different from ours. They have a very low economy and it is almost impossible to find a job there.  When people cannot find jobs they than adjust their priorities and do not worry about their safety.  This is why people, like in "Pretty Flowers" end up selling opium and losing their family.  

[daphnesmi]

In humanities we talked about economic systems other than mixed, planned and market.  One of the economic systems we discussed was collaborative consumption.  We then looked into an example of collaborative consumption called swapcity: http://www.swapsity.ca/posts/view/collaborative_consumption_in_toronto_creates_100000_in_swapper_savings . Where people bring in their old stuff and trade it for things they may need.  In our class we created our own swapcity! I brought in a dozen Christmas cookies and I wasn’t expecting to see anything I would like to trade them for. Although once it started I already saw something I thought was cool!  Lada had brought in a bag of temporary tattoos.  I traded 6 cookies for half of her tattoos.  Later I realized that perhaps she had gotten more out of that trade.  As the activity progressed Maren saw my cookies and really wanted to trade with me.  She was offering lessons on how to make paper cranes and a dream journal.  Since I already know how to make paper cranes I took a look at the journal.  I was surprised to find that it was brand new with no marks!  It was also really cool because it can tell you what your dreams mean.  I had no more cookies left so I thought the trade would be over but then I realized I could trade some of the tattoos that Lada and I had swapped.  Heather was offering me 10 sachets of candy for 2 tattoos!  She had forgotten to bring them in so it was coupon.  (although she brought them in the next day.)  I saw Danica next and she had these amazing homemade jewelry.  I traded her a few tattoos for a shell necklace.  I only had 3 tattoos left so I just traded Maggie two of my tattoos for an elephant keychain.   I definitely feel that I have gained through this swap because It took me an hour to make those cookies and in exchange I got things that I can use everyday.   Throughout this exchange the items I traded were dependent on if they were worth the same or more that what I was trading.  In this type of economy I felt that all my consumer choices were based on my values.  Throughout this exchange my biggest value were if the items I traded were worth the same or more that what I was trading.   Values vary from person to person, where you live and a lot of different aspects that go on through peoples lives.  

[daphnesmi]

After this debate Kristin and I continue to believe that USA's economic system is better because of the following reasons

Citizens with low income will have funded health care provided by taxes

In USA the total tax and non tax revenue for every level of government equals about 28.2% while in Canada it is 38.4%thats almost half of each canadians income 

People who can not meet their basic needs will be helped out by the government (funded by tax dollars)

If you are a healthy person (living in canada) and you rarely need the hospital you are still paying taxes and paying for other peoples hospital bills

Overall prices in the US are less than Canada

As we talked about in our debate, in canada you are paying other peoples hospital bills but in the USA if you cant pay for them you don’t have to, why not pay for your health care if you have the money instead of taking the taxpayers dollars. 

[daphnesmi]

When watching the movie, Pursuit of Happyness I felt immensely sad because Chris Gardner was an exceptional person, and yet he could not find his place in society.  Homelessness is a serious issue and it's happening to millions of capable people all over the world.  In one perspective perhaps it is because Chris did not make very good decisions as a consumer.  He put his all his eggs in one basket, when he purchased the bone density scanners.  He used money he didn't have and in turn he lost everything and almost everyone that were important.  When I purchase items, I always make sure I can return them if I have problems.  I also make sure that they are in my price range and will last a long time.

As i watched this movie it reminded me of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs,  Since Chris did not have his basic needs (food,water,sleep,shelter) He did not worry about his safety needs.  He would constantly put himself in danger.  For example he would always dodge in front of cars or run across the street.  Chris would stop drinking water at work so he could get more calls in.  Also Chris could not reach self actualization because he did not have his basic needs or safety needs.  After he finally got his basic needs he seemed to finish his pursuit of happyness because at last he could reach self actualization and be happy. 

I feel that the theme of this movie was "why are we not happy".  I noticed this many times in the movie, for example at the daycare that Chris took his son they spelt happiness with a y.  Another example was when Chris passed the stockbroker building and asked himself why he couldn't be as happy as they all seemed.  

[daphnesmi]

Aritzia advertisement ^

Aritzia is one of my favorite stores because of  the super trendy styles and excellent quality.  It made me wonder could their be anything behind this seemingly “perfect store”? Here’s what I found!

When I first looked through Aritzia’s feed and website everything seemed to be fine.  All their clothes are made in Toronto, Canada and they audit all there garment factories for any human trafficking and slavery risks.  They monitor all the factories with third-party firms and there SER Manager will accompany them on inspections.  On Aritzia’s website they said ”Our focus on progress is ongoing and we will continue to work together closely with our partners on developing sustainable standards to improve working conditions. It’s important to us that we always feel good about where our products come from.”  Aritzia follows the vendor code of conduct http://aritzia.com/Vendor-Code-of-Conduct/vendor-code-of-conduct,default,pg.html

As for Aritzia’s environmental footprint they always try to reduce it by making a minimal impact on land air and water resources.  On their website they added some key points to keeping the environment clean.  

In our Support Office: We set all of our printers to double-sided mode to save paper; we have motion-sensor lights that turn off after inactivity to save energy; in our gourmet kitchen, we provide dishware and silverware instead of paper or Styrofoam cups to minimize waste.

For our employees: We use video-conferencing instead of flying overseas to provide vendor training whenever possible to decrease our carbon footprint; we implemented WMS, and 20+ software systems, which help us streamline processes, reduce paper filing and waste, as well as ensure that all our resources are delegated and optimised effectively.

For our customers: Our packaging is reusable and recyclable, and we also offer ground shipping, which has a much smaller environmental impact than air shipping. 

IT equipment: We regularly participate in secure data removal, which means that we donate/recycle our electronics to the Electronic Recycling Association (www.era.ca). For items that can be refurbished, ERA fixes them and donates to other organizations, schools and companies. 

There were no articles on Aritzia having any hazards to the environment.  

The last factor that i deem important was if they tried to change anyone.  I looked up articles on Aritzia and the major complaint was that the workers are rude and snobby.  I was about to give up until I found an article that showed a tag Aritzia had put on some of their summer outfits.  The tag said “dumb is never cute”The slogan was for the brand, Talula and the words were printed on a ribbon attached to a piece of paper with pictures of hands using sign language.  Corrine Kepper, director of public relations at Aritzia said:”Our intention was to celebrate smart girls and girls who are proud to be smart.”  She said it was a total mistake, admitted they were wrong, and destroyed all tags before they reached the stores.  This is the only dirt I could dig up on Aritzia and since they officially apologized and removed the tags I will continue to purchase their clothing because all their other good deeds cancel out this one fault.

http://www.torontosun.com/2013/05/22/aritzia-tags-offend-disability-groups

http://aritzia.com