What is Ethical Consumerism?

 

“The Earth is not dying, it is being killed, and those who are killing it have names and addresses” - Utah Phillips

My eight year old son Jordan, is very very angry. Last Saturday morning he found out that the company who make IAMS food for dogs and cats, actually deliberately kill dogs and cats while developing the stuff and he had been hoodwinked by TV advertising into believing that they were the best thing you could feed your pet. He doesn’t understand the logic of why food which is supposed to be good for animals, has to be tested at all, never mind against the very animals it is supposed to help and was so outraged that he picked up the telephone and demanded, through tears and clenched teeth that we speak directly to those responsible and tell them to THINK about what they are doing!

Later that day, my neighbours skipped town and left their daughter, also age eight, in my care. Vivienne also wants to save the world, the rainforest and animals. She has even started a “save the environment and animals” awareness campaign at school and wants to be a vet when she grows up. Jordan had gone out for the day with his grandma, so Vivienne and I decided to bake some muffins together. We needed to buy eggs but at the local Co-op, the only carton left was clearly labelled (at least it was labelled!) “eggs from caged hens”. Oh dear. Vivienne and I discussed the pro’s and con’s of using eggs from caged hens and the different levels of chicken rights and freedoms, but in the end, her overwhelming desire to bake cakes caused her to forget about her "save the animals campaign" and she said, “lets just use the eggs and not think about the cages – and don’t tell Jordan”… I suggested to her that we would just have to find another recipe which didn’t use eggs, so we purchased some fair trade chocolate and made a chocolate-fridge cake instead.

This conversation between Vivienne and I clarified to me, the problems with consumerism.

There are many people who want to do the right thing, who don’t agree with raping the environment, excessive capitalism, corporate greed, or animal testing, but in too many cases, their wants and desires usually outweigh their needs, and their excuse is that certain things they buy are a “necessary evil”. When push comes to shove, if it’s there, why not take it? If you don’t someone else will, one little box of eggs isn’t going to change the world… is it?

Ethical consumerism is about following through the principles that everybody likes to think they have. We are all able to buy products and services which don’t exploit or pollute. That one box of eggs may still be on the shelf by its sell by date, and the people responsible for caging the hens may notice their sales figures go down slowly and then they may realise that people just don’t want to buy food which has been produced from animal suffering. This may cause changes to be implemented, resulting in a more sound product from happier hens.

I was recently asked to make a list of ethical and non-ethical brands for this website - who makes what? For instance, Proctor and Gamble, who test just about everything on animals, make toothpaste, toilet cleaner and deodorant, but did you know that they also make Pringles, Sunny Delight and the aforementioned IAMS? Nestle, who break international laws by marketing artificial baby milk in developing countries, allegedly causing the death of countless infants, make all manner of food including chocolate, pasta, and breakfast cereal. But they also own a significant stake in Loreal, Helena Rubenstein, and Lancome. Then there are the supermarkets. Do you shop at Sainsbury’s or Tesco? According to Corporate Watch, Sainsbury’s support animal testing and GM food experiments while some activists accuse Tesco of indirectly funding the George Bush administration through their partnership with petrol giant Exxon! Where do you buy your clothes? Gap are boycotted for clear-cutting ancient forests, while Nike and other sports labels exploit workers in the third world. The list is endless, and I’m sure that if we investigated everything enough, we may well end up living naked and penniless in cold dark caves (which would be great for preventing wrinkles and therefore avoiding Estee Lauder!).

The question is: How on earth do we shop ethically and where do we draw the line?

We all live within the boundaries of our own ethics, whatever they may be, and becoming an ethical consumer is a gradual process. It is also different for everyone and whilst the accepted definition of ethical purchasing is: “buying things that are made ethically by companies that act ethically”, the concept of “ethical” is a subjective term, both for companies and consumers. However, in its truest form it means “without harm to or exploitation of humans, animals or the environment”. In practical every day life this could mean that it is ethical both to choose a meat free lifestyle or to only eat locally produced organic meat, or to buy your petrol from BP instead of Esso, etc. Finding your own ethical limits is the first step. Sticking to them is the difficult part

I don’t believe we should spend excessive amounts of time compiling lists of who makes what, and therefore what to avoid. I use the same concept as I did when I first became vegetarian – look at all the things you CAN have instead of the few things you can’t have. Look elsewhere. What are the alternatives? Who are the companies who pride themselves on their quality and their ethics? The Body Shop is an obvious choice for toiletries and cosmetics, but they are not the only ones and there are smaller companies who often make goods of a much higher quality and for not much more money than anything you can purchase from a supermarket shelf or a high street store. Organic Box Schemes and health food shops are one way of shopping for groceries – many box schemes include meat, veg, eggs, bread etc, and although they may at first glance look more expensive, consider how many things you buy at the supermarket that you don’t need when “double bonus points” or “buy one get one free” offers make certain goods irresistible. Ethical shopping can actually save money and finding ethical products can turn into quite a fun challenge, made even easier by the internet, with many goods and services being available directly from the manufacturer. You will soon find just as much choice – if not more – than before.

Of course, to start with and for quick reference, it is helpful to have lists of “corporate criminals” and these, along with other information, are published by a number of organisations, most of whom have websites. The information is in the form of books, magazines and leaflets that raise money for worthwhile campaigns. It is worth supporting these organisations, some of which are listed on the General Links page and the links pages attached to specific areas (food, transport, fuel, and so on).

So, going back to the story I started with: Jordan and I sent an e-postcard from the Uncaged website, to Proctor and Gamble about the IAMS outrage. I learned a valuable lesson which enabled me to write this article. And Vivienne, much to my utter amazement and surprise, said that she had a “wonderful” weekend, and is weaning her cat off the IAMS.

Check our General Links page for more information.