there really is no ethical consumption under capitalism, but here’s the great news: we don’t solely exist as consumers.
‘no ethical consumption’ has more to do with the working/ownership class dichotomy and the inherently unethical manner under which goods are produced (work or starve) than the circumstances that individual goods (think fairtrade or cruelty free) are produced under.
i made a video where I broke down a lot of the common ‘conscious capitalist’ terms, but for a quick example: a ‘sustainable’ western clothing brand paying foreign workers $100/month to avoid paying western workers over 1k/month isn’t ethical because it relies upon the existence of capitalist imperialism for cheap labor, and in many cases, if the ‘sustainable’ business model had to cover health insurance, retirement, or even just minimum wage in a place like the U.S., it would completely fall apart. any company that requires cheap labor & resources from the global south in order to exist is by no means ethical.
as a consumer, you can certainly aim for harm reduction, but these actions will almost never be definitively ethical, which is completely fine, because under capitalism, we really only step into the role of consumer when we engage with the free market to buy things. you could argue that simply using social media, or watching netflix or whatever is consumption (and you’d be right!) but even so, most of us produce far more than we consume.
we produce not only at our jobs, but on our blogs, in our gardens, and in our homes and communities, for families, friends, neighbors, and strangers. we produce all types of art like music, film, and written works, not to mention the endless crafts and hobbies we dedicate ourselves to. just by engaging with one another, we’re constantly producing and reproducing our very culture itself! it’s in this realm, the realm of production rather than consumption, that we’re able to effect the most change.
now, many of us are going to have to live much, much differently than we do now, and using the ‘no ethical consumption under capitalism’ line to avoid acknowledging this is effectively climate change denialism. the beauty of the sustainability movement is that it provides actionable proof of concept, using the tools and circumstances we have right now. so yes, please do whatever you can to make more sustainable choices! thrift! adopt a plant based diet! question whether you actually need that new thing!
but remember that we aren’t only consumers, or even mostly consumers, so in order to build the world we want to see, we must each deeply understand how capitalism and other hegemonic forces work to undermine the way we relate to each other and our shared environment. to achieve this goal, and to effectively counteract capitalism’s destructive myopia, you can join a union, talk to your friends, start a community garden, join a mutual aid organization. if you can’t find one, start one.
we can’t consume our way out of this capitalist reality, but we certainly can produce a better world.
