The Den of Artemis

I have been reading a book with my daughter on slavery. It was one she brought home for her home reading program and it has got me thinking a lot about the products we buy and the chain of responsibility, not only for the people on this planet, but for the environment as well.  How does slavery relate you might ask?  Well, for one, it brings up uncomfortable questions about who exactly is making the clothes and electronics that I buy, it brings up questions about fair trade, environmental practices of that megamart down the road and it brings up questions about whether ignorance is enough of an excuse to passively fund child labor, destructive environmental practices and harmful products. 

It is easy to convince ourselves that one person cannot make a difference, that the individual is helpless against the vast power and wealth of the corporation.   It is easy within the drunken gluttony of consuming affordable and easy to get products, to forget about the hidden costs we aren't made immediately aware of, that lurk beneath the surface of phrases such as "made in China".  And this is what most corportations would want us to believe, that we are faceless and unheard, that there is an infinite supply of consumers just ready to buy whatever it is that you don't want.  That is what they would have you believe, but it is simply not true. 

The simple fact is, that we have enormous power. It is the corporation that rules these days, with the ability to buy compliance from governments and to skirt the equality laws of their native land by simply outsourcing all the labor.  It is the corporation that tells us what we need, and where we can get it.  But what it cannot do, is force us to buy their products.  And products are the key to their wealth.  Without a healthy consumer environment, the corporate domination is doomed to fail.  We are bombarded with messages that we can only be happy when we buy, and constant consumerism can only be achieved with cheap products (Brave New World anyone?), but what we are not told, is that this so-called happiness is bought at the price of our our own destruction, as citizens of the world, as animals living within an increasingly fragile eco-system.  If that beautiful new polyester shirt had on it a label that said an 8 year old girl in Indonesia was paid 50 cents a day to make it;  if it said "this will NEVER biodegrade" on it; if it said "this product was made from petroleum and it's creation was an intense process that contributed to air emission problems"; if it said "by wearing this product, you increase your chance of developing dermatitis", would you be so quick to buy it for $9.99?  Can we really count the value of something only by the amount of money it costs to buy it?  Or are there other costs that go beyond the ticket price, and bring up heart-renching moral issues that cannot be ignored for much longer?   Is there a value to buying from companies that adhere to strict environemental controls? Is there inherent value in buying products that did not contribute to the enslavement of children in developing countries?   Is there a price we can place on health?  There is a currency at work here that runs far deeper than the simple act of picking out a shiny new bauble and buying it. 

I believe that it is the consumer who now can change the course of the world.  With each product bought or not bought every single day, we are sending a message to corporations about what practices and ethics we will allow for.  Did you know that one of the gasoline companies based in North America helps to fund rebel forces in war torn countries simply because they want to exploit the land for oil without having to adhere to environmental controls?  Do you really want your money to fund that?  When you buy from that company, you are sending a message, a passive endorsement of their company ethics and practices.  We can no longer afford, as a society, to not care about where our products come from.  Only through our own vigilence, through our personal boycotts of companies that act in immoral and illegal ways, can we work towards a future of equality and health. 

We are told that it is a recession coming, and budgets are tight.  The allure of cheap and easy is difficult to pass up.  Still, it is through passivity that evil is allowed to continue in the world.  There are many environmental options when buying, and even if one cannot afford the eco products, there is always consignment and used.  It is all brought home to me by this book and the questions of a 9 year old girl on why slavery was allowed to happen.  Why indeed. 

~Written by Sora Nalani