What do you think is the worst "ethical" brand? Get Nebula using my link for 40% off: go.nebula.tv/occ Watch my bonus video ranking climate memes: nebula.tv/videos/occ-ranking-climate-memes
I don't know. Gonna agree with the person who said Tesla. But I think an ACTUAL ethical (not perfect) brand is King Arthur Baking. They're employee owned, so no separate group of private investors to please. Even though B Corp doesn't mean much, they are certified. Obviously they aren't perfect but I think they're better than, say, General Mills. edited for wording
wow. bashing capitalism, quoting marxism, ethical this ethical that, blame everything to capitalist, deem profit as evil, then out of nowhere then offering discount for a paid service that can only be made under capitalism. then sugarcoat the recommendation by saying "democratic solution". oh, the hyprocrisy.
What if I wanted to purchase something that I desired which wasn't necessary to my living like a video game console Are you saying that all of the luxury and non essential consumer goods that people desire , they should not have them
That question is set up to be a trap, a yes or no answer. If they choose yes or no, you just put words in their mouth. They’re not “saying that all of the luxury and non essential goods that people desire, they should not have them.” Try rephrasing as an open-ended answer. With that said, short answer: yes. Long answer: debatable. Example - I want nice things. I think I deserve them for living a life of poverty prior to my 30s. Should I get it? Depends on what standard of morality, ethics, social value, etc were talking about.
@@ChiagoziemEze-Johnpaul Software has a very minimal footprint. I was thinking of stuff like clothes that will at most be worn once when you try them on in the change room.
One concrete fact is that emissions and polution dipped of all years only in 2020, when the world grounded to a halt for a few moments and there was a massive recession. I think this tells all you need to know. Advocating for "consuming less" in a system in which the point *is consuming* feels like a complete and massive waste of time, doesn't it? Crazy how people come like this close to figuring out what the problem really is and still come out with the wrong conclusion.
@@Wild4lonI was in China before Covid and it felt insane - ordering meals for almost free every day through the apps , buying clothing that costs nothing. Everything was for free in China at the expense of migrant workers and it felt surreal . And boom, here we are, with Chinese companies like Shein and etc taking over.
Yes, I agree. Very strange video essay by OCC this time. As if those of us all born into capitalism can just choose to NOT buy anything and still survive? We can limit what we buy and repair, when we can, recycle and share. Which most of us do anyway. But we can't just stop paying for food, certain gadgets like phones and work-related items or clothing or housing. We can't tell Nestle to turn their global corporation into a worker co-op so we, the people, can make decisions on it and share revenue and reduce emissions. We can only build new systems, educate others to the need for such a movement and keep taking steps in that direction, with others, in our community, as much as we can. I'm losing patience with OCC and Second Thought. They already explained the problems, most of us watching know the problems, but now, more than ever we need REAL system change solutions. For that there are scarcely few platforms for change, except for One Small Town initiative, but there are other ways to get there. Supporting Worker Co-Operatives or creating one that can support community projects for self-reliance, something like the Mondragon corporations in Spain, or doing Library Socialism expansion of the Circular Economy, as pointed out by Andrewism and Srsly Wrong podcast can really help. And if you aren't tuned into Zeitgeist Movement by now, what are you waiting for? See "Addendum" and "Moving Forward" to get ready for the 4th film, "Requiem" as you can already see the trailer online. Kicking off with the incomparable, Martin Luther King Jr.
@@coolioso808 your reply confuses me. at no point in this video do I remember OCC saying the answer was to consume less on an individual level. The answer given was to reform the system through communal action so that it produces less. Like the last 1/4 of the video was "build community and socialize businesses" so that we control what is produced directly rather than "controlling" what is consumed. I'd say it sounds like you wrote this comment without watching the whole video a or even any of it tbh. I will agree that it does feel like a lot of the time channels like this spend a fair amount of time explaining that there is a problem rather than giving concrete ways to fix it. Except they did give the answers, its just not simple. There is no easy outline to fixing this problem because there almost never is. They gave the answers that can be given and there are many other videos that explain those methods in depth. I do agree that more effort could have been given to pointing people to more explanations about building community and social ownership but the nature of the systems we want to build is that they are not cookie cutter and vary depending on where you are, what your community needs, and how radical the community is. But I agree with your recommendations, though I'd suggest avoiding Second Thought. That guy thinks the very act of defending yourself is authoritarian and doesnt seem to understand that top down control IS the problem and will always be the problem, doesn't matter if you get "the right guy" in power. authoritarianism is authoritarianism and will never lead to true societal liberation. This is coming form someone who used to watch his videos a lot
I knew consumerism was an issue when I went to one thrift store to find a coffee grinder- and found 3 in one second hand store, one of which was brand new. Such a niche item, so many in one place. There must be millions littering the planet.
Is the coffee grinder really niche though ? It used to be pretty commonplace, there was one in every home in the 50s and 60s; so it could be that at least some of those you saw were bought initially for a good reason and useful in a previous life.
And then think about all the buildings full of steel, concrete, and glass that could all be recycled just sitting empty and rotting. Or about all the abandoned railroads and railway cars that could be recycled ...
I see ethical consumerism as not doing as much harm, as one otherwise would. There is no expectation, that it would change the system. It could have very small positive effects on the system, but that is not the main reason to do it. I will do less harm to others as long as I can while changing the system with other means.
Exactly, I'm not under the illusion that I am saving the world by using a reusable straw. Can't we all just try to do our best in a flawed system. I find it best when you care about one good thing and go deep into it than diving shallowly into all let's go green buy our products instead. Pick a thing that will make the world a lil better and concentrate on that. I just don't want the video to be the same old there's no ethical consumption under capitalism so therefore we should all just give up were doomed nothing to do we shouldn't even try.
very true. there are many versions of ethical consumerism that i know for sure are better than the alternative. Some require knowledge to distinguish between greenwashing and companies that make a real effort, but with others like second hand stores you really can't go wrong. No it's not going to change anything fundamentally but it's better than buying new.
@@SXJAYSX totally agree. The conclusion to opt for the most unethical option available e.g overconsuming fast fashion clothes is such a weird conclusion to the whole ‘there is no ethical consumption under capitalism’. If there’s even a slightly more ethical option, why not do it?
stuff isn't evil, it's stuff. the love of stuff is the issue. we all need things but do we need the new thing, bigger, more, different, somehow better thing? this is like focusing on cars so intensely you forgot where you needed to go. it's not about stuff. it's about beyond stuff.
Replace ethical consumerism with mindful consumerism. An ethical consumer would have to pour endless hours going on days researching whether one option is more ethical over the other. Take the case of natural vs synthetic, as I've discussed elsewhere in this comment section. There is no hard rule that one will be better than the other and it really is a case by case. Balance is key. One can consume less and consume ONLY those products that are necessary or that truly bring joy. Be mindful of your consumption. It's better to consume less for several reasons. Before purchasing, step back and really think about it, sleep on it. Buy second-hand when possible and take care of what you do buy. Instead of buying something seek to repurpose something. Like turning to stained and worn-out clothing instead of buying cleaning cloths. Or cutting a bottle in half to use the top half as a funnel. Pack your own water bottle, shopping bags, eating utensils, napkins, Tupperware, etc. in your backpack, purse, car, etc. so that you’ll have them available when you need them. Be sure to take them out in time. Tell everyone you don’t want any gifts this Christmas. I've found it more enjoyable, less stressful, and I have more money and less clutter as a result. Mindful consumerism is where it's at 🙂.
I find the whole ‘black friday, black weeks, black month’ and all the other ‘buy, buy, buy’-days to be absolutely disgusting and infuriating😡 And what really irks me is that my country (Denmark) seems to adopt every insane idea from the US. I simply refuse to buy anything new unless I absolutely NEED it. I am glad I found your channel. Thank you❤
This year I tracked the prices beginning in October to see if certain items were actually less on Amazon for Black Friday week and so far, nothing I tracked is less and some things are actually more. It seems like the only things "on sale" are the items that have been collecting dust in the warehouses and even those aren't good bargains...so yeah, the whole thing is a waste of time and money. I make as many things as possible for myself and home, so I'm not a typical American. I call it suburban homesteading and encourage others to try it as well. When you make your own clothes, you treat them with respect, for example.
I've always been sceptical/cynical about the "B corp" thing, but woah, they certified Nestlé and Danone (or their subsidiaries, anyway)? That's just beyond parody.
@@zip10031 Because they call evil good and good evil and no I'm not only referring to worship of God himself after all how much evil has been done in the name of both Christianity and other religions and secular reasons.
At one point in time, the Netherlands was a car-dependent hazard to anyone who didn't bow to fossil capital. But today, because of the work of visionaries, the approriate people in power and protestors the Netherlands became a haven for human life. I say this not to insinuate life will be perfect if we collectivize more in action, nor am I discrediting the work being done by those fighting for our future. The truth is this, don't give in or up and please join and support those that fight. Or perhaps build a platform that illustrates a bright world, where tomorrow isn't filled with the screams of machines and worker exploitation.
Honestly with how the public transportation costs keep going up more and more each year in the Netherlands, I am afraid it will go back to being a car-dependent hazard...
@momok488 Yes, it it true that the Netherlands is far from perfect. After all, it's still a capitalistic society (not to imply that socialism is perfect at the base of it). However, it's important to note that, just because life is comfortable doesn't mean the strive for a better life should't always be pressured by its people. And I apologize if my glowing example of the Netherlands came off as it being a utopia.
I drive a 2017 Hyundai, I use an iPhone 12, the majority of my clothing I’ve owned for decades. In a nutshell, my philosophy is that I won’t replace things until they break. I also work from home and hardly drive. Now tell Taylor Swift to quit jetting around everywhere
Yes I get your point but i think you're totally missing the point of the video, for us to truly fight climate change we have to fight against the capitalist mode of production, thats the root cause, if we do that taylor swift and her jets will barely be a problem
Same! I use the same clothes for around 15 years (still in good shape with timeless style) and my phone is 5 years old, still works well, no need to replace yet
Western obsession with fast fashion is ruining textile industry in indonesia. Imported used clothes from western countries, tons and tons of them flood our market and put so many local manufacturers out of business. I know it's not 100% west's fault, our corrupt officials allowing these clothes to pour in and pocketing the bribes
I'm in Europe. I'm really sorry, this happens to some African countries too. It's not right because we are essentially exporting what is garbage to us whilst it totally undercuts your local market. But we have that too: we used to make so many of our own things, my hometown in the Netherlands made lots of textiles into the 1970s, then in the decade after, cheaper textiles from Asia undercut our manufacturing and the industry disappeared, jobs were lost. Not everyone can be a manager or wants a desk job, but sadly there's not that much manufacturing left in Western Europe. We of course initially reaped the benefits of having access to much cheaper goods so even the relatively poor people could afford a lot. But we're seeing the downside too in lost manufacturing, lost jobs, loss of some of our culture, lower quality items due to a race to the bottom (that's our fault because we buy that stuff). I hope the world will do better in the next twenty years. Let's see.
There were a few east african countries that tried to ban or raise taxes on the import of used clothing; however, the US threatened them by saying they would remove them from a trade deal (AGOA) if they did bc they rely on dumping their used clothing overseas 🥲
The most ecological and ethical item you can use is the one you already have. Use what you have, reduce what you buy, reuse as much as you possibly can, recycling is the last resort. Lol whole foods? No. Any place owned by Amazon is automatically unethical.
It really frustrates me when people leave the conversation at “stop buying so many things” or “buying too many things is making you broke” with no anti-capitalist praxis. If your ethical consumption isn’t also anti-capitalist + anti-imperialism, it does little to achieve any real systemic change. Great video ❤️
How many biases and how much discrimination is rooted in capitalism and imperialism... yet everyone yaps on about all the effects, not the cause. I totally agree with your point of view and have not come across anyone yet mention anything you have! Kudos to you
@@handlehaggler What system do you propose to replace capitalism with then? Pointing out the downsides is cool and all, and we should strive to improve on that. What is your solution to it though?
Humanity destroys the only planet we can live on. It is not hard. One cars production releases about 20 ton of CO2 and over the life time of a car around 100 tons CO2.
I was once a car salesman and we were constantly "trained" to deploy "mind games" to make the customers "feel good" like they "WON" the game. In realty, THEY ALWAYS LOSE. ALWAYS. They always overpaid, paid for "extended" warranty, car alarms, extra services, "TIRE Insurance" etc. This is no different. And I hate to tell you this, this works best for people of color. I'm not trying to be racist at all. DON'T TAKE MY WORD for it, ask the people who are doing it.
@@xainabshuja4215because white people are all rich people from the same country and share the same culture and POC (i.e. not white people) are all victims forever.
OPs experience is anecdotal so there's no way to know if what they're saying is true without actual data. But as a POC, I'm gonna go out on a limb and offer a couple of explanations as to why OP's experience _could_ be true. #1 POC in the US tend to be in lower income brackets and thus more financially insecure. This results in wanting to get the best price so you can make your money go further. Companies take advantage of that with personalized "deals" that make it seem like the customer is somehow paying less. Also the cost to replace or fix a large purchase can be so unviable for financially insecure people that it may motivate them to buy unnecessary warranties and security features out of fear. #2 Some POC (I've especially observed this from older folks like my boomer father, aunts and uncles) are so used to being treated poorly by professionals (remember, they grew up in the civil rights era when certain folk weren't even allowed in certain stores and hospitals) that when they are treated kindly and respectfully, they tend to trust those people implicitly. Again, salespeople can take advantage of that to get them to spend more.
Ethical consumerism is buying Everything you can second hand. All of your clothes, furniture, as many of your electronics and appliances as you can, all of your vehicles, etc etc. And grow as much of your own food as you can if you have garden space or buy from those who grew it themselves instead of from the grocery store whenever you can. As for things that you can't get used, like shampoo, toilet paper and stuff like that, you just have to try to spend your money where you are getting the best deals and the company makes as little profit as possible because you bought the cheapest brands available.
I agree, but I take it even further...I use baking soda instead of shampoo, vinegar instead of hair rinse, Castile soap for everything else. I sew/crochet my own natural fiber clothes, make everything home decor related and repair/up cycle things whenever I can. I call it suburban homesteading, tho. lol
And why wouldn't you? I'd rather get a full wooden desk for a bag of coffee than spend 300€ on a piece of cardboard. The only winning move is not to play, therefore second hand buying.
Ethical consumerism isn't necessarily about spending as little as possible. It's about not financially supporting systems that are harmful as much as possible. So, for something like shampoo, it's not necessarily about getting the cheapest shampoo, but rather getting the most ethically made shampoo. Because the problem isn't that shampoo costs money, it's about the conditions the shampoo is made in, ingredients it's made with, and the corporations that get money from it.
Employment is literally renting another human being as if they're property. The employer-employee relationship is a very insidious dynamic. Employment is a rental contract, like if you rented capital (say, a chainsaw from Home Depot), you pay rent for the "time preference" (basically the cost of time) for a piece of property. Capitalism is based on a principle of self ownership, which sounds empowering, until you realize that most people don't own capital goods other than themselves, and must rent out the authority over themselves as pieces of "human capital". This is a process of dehumanization where human beings are valued for their return on investment as capital goods. This is why, at the very least, capitalism needs unions and safety nets (or abolishment), or else the system won't value people for their human value. Importantly we must also think about our sick, elderly, and disabled people, as they can't provide competitive economic return for the investor class to value. We must figure out a way to change this economic system if we wish to value each other.
it's not about renting you as if you're property - it's earning a reward for your contribution to society. If this reward is fair or not based on where the value really lies (whereas CEOs will earn disproportionally more) can be debated but I find your comparison quite shallow.
@@Doc_0K Quite shallow? He gave a quite comprehesive response, but if you think that simply the problem is that the rich "earn" alot more than the average and nothing else then you are extremely mistaken. This is a systemic problem that led to this problem in the first place due to capitalistic economic policies that priotise expanding the private sector and the wealth of the elite, no matter how many times you try to stop them, they will always try to get out on top since the system exists for them to benefit from. Imagine condemning people to death because they couldn't contribute to society because of a disability(through no fault of their own, espiecally if they were born with it or got in an accident), elderly(who have already contributed to society but are no longer able to due to decaying health), and the sick (Should they starve or be left on the streets because they didn't work themselves to death? Should we go back to medieval society where people died without medicine because they were not contributing when they were sick?)
@@agentsteve8263 no I definitely agree with you that the problem isn't simply the earning disparity. But to compare paid labour with rental of property is silly... that's all.
@@Doc_0K it's not silly just like natural resources human being are also a resource so renting product created from natural resource is same as renting a human labours in both you are exploiting and using resources on this planet.
@@Doc_0K have you ever done physical labor? No, you didn't, and if you'll try to say otherwise, you'll be lying, boy. It is just like that person said: people are being rented. Like objects. Their labor isn't rewarded because more labor doesn't make you a more valuable asset to yourself. And if they break, they go to the trash.
Sure, they also have more influence politically, so should we stop voting with the ballot too? EVERY SINGLE COLLECTIVE CHANGE in the entirety of history was made of individuals making choices and changes, none of which, on their own, would have actually caused change. We should use all the power we have, and that includes the wallet. Especially when you consider that even your "small" wallet likely has more voting power than entire families in the poorest nations.
Bro... they get that money from the people. This is pure democracy. People value stuff more than each other. So, of course, money ends up at those who are more potent in valuing stuff over people compared to their peers.
@@S.G.W.Verbeek I can only assume you're intentionally ignoring the fact that CEOs make money by stealing it from the worker. Profit can only be attained by not giving workers the full value of their labor.
I would say it sounds reasonable until you realize how big these corporations so there would have to be absolutely massive consumer backlash before they were impacted. Your vote is impractically small if they are that big and it becomes so hard to not give them these blobs Amazon, Google, Apple, Shell, Chevron, Toyota, Honda, Tesla, and on and on.
Timely reporting on the disappointing 'B Corp' label. My bubble burst when a few days ago I noticed that product carried both the B Corp label AND owned by *UNILEVER* one of the most destructive corporations on the planet. Cannot fathom that Nestle/Nespresso was awarded it too.
Great documentary! Thank you for your time and effords! I work in retail for years and l clearly see how businesses manipulate people to make them spend more. I would love to quit and do some better job, but not many options in my small town, plus l'm a migrant, English is not my native language.. People need to understand that when they are buying more than they need they are destroying themselves and the planet!
I was born in USSR in 1979. When l was a child adults used to say "oh, life is so much better in USA, working people can buy more consumer goods, superstores have products from all over the world, they don't need to wait for years to move into bigger apartment or to get a new car, they earn enough, they can go to Disneyland, spend holidays anywhere they like!". But no one in Soviet Union realised that life in the US doesn't look like a movie. It is simply not true! It is a struggle for the majority of population! Even in the 80th there was powerty, homelessness, drug trafficing and so on. In USSR l've never seen homeless people on streets, no one worried about hospital bill, cause we had free health care (no luxury, very basic, but free), we had free college education, garanteed parental leave for at least 1 year in the 70th and up to 3 years in the 80th, early retirement and etc. Yes, you had to work after college for several years in the place where they send you and only the best students (and communist party elite kids) could have a choise where to go. Yes, we produced more arms than cars and microwaves. We had many problems that could be fixed. Like an old engine that could work after sertain repairs. People thought they are poor, they wanted changes, but what they've got when USSR collapsed? A few got billions and became super rich, the rest are "enjoying" all the negative sides of capitalism...
I found your comment very interesting because I suspect the the Soviet USSR, was in it's way, the mirror image of American Capitalism. Both had their founding ideology or "dream" if you will, and both were more reliant on each other for survival than was realised. (to a degree, both held each other in check). Since the USSR collapsed, American capitalism and the capital classes have became unrestrained and disdainful of democratic accountability, similar to the lack of accountability in USSR. as there was no real force in the world to keep them in check. Deregulation followed and an oligarchy has emerged in America, similar to the oligarchy take over of Russia when the USSR fell. Capitalist power now threatens democracy and the very eco-systems mankind relies on, leading ironically, I suspect, to the collapse of American capitalism and the stability of the whole world.
Ethical consumerism is not giving money to the large corporations and instead buying from worker cooperatives or small business owners especially self employed people
Honestly, Black Friday wouldn't be as much of a big deal if everyone saved up their spending throughout the year and took it as a holiday. Right now, you can buy christmas stuff in October, which just means you end up buying more in anticipation for that holiday because you just keep seeing the season for longer. We took away waiting. Online shopping and the "now" culture makes us buy way more throughout the year and THEN even more on these holidays. Does that make sense? Yeah, sure, Black Friday is just corporations trying to get rid of junk at the end of the fiscal year so their numbers look better, but it is technically a holiday. Short version: Black Friday is a corporate get rid of junk holiday, but I think our societal problem lies in our constant consumerism throughout the entire year.
yeah. the only reason they have so much junk to get rid of is because they order and produce in excess, in anticipation of consumers demand and the whole "now" culture. black friday is just a symptom
My main disagreement with this video is: at the end of the day, consumption habits will HAVE to change. Ethical consumption can be done intelligently in a way that makes a real difference, for example, getting your protein from plant-based sources, using public transportation, and so on. It's not that ethical consumption doesn't work, it's that hardly anyone does it. The weird thesis of this essay is that too few people are doing ethical consumption for it to ever make a difference, but somehow there WILL be enough people to start a revolution and overthrow capitalism (which will result in reduced consumption anyway). What you are doing is engaging in a silly "them first" game that will prevent anything from happening. "We consumers should be able to buy whatever we feel like-it's the producers who need to be curbed!" While the producers are saying "We are just making what people demand; if we don't make it, someone else will!" So it's a stalemate, no one wants to be first mover. Everyone is pointing fingers instead of taking first steps. Who is to blame? "Everyone else except for me!"
Indeed! I would like to add that ethical consumption also makes your next consumption (or general behaviour) less anonymous, as we tend to talk about it with others, who will question us about our next buy, etc. This helps (a lot) in keeping yourself to your values.
It's a silly video that actually defends consumerist culture. It's obvious that our consumer choices can and do have an impact. Here in Sweden people are flying less due to the climate.
The problem is that you have the whole system against you if you try to be less harmful. Cutting corners is rewarded, and greenwashing is cheaper and might even look more impressive than actually improving things. And a lot is hidden in supply chains.
He's saying we should be doing both, ethical consumption and organizing ourselves to create a better situation. For example not every every place has public transportation so people might feel inclined to buy a car to work and survive. I'm not blaming them for purchasing a car and "surrendering to capitalism" because they need it but that person should also work on pushing local authorities to provide public transportation so that other people dont have the same need and therefore reducing the amount of cars bought/ reducing the use of cars.
And it's not like consuming more ethically somehow robs you of your ability to vote, or to march or to organize. Outside of extreme cases like off grid, zero waste, cottage core minimalism, most more ethical consumption can happen "in the background". How hard is it to choose the vegetarian or vegan option in a restaurant?
Just a reminder that those "reusable" bags are not recyclable (unlike the plastic bags they replaced) so when they inevitably break, they go straight to the dump. Canadians have created an actual waste product in our attempt to eliminate a non-issue
I just sewed up tears in three of my reusable bags last night. I get several hundred uses out of each bag. I'll never go back to those flimsy downcyclable ones that still, ultimately end up at the dump.
I found it ironic that as I was watching the video, it was constantly being interrupted by Black Friday ads. (I'm watching this the week before Thanksgiving in the U.S.)
Just think about this... If corporations expect that 50 to 70% of their sales volume, for certain items, will only come during the winter season... That means that more than half of the time, throughout the rest of the year, they're producing twice as much as they need to, so they can store it away for black friday. Meaning that this can't be a surplus issue because they're overproducing on purpose.
They are using money that could be being paid to the employees to overproduce, store it away, and then use it to make excess profits that aren't related to employee growth because it's already been stolen from them.
Yep. Especially these days. From brands to help people quit smoking, to now data broker removal services due to data gathering being largely unregulated.
Madness . Give it a week they start regretting why they bought those items in the first place and then start throwing it out or sell it on eBay. Its like they have this black hole inside of them they constantly need to fill with material things to feel " happy" its short lived
This misses one of the key most important points with respect to "ethical capitalism." Many people, most people, can't afford to purchase ethically even if they wanted to.
In the list of priorities for a society, the order of the priorities lower down on the list doesn't really matter, so long as the very top priority is profit. So long as the most important thing is profitability (as capitalism demands) none of the other priorities (worker's rights, environmental sustainability, etc) will never be more than thin veneers.
This video is essentially a defense of consumerist culture: "It doesn't matter what you buy! Boycotts are ineffective!" (ignoring the multitude of times when boycotts have been extremely effective - Apartheid South Africa etc.). The culture will have to change due to environmental breakdown and you do have the power to make better choices and change. All goods are not created equally. The slogan "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism" is not a free pass to buy whatever. Case in point: animal products vs plant products: ua-cam.com/video/LQRAfJyEsko/v-deo.html
It's a paradox that the retail industry keeps the economy afloat. We're good workers and consumers before we're human if we look at ourselves through the lens of capitalism If we were all to become suddenly enlightened, how many people in manufacturing, retail, transportation, etc., would lose their jobs? It's going to have to be a planned transition, and a total awakening of the populace with a desire for change.
I do feel that when people learn that making 'ethical' choices doesn't make any difference, they are more likely to give up and just buy what they want, because it doesn't matter, rather than re-focus their efforts into other ways to make a difference. I am curious how you feel about actual ethical businesses (such as Tony's Chocoloney, and small businesses that don't make much profit, or reinvest it into society), rather than the greenwashing businesses and those owned by large corporations you mention in this video. When I learned the B Corp certified Nestle it lost all credibility. But it's difficult to find an actual certification that works. Obviously the most ethical choice is not to buy (or at least buy secondhand), but certain things have to be bought (such as food - which is almost impossible to get ethically unless you are able to buy directly from farmers). I do think labels like 'Fairtrade' are often another form of greenwashing once you realise what it actually means.
I work in coffee industry and there are many certifications like fair trade, direct trade, RFA, etc... but from what I've seen and heard, these certifications cannot be trusted at all. Often, it's just another way for rich people to take more money out of your pocket. The worst I've seen is in the chocolate industry: children working in dangerous conditions being treated like slaves and the cocoa they harvest is brought to a warehouse with a "fair trade" certification and exported for mass production by major corporations. The only way to find out is to travel to the farm, inspect working conditions of the farmers, taste test, etc.. but that is not practical for most consumers and again, cannot be trusted because owners of the farm show only the curated version of their operations. Like you said, the only way to know for sure you are ethically sourcing something is to grow it yourself. I think it's this way for every product we consume.
Companies don't wanna pay people properly, and continue to raise prices. In 2025, let's all put our money where our mouth is, and tell these companies "Nah. I don't feel like buying." I'd also shop local if you can. Local stores need the support more than places like Walmart or Amazon.
I see a major distinction now between zero waste stores and traditional health food stores. If a store isn't actively pursuing zero waste in its produce/grocery, then I don't think it can truly be said to be committed to sustainable practices. I'm deeply grateful for the zero waste grocery options in my community.
I think its important to reiterate to buy and support local farmers and makers. If you need something, check to see if you can buy it used or second hand before buying new.
Another element to "ethical consumerism" is that companies will always want to capture new consumers and broaden their reach in the market. In other words, "ethical consumption" means more overconsumption. This is not a broken system. It's not, and it works just as intended.
Anyone know the name of the song at the end of the video, starting at the "17:32 - Striving For Better?" section? I can't get Shazam to pick up on it.. : )
Just buy what you really need not just want. Use as longer as you can. Repair, reuse, repurpose. Simplify, do not shop just because it is on sale, for so called " special days" which only serves companies. Learn hands on skills and try to make it things for yourself. Do not follow any type of trends because any trend that requires you to spend money is still encourage you to consume.
Do you have a video or a recommendation of someone who does looking at buying second hand and its impact of the environment and/or capitalism? I like to shop from thredup, thriftbooks, and my local childrens second hand shops, but does that actually make a positive difference?
Id be really interested to know what people think of material consumption from current day worker co-ops. If the 5 people who staff and co-own say a plant nursery run that nursery profitably, is that extractive/exploitative of the consumer and/or does it delay a broader movement to a better model for the whole economy?
If the message is “buy the right stuff” then in a short amount of time nearly all the brands will present and position themselves as doing the right thing and everyone is back at square 1
Consumerism is not only a problem in just small things. It's also a big problem with bigger things, such as cars. There are a lot of older, but reliable cars, but over the years, newer vehicles not only are too many, but also expensive and unreliable.
Don't buy it unless you actually need it. Coke in a recyclable bottle is not a need. Just don't buy manufactured drinks. Buy stuff with the smallest annualised embodied impact - the trousers that cost (your wallet and/or the biosphere) 20% more but last twice a long are actually a better deal, but then you do need to keep wearing them until they wear out before buying the next pair, to live up to that deal. When you can get what you need from an individual person or a co-op, do that. When you can get what you need from a small business where the owner is actually doing work alongside their employees, do that. Only give money to big corporations when you have no other way to get the thing you need. "Investing" in the share market is at least as unethical and exploitative as being a landlord. A landlord's tenants know they're being exploited, and know who's exploiting them. An employee of a megacorp doesn't even know how much value they are creating, to calculate how much their employer is stealing from them. Only revolution will actually change anything, but changing your own lifestyle can reduce how much you personally are making things worse.
Ethical and Corporation are mutually exclusive terms. Shareholder owned capitalistic corporations will never be ethical. Ethical consumption is buying local and organic.
I haven’t bought anything knew for a while month, except for food….. I try SO HARDhard to and I can’t tell if it’s making any difference. I buy off brands and would like to find more less plastic but this doesn’t exist in all cities. This is difficult. I shop at 2nd hand stores only and I feel so much guilt during the Xmas holidays bc I’m forced to buy stuff and I don’t want to anymore
9:20 'imperial periphery' made this sentence feel like a jargon mess and obscured the meaning of hyper-exploitation. We are so desensitzed to that word and i hate that
From a visual persons perspective: The vignette throughout the video makes everything appear more grim. The topics themselves and your voice over does enough of that already. I think it would make your videos more accessible for people who are not yet aware of these topics or feel that climate activism want to take away their way of living. Hope that helps, keep going! 💪
People keep forgetting we need to have jobs and businesses to survive .That is modern Economics .there is no wiggle-room for a lost job or life altering illness .In the Past it was Land that mattered . Farming was a normal part of every rich or poor mans survival . As Joni Mitchell said "..We got to get back to the garden " The Amish really do know what is going to sustain them .They teach it to every child , for their own survival .They live close to the land , weather farming for family only , or for sale or barter . Everyone should learn from independent farm culture . Living a self sustained life is economically sound as well as ecologically intelligent . Or at the very least we should encourage Home Horticulture , and Agriculture . Get a big fish tank and breed your own edible fish . Spin Yarn from Goats and Sheep Wool or other . Grow Bamboo , and sell it for building material. Have a Chicken Koop . Invest a little , get a lot for free . You can't shop your way out of this crisis , we need to think for our own survival Corporations won't tell you this ..
Yeah as someone who raised dairy goats growing up and grew up on what people would call a hobby farm, it's surprisingly difficult to make ventures such as those profitable, or just to break even. There's also a lot of regulation to make sure that you don't have broken off needles in your pork, or bovine TB in your milk, which is overall a good thing I think, but means that as a hobby farmer, legally selling your produce is very difficult. Anyway- there's a reason people get four year degrees in things like "animal nutrition" or "grassland management", or "agribusiness".
I feel punching up is appropriate but not punching down. Not that punching up is an effective solution in the context of consumerism, just something that is morally acceptable. And not that supporting small businesses or authors who don't make much money by paying for their product will solve things. Just that people trying to put food on the table shouldn't be punched down on and if you want their product and can afford it, you should pay for it, though they shouldn't be thought of as a charity. Although, there's a difference between supporting a friend and treating a business like it's a charity.
Please do not confuse ethical consumerism and veganism. Eliminating animal products is not the same as eliminating plastic bags and what not. Veganism is an ethical position that believes the avoidable exploitation of animals is unacceptable. It is a moral stance, not a “trying to do better”. We are not vegan because we think we “ought to reduce our meat consumption because methane”. We are vegan because taking the life of someone who does not want to die is immoral, regardless of economics or climate change.
Plants are sentient, too. They communicate with each other and produce chemicals to defend themselves against being eaten. The universe we live in is predicated on one thing consuming another in order to survive, so the morality of eating animals is this: be kind to them while they're alive and make the transition as painless as possible. Most plants are eaten alive and they do not want to give up their lives, either.
@BS-detector You are misguided for 2 obvious reasons. Please try to read my responses without the bias you have been conditioned to have your entire life. 1) this is the most obvious reason: IF everything you said is to be taken as is, you are literally making an argument FOR veganism. Let me explain. We have 80 billion land animals. 8 billion humans. According to the laws of thermodynamics and the biological concept known as “trophic levels”, by consuming animals who consume plants, we are putting ourselves 1 level higher on the trophic level scale, which is less efficient by a factor of about 10x. This is not vegan propaganda, this is facts and science. These animals eat PLANTS. Only about 10% of the plants animals eat are then converted into flesh in that animal.this means that about 10x as many plants need to die for every unit of animal flesh. So the easiest, fastest way to reduce plant deaths is to be vegan. Once again, this is according to the laws of thermodynamics, not vegan propaganda. 2) plants are not “sentient”. They do not mourn their children, have specific personality traits, or display other traits of sentience. They react to stimuli. However, following the precautionary principle, we do not KNOW this is the fact. However, we can at the very least say with confidence that plants feel LESS pain etc than animals. Just like an ant feels less pain than a pig. Killing an ant and killing a pig for no reason is wrong, but killing an ant is LESS wrong because it has significantly less sentience. Given the fact that we need to eat SOMETHING, the moral preference is the option that is LEAST sentient and causes the LEAST harm, which would be plants. This does not mean we should cut down trees and throw corn at walls for fun - they need to be used only as NEEDED.
I usually need the latest iPhone because it breaks so easy and it becomes obsolete so fast . So many up dates that the phones hardware can no longer update without clearing all you memory
the irony of making a video on what's wrong with capitalism, whilst charging people to view a video that "might" hold the answer on how to stop it, is not lost on me... you're not looking to solve this; you're looking to get your slice of the pie! if you were, you'd put that information out there, for all of us, for free!
I see ethical consumerism as a method of living for the future I want, by moving away my reliance on the capitalist system and towards community. The 'best' method of ethical consumerism is by consuming as little as possible
the EU has a certified level for ecological level. they go through many requirements, it looks at the whole value chain and they offer economical help for some of the products to be competitive against major producers. it works similar to fair trade which might be the best certification. you forgot to mention that one . i didnt know that B Corp went bad
This is such a good video. I’m going to really work harder at thrifting before buying new. Also on food consumption, if you look and find your local farmers, it’s very easy to eat mostly local and cut out that chain!
18:00 Hrmmm… I feel like the manufacturing based on use is what makes production under communism not fun. Or at least neglects human enjoyment that we get from acquiring something that is ✨created✨, I don’t think manufacturing under communism has to be explicitly utilitarian. Nor do I think this enjoyment comes greed. We can still buy trivial things under a socialist economy because the problem is not the object created itself but that under the capitalist system the craftsman is alienated from their labour.
Most of us are selling majority of our waking time working to have money for status brought by property and consumption - the same for workers in the factory in Cambodia to bankers in Luxembourg. That motivation is universal.
I bought a Patagonia coat yesterday. In part because it promises to have used no pfas. Obviously this doesn't solve the pfas problem. The coat was expensive. There should be regulation, so as an individual consumer, I don't have to think about this and everybody can afford a coat that doesn't contribute (at least in this way) to further polluting the earth. But still: it does make a difference to the supply chain that there are companies figuring this out. Which can speed up the implementation of regulation.
I disagree with your message. People should be transitioning how they spend money and what they spend it on.Buying eco friendly and reusable items is OK. Despite watching vids from here now and then, I never subscribed to this channel because it is way too preachy, and this video confirms my choice.
regarding nespresso and your comment they make these horrible plastic capsules. Its actually more environmentally friendly if its plastic and incinerated vs. regular coffeemashines where you throw the spent coffee in the trash. reason: capsules use way less coffee per cup. and the worst in coffee environmentally is the milk.
Well, depends. Composting your used coffee is great. Or use it directly on certain plants. We are composting with a worm system. And of course you can decide yourself how strong you like your coffee or how much you drink at once (I make filtered coffee by hand). With a French Press there’s NO actual trash to the process but also the recycled paper filters are compostable. Problem with pods: you always have to use new plastic to make them as recycled plastic doesn’t have the stability to be used on these things safely. My brother-in-law works in a enterprise testing recyclability of packages in Germany :)
While I agree in some aspects, I am amused by how much the author is fascinated by the idea of socialism. Not that it isn't, the ideas are noble, but rather impossible to implement due to imperfect human nature. Every historical attempt to implement this system ended with the creation of a state that was one large corporation. That is, one in which you have no choice and you are part of it without the possibility of any opposition, even if the decisions it makes are harmful to you. Most of these states were democratic in name only, in reality they were ruled by a few privileged people, inequality was much greater than in most modern capitalist countries. And I am not saying that the current capitalism is perfect and I even say that we have chosen one of its worse models, the so-called crony capitalism than actual free market capitalism.
The statement about human nature is bs, there’s zero scientific evidence that it’s true. Humans are not scripted like a code, we are mouldable and adaptive species, that can change to their needs under pretty much any circumstances. We, humans, are not inherently evil or greedy, and we are not inherently good and generous, it all depends on education and environment.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
What do you think is the worst "ethical" brand?
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Tesla. Claiming EVs are going to solve anything is like saying using green plastic bottles solves anything. Also Coca cola..
Nobody gets the irony of this post?
@@iarejslopes The same applies to most of the techno-fixes proposed to solve climate change (this includes solar panels and wind turbines by the way).
I don't know. Gonna agree with the person who said Tesla. But I think an ACTUAL ethical (not perfect) brand is King Arthur Baking. They're employee owned, so no separate group of private investors to please. Even though B Corp doesn't mean much, they are certified. Obviously they aren't perfect but I think they're better than, say, General Mills.
edited for wording
wow. bashing capitalism, quoting marxism, ethical this ethical that, blame everything to capitalist, deem profit as evil, then out of nowhere then offering discount for a paid service that can only be made under capitalism. then sugarcoat the recommendation by saying "democratic solution".
oh, the hyprocrisy.
The most ethical purchase you can make is to not buy it at all unless it is absolutely necessary.
What if I wanted to purchase something that I desired which wasn't necessary to my living like a video game console
Are you saying that all of the luxury and non essential consumer goods that people desire , they should not have them
That question is set up to be a trap, a yes or no answer. If they choose yes or no, you just put words in their mouth. They’re not “saying that all of the luxury and non essential goods that people desire, they should not have them.” Try rephrasing as an open-ended answer.
With that said, short answer: yes. Long answer: debatable. Example - I want nice things. I think I deserve them for living a life of poverty prior to my 30s. Should I get it? Depends on what standard of morality, ethics, social value, etc were talking about.
This is a luxury for the rich.
@@ChiagoziemEze-Johnpaul Software has a very minimal footprint. I was thinking of stuff like clothes that will at most be worn once when you try them on in the change room.
It will end up in the bin very soon.😂
One concrete fact is that emissions and polution dipped of all years only in 2020, when the world grounded to a halt for a few moments and there was a massive recession. I think this tells all you need to know.
Advocating for "consuming less" in a system in which the point *is consuming* feels like a complete and massive waste of time, doesn't it? Crazy how people come like this close to figuring out what the problem really is and still come out with the wrong conclusion.
COVID might have done the best ever thing for our planet I NGL
In a few decades I'm sure I'll be wishing we had round 2
@@Wild4lonand it triggered structural change that led to even worse consumption - taking just all that TikTok influenced online shopping
@@Wild4lonI was in China before Covid and it felt insane - ordering meals for almost free every day through the apps , buying clothing that costs nothing. Everything was for free in China at the expense of migrant workers and it felt surreal . And boom, here we are, with Chinese companies like Shein and etc taking over.
Yes, I agree. Very strange video essay by OCC this time. As if those of us all born into capitalism can just choose to NOT buy anything and still survive? We can limit what we buy and repair, when we can, recycle and share. Which most of us do anyway.
But we can't just stop paying for food, certain gadgets like phones and work-related items or clothing or housing. We can't tell Nestle to turn their global corporation into a worker co-op so we, the people, can make decisions on it and share revenue and reduce emissions.
We can only build new systems, educate others to the need for such a movement and keep taking steps in that direction, with others, in our community, as much as we can.
I'm losing patience with OCC and Second Thought. They already explained the problems, most of us watching know the problems, but now, more than ever we need REAL system change solutions.
For that there are scarcely few platforms for change, except for One Small Town initiative, but there are other ways to get there. Supporting Worker Co-Operatives or creating one that can support community projects for self-reliance, something like the Mondragon corporations in Spain, or doing Library Socialism expansion of the Circular Economy, as pointed out by Andrewism and Srsly Wrong podcast can really help. And if you aren't tuned into Zeitgeist Movement by now, what are you waiting for? See "Addendum" and "Moving Forward" to get ready for the 4th film, "Requiem" as you can already see the trailer online. Kicking off with the incomparable, Martin Luther King Jr.
@@coolioso808 your reply confuses me. at no point in this video do I remember OCC saying the answer was to consume less on an individual level. The answer given was to reform the system through communal action so that it produces less. Like the last 1/4 of the video was "build community and socialize businesses" so that we control what is produced directly rather than "controlling" what is consumed. I'd say it sounds like you wrote this comment without watching the whole video a or even any of it tbh. I will agree that it does feel like a lot of the time channels like this spend a fair amount of time explaining that there is a problem rather than giving concrete ways to fix it. Except they did give the answers, its just not simple. There is no easy outline to fixing this problem because there almost never is. They gave the answers that can be given and there are many other videos that explain those methods in depth. I do agree that more effort could have been given to pointing people to more explanations about building community and social ownership but the nature of the systems we want to build is that they are not cookie cutter and vary depending on where you are, what your community needs, and how radical the community is. But I agree with your recommendations, though I'd suggest avoiding Second Thought. That guy thinks the very act of defending yourself is authoritarian and doesnt seem to understand that top down control IS the problem and will always be the problem, doesn't matter if you get "the right guy" in power. authoritarianism is authoritarianism and will never lead to true societal liberation. This is coming form someone who used to watch his videos a lot
I knew consumerism was an issue when I went to one thrift store to find a coffee grinder- and found 3 in one second hand store, one of which was brand new. Such a niche item, so many in one place. There must be millions littering the planet.
Is the coffee grinder really niche though ? It used to be pretty commonplace, there was one in every home in the 50s and 60s; so it could be that at least some of those you saw were bought initially for a good reason and useful in a previous life.
And then think about all the buildings full of steel, concrete, and glass that could all be recycled just sitting empty and rotting. Or about all the abandoned railroads and railway cars that could be recycled ...
Coffee grinders are used for grinding drugs too
IKEA likes it when you sell used furniture. Then replace it with something new
I wonder if coffee grinders are particularly bad because every financial influencer bashes on buying coffees
I see ethical consumerism as not doing as much harm, as one otherwise would. There is no expectation, that it would change the system. It could have very small positive effects on the system, but that is not the main reason to do it. I will do less harm to others as long as I can while changing the system with other means.
Exactly, I'm not under the illusion that I am saving the world by using a reusable straw.
Can't we all just try to do our best in a flawed system. I find it best when you care about one good thing and go deep into it than diving shallowly into all let's go green buy our products instead.
Pick a thing that will make the world a lil better and concentrate on that.
I just don't want the video to be the same old there's no ethical consumption under capitalism so therefore we should all just give up were doomed nothing to do we shouldn't even try.
very true. there are many versions of ethical consumerism that i know for sure are better than the alternative. Some require knowledge to distinguish between greenwashing and companies that make a real effort, but with others like second hand stores you really can't go wrong. No it's not going to change anything fundamentally but it's better than buying new.
Exactly
@@SXJAYSX totally agree. The conclusion to opt for the most unethical option available e.g overconsuming fast fashion clothes is such a weird conclusion to the whole ‘there is no ethical consumption under capitalism’. If there’s even a slightly more ethical option, why not do it?
@@amethyst034its all marketing though. They just day ethically made on a paxkage and people buy it.
The best way to vote with your dollar is to select 'None of the above'
stuff isn't evil, it's stuff. the love of stuff is the issue. we all need things but do we need the new thing, bigger, more, different, somehow better thing? this is like focusing on cars so intensely you forgot where you needed to go. it's not about stuff. it's about beyond stuff.
Peoplelining or camping to buy to buy the newest phone is insane
Replace ethical consumerism with mindful consumerism. An ethical consumer would have to pour endless hours going on days researching whether one option is more ethical over the other. Take the case of natural vs synthetic, as I've discussed elsewhere in this comment section. There is no hard rule that one will be better than the other and it really is a case by case.
Balance is key. One can consume less and consume ONLY those products that are necessary or that truly bring joy.
Be mindful of your consumption. It's better to consume less for several reasons. Before purchasing, step back and really think about it, sleep on it. Buy second-hand when possible and take care of what you do buy. Instead of buying something seek to repurpose something. Like turning to stained and worn-out clothing instead of buying cleaning cloths. Or cutting a bottle in half to use the top half as a funnel.
Pack your own water bottle, shopping bags, eating utensils, napkins, Tupperware, etc. in your backpack, purse, car, etc. so that you’ll have them available when you need them. Be sure to take them out in time.
Tell everyone you don’t want any gifts this Christmas.
I've found it more enjoyable, less stressful, and I have more money and less clutter as a result.
Mindful consumerism is where it's at 🙂.
Good choice👍
I find the whole ‘black friday, black weeks, black month’ and all the other ‘buy, buy, buy’-days to be absolutely disgusting and infuriating😡 And what really irks me is that my country (Denmark) seems to adopt every insane idea from the US. I simply refuse to buy anything new unless I absolutely NEED it. I am glad I found your channel. Thank you❤
This year I tracked the prices beginning in October to see if certain items were actually less on Amazon for Black Friday week and so far, nothing I tracked is less and some things are actually more. It seems like the only things "on sale" are the items that have been collecting dust in the warehouses and even those aren't good bargains...so yeah, the whole thing is a waste of time and money. I make as many things as possible for myself and home, so I'm not a typical American. I call it suburban homesteading and encourage others to try it as well. When you make your own clothes, you treat them with respect, for example.
👏🏻❤️
We're the same, greetings from the Netherlands :(.
Australia, too... it's gross
I agree
I've always been sceptical/cynical about the "B corp" thing, but woah, they certified Nestlé and Danone (or their subsidiaries, anyway)? That's just beyond parody.
As much of a parody as Kissinger winning the Nobel peace prize.
Future Proof did a good video about it.
The lesser of two evils seems to be the theme for at least the last 12 years.
More like "You're either predator or you're prey" and it's been this way for millennia 😉
Ironically, the (religious) concept of evil no longer makes any sense in the godless/godforsaken modern world.
@@zip10031 Because they call evil good and good evil and no I'm not only referring to worship of God himself after all how much evil has been done in the name of both Christianity and other religions and secular reasons.
@@zip10031 Evil is still evil. no god required. But if you wanna throw god into the mix, yes he is evil.
Since Clinton basically. I called the dissent into fascism 20 years ago in the 04 cycle, for the 2020/2024 cycle.
At one point in time, the Netherlands was a car-dependent hazard to anyone who didn't bow to fossil capital. But today, because of the work of visionaries, the approriate people in power and protestors the Netherlands became a haven for human life. I say this not to insinuate life will be perfect if we collectivize more in action, nor am I discrediting the work being done by those fighting for our future. The truth is this, don't give in or up and please join and support those that fight. Or perhaps build a platform that illustrates a bright world, where tomorrow isn't filled with the screams of machines and worker exploitation.
Honestly with how the public transportation costs keep going up more and more each year in the Netherlands, I am afraid it will go back to being a car-dependent hazard...
@momok488 Yes, it it true that the Netherlands is far from perfect. After all, it's still a capitalistic society (not to imply that socialism is perfect at the base of it). However, it's important to note that, just because life is comfortable doesn't mean the strive for a better life should't always be pressured by its people. And I apologize if my glowing example of the Netherlands came off as it being a utopia.
I drive a 2017 Hyundai, I use an iPhone 12, the majority of my clothing I’ve owned for decades. In a nutshell, my philosophy is that I won’t replace things until they break. I also work from home and hardly drive. Now tell Taylor Swift to quit jetting around everywhere
Yes I get your point but i think you're totally missing the point of the video, for us to truly fight climate change we have to fight against the capitalist mode of production, thats the root cause, if we do that taylor swift and her jets will barely be a problem
Same! I use the same clothes for around 15 years (still in good shape with timeless style) and my phone is 5 years old, still works well, no need to replace yet
Tell all the Swifties they have to fly to wherever she is to see her play, because that will certainly be better for the planet
The problem is things are designed to break as fast as possible novadays.
I owned a lot of the same clothes until I lost a bunch of weight. Tried to get as much second hand clothes as possible. Except for underwear.
Western obsession with fast fashion is ruining textile industry in indonesia. Imported used clothes from western countries, tons and tons of them flood our market and put so many local manufacturers out of business. I know it's not 100% west's fault, our corrupt officials allowing these clothes to pour in and pocketing the bribes
I'm in Europe. I'm really sorry, this happens to some African countries too. It's not right because we are essentially exporting what is garbage to us whilst it totally undercuts your local market. But we have that too: we used to make so many of our own things, my hometown in the Netherlands made lots of textiles into the 1970s, then in the decade after, cheaper textiles from Asia undercut our manufacturing and the industry disappeared, jobs were lost. Not everyone can be a manager or wants a desk job, but sadly there's not that much manufacturing left in Western Europe. We of course initially reaped the benefits of having access to much cheaper goods so even the relatively poor people could afford a lot. But we're seeing the downside too in lost manufacturing, lost jobs, loss of some of our culture, lower quality items due to a race to the bottom (that's our fault because we buy that stuff). I hope the world will do better in the next twenty years. Let's see.
There were a few east african countries that tried to ban or raise taxes on the import of used clothing; however, the US threatened them by saying they would remove them from a trade deal (AGOA) if they did bc they rely on dumping their used clothing overseas 🥲
I’m American. When I visited Indonesia a few years ago, I was amazed at the number of American T-shirts for sale.
It is a mystery to me how anyone believes companies can be trusted to self-report
Got a best buy ad in the middle of this lol
🤣🤣
You just chose to watch ads, and then you chose to mention a brand name, thus advertising for them for free. Re-evaluate your life.
@@cleigh3796i believe that wasn't their motive...just saying
@@cleigh3796you do realize the poster of the video chose to keep ads active so they could make money off of a capitalist company?
Don't think, consuuuuume!
And then consume some more.
I mean there's no ethical consumption right? Let's gooooooo
The most ecological and ethical item you can use is the one you already have.
Use what you have, reduce what you buy, reuse as much as you possibly can, recycling is the last resort.
Lol whole foods? No. Any place owned by Amazon is automatically unethical.
It really frustrates me when people leave the conversation at “stop buying so many things” or “buying too many things is making you broke” with no anti-capitalist praxis. If your ethical consumption isn’t also anti-capitalist + anti-imperialism, it does little to achieve any real systemic change. Great video ❤️
As long as there's no "no ethical consumption under capitalism" nonsense.
How many biases and how much discrimination is rooted in capitalism and imperialism... yet everyone yaps on about all the effects, not the cause.
I totally agree with your point of view and have not come across anyone yet mention anything you have! Kudos to you
It's the perfect trap anyway - there is no escape heh
@@handlehaggler What system do you propose to replace capitalism with then? Pointing out the downsides is cool and all, and we should strive to improve on that. What is your solution to it though?
Humanity destroys the only planet we can live on. It is not hard. One cars production releases about 20 ton of CO2 and over the life time of a car around 100 tons CO2.
I was once a car salesman and we were constantly "trained" to deploy "mind games" to make the customers "feel good" like they "WON" the game. In realty, THEY ALWAYS LOSE. ALWAYS. They always overpaid, paid for "extended" warranty, car alarms, extra services, "TIRE Insurance" etc. This is no different. And I hate to tell you this, this works best for people of color. I'm not trying to be racist at all. DON'T TAKE MY WORD for it, ask the people who are doing it.
Pavlovian conditioning heh
Could you elaborate, especially why POC fall for it more?
oh is there a reason why poc fall for it more?
@@xainabshuja4215because white people are all rich people from the same country and share the same culture and POC (i.e. not white people) are all victims forever.
OPs experience is anecdotal so there's no way to know if what they're saying is true without actual data. But as a POC, I'm gonna go out on a limb and offer a couple of explanations as to why OP's experience _could_ be true.
#1 POC in the US tend to be in lower income brackets and thus more financially insecure. This results in wanting to get the best price so you can make your money go further. Companies take advantage of that with personalized "deals" that make it seem like the customer is somehow paying less. Also the cost to replace or fix a large purchase can be so unviable for financially insecure people that it may motivate them to buy unnecessary warranties and security features out of fear.
#2 Some POC (I've especially observed this from older folks like my boomer father, aunts and uncles) are so used to being treated poorly by professionals (remember, they grew up in the civil rights era when certain folk weren't even allowed in certain stores and hospitals) that when they are treated kindly and respectfully, they tend to trust those people implicitly. Again, salespeople can take advantage of that to get them to spend more.
Ethical consumerism is buying Everything you can second hand. All of your clothes, furniture, as many of your electronics and appliances as you can, all of your vehicles, etc etc. And grow as much of your own food as you can if you have garden space or buy from those who grew it themselves instead of from the grocery store whenever you can. As for things that you can't get used, like shampoo, toilet paper and stuff like that, you just have to try to spend your money where you are getting the best deals and the company makes as little profit as possible because you bought the cheapest brands available.
I agree, but I take it even further...I use baking soda instead of shampoo, vinegar instead of hair rinse, Castile soap for everything else. I sew/crochet my own natural fiber clothes, make everything home decor related and repair/up cycle things whenever I can. I call it suburban homesteading, tho. lol
And why wouldn't you? I'd rather get a full wooden desk for a bag of coffee than spend 300€ on a piece of cardboard. The only winning move is not to play, therefore second hand buying.
Buy shampoo bars instead of plastic bottles.
Ethical consumerism isn't necessarily about spending as little as possible. It's about not financially supporting systems that are harmful as much as possible. So, for something like shampoo, it's not necessarily about getting the cheapest shampoo, but rather getting the most ethically made shampoo. Because the problem isn't that shampoo costs money, it's about the conditions the shampoo is made in, ingredients it's made with, and the corporations that get money from it.
You can get a squeeze bottle called a "portable bidet" to replace the toilet paper and a diva cup to replace pads and tampons.
Employment is literally renting another human being as if they're property. The employer-employee relationship is a very insidious dynamic. Employment is a rental contract, like if you rented capital (say, a chainsaw from Home Depot), you pay rent for the "time preference" (basically the cost of time) for a piece of property. Capitalism is based on a principle of self ownership, which sounds empowering, until you realize that most people don't own capital goods other than themselves, and must rent out the authority over themselves as pieces of "human capital". This is a process of dehumanization where human beings are valued for their return on investment as capital goods. This is why, at the very least, capitalism needs unions and safety nets (or abolishment), or else the system won't value people for their human value. Importantly we must also think about our sick, elderly, and disabled people, as they can't provide competitive economic return for the investor class to value. We must figure out a way to change this economic system if we wish to value each other.
it's not about renting you as if you're property - it's earning a reward for your contribution to society. If this reward is fair or not based on where the value really lies (whereas CEOs will earn disproportionally more) can be debated but I find your comparison quite shallow.
@@Doc_0K Quite shallow?
He gave a quite comprehesive response, but if you think that simply the problem is that the rich "earn" alot more than the average and nothing else then you are extremely mistaken. This is a systemic problem that led to this problem in the first place due to capitalistic economic policies that priotise expanding the private sector and the wealth of the elite, no matter how many times you try to stop them, they will always try to get out on top since the system exists for them to benefit from.
Imagine condemning people to death because they couldn't contribute to society because of a disability(through no fault of their own, espiecally if they were born with it or got in an accident),
elderly(who have already contributed to society but are no longer able to due to decaying health),
and the sick
(Should they starve or be left on the streets because they didn't work themselves to death? Should we go back to medieval society where people died without medicine because they were not contributing when they were sick?)
@@agentsteve8263 no I definitely agree with you that the problem isn't simply the earning disparity. But to compare paid labour with rental of property is silly... that's all.
@@Doc_0K it's not silly just like natural resources human being are also a resource so renting product created from natural resource is same as renting a human labours in both you are exploiting and using resources on this planet.
@@Doc_0K have you ever done physical labor? No, you didn't, and if you'll try to say otherwise, you'll be lying, boy.
It is just like that person said: people are being rented. Like objects. Their labor isn't rewarded because more labor doesn't make you a more valuable asset to yourself.
And if they break, they go to the trash.
"Vote with your dollar" seems reasonable until you realise just how many more dollars corporations have than you with which to vote
Sure, they also have more influence politically, so should we stop voting with the ballot too? EVERY SINGLE COLLECTIVE CHANGE in the entirety of history was made of individuals making choices and changes, none of which, on their own, would have actually caused change.
We should use all the power we have, and that includes the wallet. Especially when you consider that even your "small" wallet likely has more voting power than entire families in the poorest nations.
Bro... they get that money from the people. This is pure democracy. People value stuff more than each other. So, of course, money ends up at those who are more potent in valuing stuff over people compared to their peers.
@@S.G.W.Verbeek I can only assume you're intentionally ignoring the fact that CEOs make money by stealing it from the worker. Profit can only be attained by not giving workers the full value of their labor.
@@Cobalt985that’s actually so dumb.
I would say it sounds reasonable until you realize how big these corporations so there would have to be absolutely massive consumer backlash before they were impacted. Your vote is impractically small if they are that big and it becomes so hard to not give them these blobs Amazon, Google, Apple, Shell, Chevron, Toyota, Honda, Tesla, and on and on.
Timely reporting on the disappointing 'B Corp' label. My bubble burst when a few days ago I noticed that product carried both the B Corp label AND owned by *UNILEVER* one of the most destructive corporations on the planet. Cannot fathom that Nestle/Nespresso was awarded it too.
Great documentary! Thank you for your time and effords! I work in retail for years and l clearly see how businesses manipulate people to make them spend more. I would love to quit and do some better job, but not many options in my small town, plus l'm a migrant, English is not my native language.. People need to understand that when they are buying more than they need they are destroying themselves and the planet!
You write better English than most people I've met. Well done.
@tinywalnut6337 thank you
I was born in USSR in 1979. When l was a child adults used to say "oh, life is so much better in USA, working people can buy more consumer goods, superstores have products from all over the world, they don't need to wait for years to move into bigger apartment or to get a new car, they earn enough, they can go to Disneyland, spend holidays anywhere they like!". But no one in Soviet Union realised that life in the US doesn't look like a movie. It is simply not true! It is a struggle for the majority of population! Even in the 80th there was powerty, homelessness, drug trafficing and so on. In USSR l've never seen homeless people on streets, no one worried about hospital bill, cause we had free health care (no luxury, very basic, but free), we had free college education, garanteed parental leave for at least 1 year in the 70th and up to 3 years in the 80th, early retirement and etc. Yes, you had to work after college for several years in the place where they send you and only the best students (and communist party elite kids) could have a choise where to go. Yes, we produced more arms than cars and microwaves. We had many problems that could be fixed. Like an old engine that could work after sertain repairs. People thought they are poor, they wanted changes, but what they've got when USSR collapsed? A few got billions and became super rich, the rest are "enjoying" all the negative sides of capitalism...
If you settle for Social Democracy with an Iron Curtain then you already lost
@aturchomicz821 agree
I found your comment very interesting because I suspect the the Soviet USSR, was in it's way, the mirror image of American Capitalism. Both had their founding ideology or "dream" if you will, and both were more reliant on each other for survival than was realised. (to a degree, both held each other in check). Since the USSR collapsed, American capitalism and the capital classes have became unrestrained and disdainful of democratic accountability, similar to the lack of accountability in USSR. as there was no real force in the world to keep them in check. Deregulation followed and an oligarchy has emerged in America, similar to the oligarchy take over of Russia when the USSR fell. Capitalist power now threatens democracy and the very eco-systems mankind relies on, leading ironically, I suspect, to the collapse of American capitalism and the stability of the whole world.
Socialism didn't collapse in China and Vietnam, yet they swung 180 to the most exploitative state-sanctioned form of capitalism possible
ой, иди в жопу со своей пропагандой. совок не меньшее говно, чем капиталистический ад.
This video needs at least 5 billion views. Consume LESS
Agreed 👍
Ethical consumerism is not giving money to the large corporations and instead buying from worker cooperatives or small business owners especially self employed people
Honestly, Black Friday wouldn't be as much of a big deal if everyone saved up their spending throughout the year and took it as a holiday. Right now, you can buy christmas stuff in October, which just means you end up buying more in anticipation for that holiday because you just keep seeing the season for longer. We took away waiting. Online shopping and the "now" culture makes us buy way more throughout the year and THEN even more on these holidays. Does that make sense? Yeah, sure, Black Friday is just corporations trying to get rid of junk at the end of the fiscal year so their numbers look better, but it is technically a holiday.
Short version: Black Friday is a corporate get rid of junk holiday, but I think our societal problem lies in our constant consumerism throughout the entire year.
yeah. the only reason they have so much junk to get rid of is because they order and produce in excess, in anticipation of consumers demand and the whole "now" culture. black friday is just a symptom
My main disagreement with this video is: at the end of the day, consumption habits will HAVE to change. Ethical consumption can be done intelligently in a way that makes a real difference, for example, getting your protein from plant-based sources, using public transportation, and so on. It's not that ethical consumption doesn't work, it's that hardly anyone does it. The weird thesis of this essay is that too few people are doing ethical consumption for it to ever make a difference, but somehow there WILL be enough people to start a revolution and overthrow capitalism (which will result in reduced consumption anyway). What you are doing is engaging in a silly "them first" game that will prevent anything from happening. "We consumers should be able to buy whatever we feel like-it's the producers who need to be curbed!" While the producers are saying "We are just making what people demand; if we don't make it, someone else will!" So it's a stalemate, no one wants to be first mover. Everyone is pointing fingers instead of taking first steps. Who is to blame? "Everyone else except for me!"
Indeed! I would like to add that ethical consumption also makes your next consumption (or general behaviour) less anonymous, as we tend to talk about it with others, who will question us about our next buy, etc. This helps (a lot) in keeping yourself to your values.
It's a silly video that actually defends consumerist culture. It's obvious that our consumer choices can and do have an impact. Here in Sweden people are flying less due to the climate.
The problem is that you have the whole system against you if you try to be less harmful.
Cutting corners is rewarded, and greenwashing is cheaper and might even look more impressive than actually improving things. And a lot is hidden in supply chains.
He's saying we should be doing both, ethical consumption and organizing ourselves to create a better situation.
For example not every every place has public transportation so people might feel inclined to buy a car to work and survive. I'm not blaming them for purchasing a car and "surrendering to capitalism" because they need it but that person should also work on pushing local authorities to provide public transportation so that other people dont have the same need and therefore reducing the amount of cars bought/ reducing the use of cars.
And it's not like consuming more ethically somehow robs you of your ability to vote, or to march or to organize. Outside of extreme cases like off grid, zero waste, cottage core minimalism, most more ethical consumption can happen "in the background". How hard is it to choose the vegetarian or vegan option in a restaurant?
Just a reminder that those "reusable" bags are not recyclable (unlike the plastic bags they replaced) so when they inevitably break, they go straight to the dump. Canadians have created an actual waste product in our attempt to eliminate a non-issue
Plastic Recycling is mostly a scam
I just sewed up tears in three of my reusable bags last night. I get several hundred uses out of each bag. I'll never go back to those flimsy downcyclable ones that still, ultimately end up at the dump.
I found it ironic that as I was watching the video, it was constantly being interrupted by Black Friday ads. (I'm watching this the week before Thanksgiving in the U.S.)
Most products or services are kept on being sold to us as a solution to the very problem it caused
Just think about this...
If corporations expect that 50 to 70% of their sales volume, for certain items, will only come during the winter season... That means that more than half of the time, throughout the rest of the year, they're producing twice as much as they need to, so they can store it away for black friday.
Meaning that this can't be a surplus issue because they're overproducing on purpose.
They are using money that could be being paid to the employees to overproduce, store it away, and then use it to make excess profits that aren't related to employee growth because it's already been stolen from them.
The two biggest forms of monetary theft in the United States are wage theft and price gouging.
Black friday is the epitome of both of those.
Yep. Especially these days. From brands to help people quit smoking, to now data broker removal services due to data gathering being largely unregulated.
The Hegalian dialectic of goods
Excellent video, Charlie!! Love the insights and I am so glad you highlighted this topic.
It’s also helpful to buy locally especially from small businesses and farmers markets
Madness . Give it a week they start regretting why they bought those items in the first place and then start throwing it out or sell it on eBay. Its like they have this black hole inside of them they constantly need to fill with material things to feel " happy" its short lived
This misses one of the key most important points with respect to "ethical capitalism." Many people, most people, can't afford to purchase ethically even if they wanted to.
It's mentioned, actually. About half way through.
Bottom line, we're toast.
Thanks!
The past two years, Black Friday has been dead af. I was able to come in nice and early to get my normal stuff and get to sleep in. Perfect.
In the list of priorities for a society, the order of the priorities lower down on the list doesn't really matter, so long as the very top priority is profit. So long as the most important thing is profitability (as capitalism demands) none of the other priorities (worker's rights, environmental sustainability, etc) will never be more than thin veneers.
This video is essentially a defense of consumerist culture: "It doesn't matter what you buy! Boycotts are ineffective!" (ignoring the multitude of times when boycotts have been extremely effective - Apartheid South Africa etc.). The culture will have to change due to environmental breakdown and you do have the power to make better choices and change. All goods are not created equally. The slogan "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism" is not a free pass to buy whatever. Case in point: animal products vs plant products: ua-cam.com/video/LQRAfJyEsko/v-deo.html
He didn’t say that, rewatch the video.
It's a paradox that the retail industry keeps the economy afloat. We're good workers and consumers before we're human if we look at ourselves through the lens of capitalism If we were all to become suddenly enlightened, how many people in manufacturing, retail, transportation, etc., would lose their jobs? It's going to have to be a planned transition, and a total awakening of the populace with a desire for change.
just buy less, buy local, grow your own. and the advertisement at the end to consume more 'content' is the apex of sad irony.
My anger is immeasurable. 😢
I live in a red state. My vote is always cancelled out. I vote with my wallet.
I do feel that when people learn that making 'ethical' choices doesn't make any difference, they are more likely to give up and just buy what they want, because it doesn't matter, rather than re-focus their efforts into other ways to make a difference.
I am curious how you feel about actual ethical businesses (such as Tony's Chocoloney, and small businesses that don't make much profit, or reinvest it into society), rather than the greenwashing businesses and those owned by large corporations you mention in this video. When I learned the B Corp certified Nestle it lost all credibility. But it's difficult to find an actual certification that works.
Obviously the most ethical choice is not to buy (or at least buy secondhand), but certain things have to be bought (such as food - which is almost impossible to get ethically unless you are able to buy directly from farmers). I do think labels like 'Fairtrade' are often another form of greenwashing once you realise what it actually means.
I work in coffee industry and there are many certifications like fair trade, direct trade, RFA, etc... but from what I've seen and heard, these certifications cannot be trusted at all. Often, it's just another way for rich people to take more money out of your pocket. The worst I've seen is in the chocolate industry: children working in dangerous conditions being treated like slaves and the cocoa they harvest is brought to a warehouse with a "fair trade" certification and exported for mass production by major corporations.
The only way to find out is to travel to the farm, inspect working conditions of the farmers, taste test, etc.. but that is not practical for most consumers and again, cannot be trusted because owners of the farm show only the curated version of their operations.
Like you said, the only way to know for sure you are ethically sourcing something is to grow it yourself. I think it's this way for every product we consume.
Please never stop making these videos. Every single video brings me back on my feet. So thankful
Companies don't wanna pay people properly, and continue to raise prices. In 2025, let's all put our money where our mouth is, and tell these companies "Nah. I don't feel like buying." I'd also shop local if you can. Local stores need the support more than places like Walmart or Amazon.
The ending felt VERY consumerist!
I see a major distinction now between zero waste stores and traditional health food stores. If a store isn't actively pursuing zero waste in its produce/grocery, then I don't think it can truly be said to be committed to sustainable practices. I'm deeply grateful for the zero waste grocery options in my community.
I think its important to reiterate to buy and support local farmers and makers.
If you need something, check to see if you can buy it used or second hand before buying new.
You want to consume ethically: consume less.
Another element to "ethical consumerism" is that companies will always want to capture new consumers and broaden their reach in the market. In other words, "ethical consumption" means more overconsumption. This is not a broken system. It's not, and it works just as intended.
Anyone know the name of the song at the end of the video, starting at the "17:32 - Striving For Better?" section?
I can't get Shazam to pick up on it.. : )
Buy less, and buy second hand as often as possible
Must be nice to even be able to afford to chose anything but the absolute cheapest option for everything...
Cant relate.
Incredible video, can't wait for the next one
Very well written and edited video.❤
Very well made and very interesting! Well done!!
Just buy what you really need not just want. Use as longer as you can. Repair, reuse, repurpose. Simplify, do not shop just because it is on sale, for so called " special days" which only serves companies. Learn hands on skills and try to make it things for yourself. Do not follow any type of trends because any trend that requires you to spend money is still encourage you to consume.
Do you have a video or a recommendation of someone who does looking at buying second hand and its impact of the environment and/or capitalism? I like to shop from thredup, thriftbooks, and my local childrens second hand shops, but does that actually make a positive difference?
Id be really interested to know what people think of material consumption from current day worker co-ops. If the 5 people who staff and co-own say a plant nursery run that nursery profitably, is that extractive/exploitative of the consumer and/or does it delay a broader movement to a better model for the whole economy?
If the message is “buy the right stuff” then in a short amount of time nearly all the brands will present and position themselves as doing the right thing and everyone is back at square 1
Consumerism is not only a problem in just small things. It's also a big problem with bigger things, such as cars. There are a lot of older, but reliable cars, but over the years, newer vehicles not only are too many, but also expensive and unreliable.
Don't buy it unless you actually need it. Coke in a recyclable bottle is not a need. Just don't buy manufactured drinks.
Buy stuff with the smallest annualised embodied impact - the trousers that cost (your wallet and/or the biosphere) 20% more but last twice a long are actually a better deal, but then you do need to keep wearing them until they wear out before buying the next pair, to live up to that deal.
When you can get what you need from an individual person or a co-op, do that. When you can get what you need from a small business where the owner is actually doing work alongside their employees, do that. Only give money to big corporations when you have no other way to get the thing you need.
"Investing" in the share market is at least as unethical and exploitative as being a landlord. A landlord's tenants know they're being exploited, and know who's exploiting them. An employee of a megacorp doesn't even know how much value they are creating, to calculate how much their employer is stealing from them.
Only revolution will actually change anything, but changing your own lifestyle can reduce how much you personally are making things worse.
Ethical and Corporation are mutually exclusive terms. Shareholder owned capitalistic corporations will never be ethical. Ethical consumption is buying local and organic.
I haven’t bought anything knew for a while month, except for food….. I try SO HARDhard to and I can’t tell if it’s making any difference. I buy off brands and would like to find more less plastic but this doesn’t exist in all cities. This is difficult. I shop at 2nd hand stores only and I feel so much guilt during the Xmas holidays bc I’m forced to buy stuff and I don’t want to anymore
9:20 'imperial periphery' made this sentence feel like a jargon mess and obscured the meaning of hyper-exploitation. We are so desensitzed to that word and i hate that
From a visual persons perspective: The vignette throughout the video makes everything appear more grim. The topics themselves and your voice over does enough of that already. I think it would make your videos more accessible for people who are not yet aware of these topics or feel that climate activism want to take away their way of living. Hope that helps, keep going! 💪
People keep forgetting we need to have jobs and businesses to survive .That is modern Economics .there is no wiggle-room for a lost job or life altering illness .In the Past it was Land that mattered . Farming was a normal part of every rich or poor mans survival . As Joni Mitchell said "..We got to get back to the garden " The Amish really do know what is going to sustain them .They teach it to every child , for their own survival .They live close to the land , weather farming for family only , or for sale or barter . Everyone should learn from independent farm culture . Living a self sustained life is economically sound as well as ecologically intelligent . Or at the very least we should encourage Home Horticulture , and Agriculture . Get a big fish tank and breed your own edible fish . Spin Yarn from Goats and Sheep Wool or other . Grow Bamboo , and sell it for building material. Have a Chicken Koop . Invest a little , get a lot for free . You can't shop your way out of this crisis , we need to think for our own survival Corporations won't tell you this ..
I have a question, have you ever actually done any of those things?
Yeah as someone who raised dairy goats growing up and grew up on what people would call a hobby farm, it's surprisingly difficult to make ventures such as those profitable, or just to break even.
There's also a lot of regulation to make sure that you don't have broken off needles in your pork, or bovine TB in your milk, which is overall a good thing I think, but means that as a hobby farmer, legally selling your produce is very difficult.
Anyway- there's a reason people get four year degrees in things like "animal nutrition" or "grassland management", or "agribusiness".
hi where do you source your material in this video? id like to read them. thanks
I feel punching up is appropriate but not punching down. Not that punching up is an effective solution in the context of consumerism, just something that is morally acceptable. And not that supporting small businesses or authors who don't make much money by paying for their product will solve things. Just that people trying to put food on the table shouldn't be punched down on and if you want their product and can afford it, you should pay for it, though they shouldn't be thought of as a charity. Although, there's a difference between supporting a friend and treating a business like it's a charity.
Even worse with nespresso is that it's owned by Nestle. NESTLE!
love this video! thank you
Please do not confuse ethical consumerism and veganism. Eliminating animal products is not the same as eliminating plastic bags and what not. Veganism is an ethical position that believes the avoidable exploitation of animals is unacceptable. It is a moral stance, not a “trying to do better”. We are not vegan because we think we “ought to reduce our meat consumption because methane”. We are vegan because taking the life of someone who does not want to die is immoral, regardless of economics or climate change.
Plants are sentient, too. They communicate with each other and produce chemicals to defend themselves against being eaten. The universe we live in is predicated on one thing consuming another in order to survive, so the morality of eating animals is this: be kind to them while they're alive and make the transition as painless as possible. Most plants are eaten alive and they do not want to give up their lives, either.
@BS-detector You are misguided for 2 obvious reasons. Please try to read my responses without the bias you have been conditioned to have your entire life.
1) this is the most obvious reason: IF everything you said is to be taken as is, you are literally making an argument FOR veganism. Let me explain. We have 80 billion land animals. 8 billion humans. According to the laws of thermodynamics and the biological concept known as “trophic levels”, by consuming animals who consume plants, we are putting ourselves 1 level higher on the trophic level scale, which is less efficient by a factor of about 10x. This is not vegan propaganda, this is facts and science. These animals eat PLANTS. Only about 10% of the plants animals eat are then converted into flesh in that animal.this means that about 10x as many plants need to die for every unit of animal flesh. So the easiest, fastest way to reduce plant deaths is to be vegan. Once again, this is according to the laws of thermodynamics, not vegan propaganda.
2) plants are not “sentient”. They do not mourn their children, have specific personality traits, or display other traits of sentience. They react to stimuli. However, following the precautionary principle, we do not KNOW this is the fact. However, we can at the very least say with confidence that plants feel LESS pain etc than animals. Just like an ant feels less pain than a pig. Killing an ant and killing a pig for no reason is wrong, but killing an ant is LESS wrong because it has significantly less sentience. Given the fact that we need to eat SOMETHING, the moral preference is the option that is LEAST sentient and causes the LEAST harm, which would be plants. This does not mean we should cut down trees and throw corn at walls for fun - they need to be used only as NEEDED.
To be clear, soome people do choose veganism for environmental reasons, or for health reasons, or animal rights reasons, or all of the above.
I usually need the latest iPhone because it breaks so easy and it becomes obsolete so fast . So many up dates that the phones hardware can no longer update without clearing all you memory
the irony of making a video on what's wrong with capitalism, whilst charging people to view a video that "might" hold the answer on how to stop it, is not lost on me...
you're not looking to solve this; you're looking to get your slice of the pie! if you were, you'd put that information out there, for all of us, for free!
Great video!
I see ethical consumerism as a method of living for the future I want, by moving away my reliance on the capitalist system and towards community. The 'best' method of ethical consumerism is by consuming as little as possible
the EU has a certified level for ecological level. they go through many requirements, it looks at the whole value chain and they offer economical help for some of the products to be competitive against major producers. it works similar to fair trade which might be the best certification. you forgot to mention that one . i didnt know that B Corp went bad
This is such a good video. I’m going to really work harder at thrifting before buying new. Also on food consumption, if you look and find your local farmers, it’s very easy to eat mostly local and cut out that chain!
18:00 Hrmmm… I feel like the manufacturing based on use is what makes production under communism not fun. Or at least neglects human enjoyment that we get from acquiring something that is ✨created✨, I don’t think manufacturing under communism has to be explicitly utilitarian. Nor do I think this enjoyment comes greed.
We can still buy trivial things under a socialist economy because the problem is not the object created itself but that under the capitalist system the craftsman is alienated from their labour.
Thank you for your excellent report.
Y'all would do great on Means TV
heck yeah! Professor Richard Wolff suggested this form of corporation! employees owned! it's happening in France & Spain...
Oh yes, he's definitely the first one to come up with worker cooperatives... :^)
Thank you. I used your link a while ago yo buy a lifetime membership to Nebula. I watch everything there but then rewatch a month later on UA-cam 😊
Shopping can also be a coping mechanism. It offers instant gratification.
Most of us are selling majority of our waking time working to have money for status brought by property and consumption - the same for workers in the factory in Cambodia to bankers in Luxembourg. That motivation is universal.
I bought a Patagonia coat yesterday. In part because it promises to have used no pfas. Obviously this doesn't solve the pfas problem. The coat was expensive. There should be regulation, so as an individual consumer, I don't have to think about this and everybody can afford a coat that doesn't contribute (at least in this way) to further polluting the earth. But still: it does make a difference to the supply chain that there are companies figuring this out. Which can speed up the implementation of regulation.
I disagree with your message. People should be transitioning how they spend money and what they spend it on.Buying eco friendly and reusable items is OK. Despite watching vids from here now and then, I never subscribed to this channel because it is way too preachy, and this video confirms my choice.
regarding nespresso and your comment they make these horrible plastic capsules. Its actually more environmentally friendly if its plastic and incinerated vs. regular coffeemashines where you throw the spent coffee in the trash. reason: capsules use way less coffee per cup. and the worst in coffee environmentally is the milk.
Well, depends. Composting your used coffee is great. Or use it directly on certain plants. We are composting with a worm system. And of course you can decide yourself how strong you like your coffee or how much you drink at once (I make filtered coffee by hand). With a French Press there’s NO actual trash to the process but also the recycled paper filters are compostable. Problem with pods: you always have to use new plastic to make them as recycled plastic doesn’t have the stability to be used on these things safely. My brother-in-law works in a enterprise testing recyclability of packages in Germany :)
The only ethical consumerism is buying art directly from the artist.
If the product the artist is creating uses sustainable materials
@Zoe-lv1rc and this is why I no longer attend my local communist meetups.
@@tinywalnut6337 I'm an artist and I use mostly sustainable materials. It's not that hard and communism has nothing to do with it.
While I agree in some aspects, I am amused by how much the author is fascinated by the idea of socialism.
Not that it isn't, the ideas are noble, but rather impossible to implement due to imperfect human nature.
Every historical attempt to implement this system ended with the creation of a state that was one large corporation.
That is, one in which you have no choice and you are part of it without the possibility of any opposition, even if the decisions it makes are harmful to you.
Most of these states were democratic in name only, in reality they were ruled by a few privileged people, inequality was much greater than in most modern capitalist countries.
And I am not saying that the current capitalism is perfect and I even say that we have chosen one of its worse models, the so-called crony capitalism than actual free market capitalism.
The statement about human nature is bs, there’s zero scientific evidence that it’s true.
Humans are not scripted like a code, we are mouldable and adaptive species, that can change to their needs under pretty much any circumstances.
We, humans, are not inherently evil or greedy, and we are not inherently good and generous, it all depends on education and environment.
I don´t buy from big corporations whatever they say how good their product is.
Not a word on the repressive state apparatus that exists to defend the capitalist system.
Finally a video abt consumerism
Keep up the good work
We live sinply. It helps to be "poor". If we want something we look around and see if we can create it from other things. We enjoy the challenges.
As a consumer you choose which companies you want to exist in the future