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This is the story of taking accountability for my consumerist ways and getting honest about the ways I empower a system that disempowers and destroys so much - without consequence.
First, I have a lot of privilege in the actions I can take. I live in a fairly progressive area with access to options that not everyone has. And, I have the time and energy required to be less consumerist and to be more anti-corporate. So, with that, I have a greater responsibility. Michael Schur has this great perspective on this. he shares after a decade of philosophical research before writing his show "The Good Place" and book "How to be Perfect: the Answer to Every Moral Question." I'm paraphrasing, but essentially says that the further up the socioeconomic and privileged ladder you are, the more opportunity you have to live within your values and therefore a greater responsibility to take responsible action. If you are interested, I encourage you to listen to an interview with Schur on this topic here.
Why I Care
For me, I've been working in therapy on aligning my life with my values. This was the latest alignment. I had to really evaluate the values of the companies I was investing in with mine; after all, I was investing my money and, therefore, sharing my power with them.
Money is literally the currency of power in a capitalist system, who you give it to is who you are choosing to empower. By extension, you are empowering who they empower, you are disempowering who they disempower, you are harming who they harm, you helping who they help, and you are fueling how they operate in this world. We like to minimize and remove ourselves from accountability here, or at least, I did. But, we're accountable.
I, as a consumer, certainly took shortcuts of convenience. I bought from large corporations that donated to SuperPACs against my self-interest, that didn’t pay fair wages or have fair labor practices, and even had unsustainable, cruel and inhumane business practices. There are companies, we regularly purchase from, that have been linked to and responsible for child labor and even forced labor, as a direct result of human trafficking. And, while people extorted and trapped in these situations have growing minimal recourse in US courts, these practices still exist and have existed for as long as I've been alive. These companies also knowingly include toxic chemicals in their products. While they have been forced to remove many of those neurodegenerative, hormone-disrupting, carcinogenic chemicals in European versions products where greater regulations exist, they continue to stock the toxic ones on U.S. and other countries' shelves. In the EU, they have banned nearly 1300 chemicals in cosmetic products, like the formaldehyde found in US hair products and nail polish, while the US has only curbed the use of 11. Similar disparities in the regulations of food exist between the US and EU.
There are literally countless reasons to divest from these organizations. The protections that exist seem to increasingly protect the corporations, not the workers or consumers.
How I Shifted My Purchasing Power
I decided to be as conscious as possible of who and what I was giving my money to. This led me to purchasing as much as I can from individual creators and contributors in the community - and online.
This model is my hope for the future: a creator-centric system. It centers individuals and communities of artists, allowing people to work with and purchase directly from them. It allows for bartering, self-sustainability, and individual sovereignty. It's how I see this form of late-stage capitalism ending, not by burning, but by suffocation (removal of what it needs to live: money).
And, it's nothing new... especially in the Americas. It's a form of indigenous-led practices. They had and have creator based communities and inter-tribal sharing across this land. So, when people say capitalism is the best of the evils between socialism and communism, they discount the ancient wisdom and solutions right in front of our face. Come on, humans are far more ingenious and clever than to hold ourselves to a handful of options. Not to mention, it's an incredibly colonized mindset that has benefited an oligarchical power-structure in this country for far too long.
By shifting our purchasing power towards individuals (especially in our communities) and to communities themselves, we redistribute the power between people. We realign our values with our lives. And, we reclaim some very important things we've lost (and that looks different for every person and ever community). There are tradeoffs. We get more patient with the time it takes to receive things, there's no mass production and same-day shipping in this world; and, in general, we require less to live, we get creative with what we have, and we repurpose what we can. There are nuances, but all problems deserve creative solutions. And, humans are entirely more creative than we like to give ourselves credit for. But, that conversation is for another day...
Farmer's Markets
Eighty-five percent of my food now comes from farmer’s markets, and much of my home care comes from local markets. Not only has this been cheaper, but I’m purchasing direct from farmers who often get screwed in sharing profits with corporate stores. It’s also healthier. When you start to really look into the ownership of brands, you realize the market has consolidated to just a few companies, and their practices are careless at best and harmful at worst.
Local Grocery Stores
For the things I can't access to at the farmer’s market, I purchase as much as I can from a local store. All of their produce is USDA organic and they don’t carry any products with artificial sweeteners/colors/preservatives, or harmful oils or syrups. They prioritize diversity and fair labor practices, as well as consumer-minded pricing to make local produce affordable for the community.
Even more helpful, they have an entire section dedicated to reusable and plastic-free home products. In general, they try to be plastic-free as much as possible. Their fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts, flours, spices and snacks are available in bulk using biodegradable bags for collection and travel home. Much of their pre-made meals and baked goods come in cardboard containers. And, they offer eco-conscious alternatives for self-care and home staples.
Reusable Products
As a consumer, my life was filled with single-use products, especially plastic ones. This one was a tougher one to recognize and then reconcile. This has been a slower transition, but I’ve started with: 1. what I purchase most frequently that has a reusable alternative and 2. what products have biodegradable or reusable packaging, avoiding plastic as much as possible.
Some of the swaps I’ve made…
Say Goodbye to my Keurig and K-cups. The ease of putting in a plastic pod and having a decent cup of coffee spit out quickly won me over. But, I can’t ignore the cost of those cups on the environment, both to produce and to dispose of. Now, I have my own makeshift system for pour-over coffee using a tea strainer, cheese cloth, and a tea pot.
Swap single-use paper or cotton products for cloths. My napkins became cloth pretty quickly, and I swapped all paper towels and cleaning wipes for washcloths and towels. As someone with two cats in 650 square feet, I was using a lot of Swiffer wet and dry cloths. These were swapped for a dozen pack of microfiber towels. They work great for hair and dust, and when soaked in cleaner, they work like a wonder for mopping. My cotton pads that I use for cleaning my face, swapped for makeup remover cloths that can be washed and reused regularly.
Make my own cleaning products. I've learned how to make surface cleaner, floor cleaner, dishwasher detergent, dish soap, hand soap, laundry detergent, fruit and vegetable wash, insect repellent, etc. These items are so much easier to create than we think and in crafting them ourselves, we can be more conscious about the ingredients we include in them. A little Castile soap, essential oils, distilled white vinegar, and citrus rinds can go a long way.
Create a more sustainable self-care routine. I switched to bar soaps as many places as possible, and while I’m still working on this one, ditching my razor for sugar waxing is the goal. I no longer use aerosol cans for dry shampoo, but switched to powders instead. I also repurpose my old coffee grounds for body scrubs. As soon as this last tube of toothpaste is finished, I'm going to work on creating my own.
Warm my candles on a burner, rather than burn them. This one was surprising and accidentally realized, but the wax lasts longer simmering on a burner than burning by wick. My candles have tripled and even quadrupled their life with this method. Speaking of which, a rechargeable lighter - that doesn’t use gas or isn’t single-use plastic or require as much wood as matches - has been a helpful accessory around the house.
Buy less. Overall, the clothes and shoes I have are good for now. Anything new, I look to what can be purchased from a thrift or recycled shops. Overall, I don't buy as many things... my routine and life is supported by what I have and I look to get creative when I need to incorporate something new. For example, In the past, I would have bought a computer stand for my counter; now, I stack some trays and books and it works just fine. It's getting comfortable with less.
How I Give Back to the Environment
When it comes to giving back to Mother Earth directly, I pick up trash whenever and wherever I can. Again, I’m fortunate to be in a city with trash and recycling receptacles every few blocks. The coolest thing about this is when people see you and do the same. I decided, at some point, I was just going to have to get comfortable with cleaning up messes I didn’t make.
Lastly, I started using the TreeCard app. For every 10,000 steps I take, I can plant a tree (up to three per week). I can also earn rewards to purchase sustainable products or donate my points to removing plastic from the ocean (my preferred choice living so close to the water). So far, my steps have planted 24 trees in Kenya, which will remove 24 tons of carbon emissions throughout their lifetimes. The app also has a section to purchase refurbished tech or sell your old technology. As someone who use to get every other new iPhone, this is an area I’ve been a lot more conscious of after seeing the amount of electronics in the landfill.
It's A Constant Work in Progress
I’m still working on creating new opportunities to do better with conscious spending and investments in products and people. I realize I have more power to "do my part" than I once thought.
Scientists are taking to the streets in protest of climate change and the disastrous effects of capitalism and consumerism. Just this week, several warned about humans’ inability to handle the impending heat waves.
Bill Nye recently said, “The latest computer models indicate that there will not be this catastrophic moment where the Gulf Stream stops or runs backwards or the North Atlantic freezes over. It’s just going to get worse and worse for everybody. You can only perspire so much. You can only let so much sweat evaporate off you. And, then, if it gets too hot, you’ll die. This is heat stroke and so on. We are headed to that for more and more people on Earth.”
He goes on to say that recycling our water bottles won’t cut it, we need big ideas, and we need to align with people who are aligned with our best interest. He mentions voting as critical way to do this, and I agree. I also would say:
Move as much money and power away from corporations as you can
Spend and use less, see where you can swap single-use products for reusable one
Be conscious about what you are putting in, on, and around your body - our health is necessary for everything, including our energy to make these lifestyle changes and to advocate and fight for ourselves, each other and the world
Help and invest in your community where you can
With increasing mortgage and rental rates, more people are being displaced from housing and into those harsh weather conditions. We have to face the ways we can help our communities. Extra water bottles and the travel products we’ll never use can make a difference to someone. Donations of gently-used clothes or items to local shelters versus large national chains, or better yet, given directly to individuals, can make a greater impact on communities.
Corporations certainly feel no sense of urgency to change their harmful and hurtful practices, and they will not, especially with us consumers making them so damn profitable. This is up to us.