Are You an Ethical Consumer?

There is no such thing as "ethical consumption" under capitalism. Since in every aspect of the tech industry, from the iPhone factories in China to googles coding farms, there is exploitation being done by those at the top. Exploitation of the planet, of workers, and of markets to push out smaller businesses. So, anyone still talking about "ethical consumption under capitalism" in 2019, has no idea what they're talking about. It's a fantasy to be thinking in those terms when mega-corporations control all aspects of the global economy and when we're faced with greater and greater ecological disaster as a result of these corporations.

In the free market society of today, it is harder than ever to be an ethical consumer. Large corporations have a great amount of influence on the media and on our government. Allowing rich tech giants like Google to be unhindered in their clear monopoly of the web browsing industry where the 2nd biggest market share is owned by Bing with around 2% of the market compared to Googles baffling 90-93% or so. Despite that, I don't actually consider using Google as "unethical", because we are all guilty then. I'd say there is a spectrum for companies regarding the morality of using their services, putting non-profits (actual ones) on the better side of it, debatable monopolies near the middle, and the "BIG BAD" at the end. Companies like Monsanto who knowingly produced agro-chemicals that caused cancer in humans are in the "Big Bad" category. It is important to be conscious of what goods and services we pay for, so we do not unknowingly support corporations of this nature, but in this present age, people use more products than ever before. This can make the task of checking every company whose service you use daunting however, there are websites like Ethical Consumer and Corporate Critic that make ratings based on their track record and current use of resources. When a corporation can use lobbyists to influence the Gov. treatment of them it is our duty as consumers to stop "Big Bad's" from harming our fellow man.

Looking at the companies and providers I use on a daily basis, I can say without a doubt that I am not an ethical consumer. In today’s society, I feel like it would be challenging to rid yourself from all the impure places you buy from. Take Amazon for example. Everyone knows what amazon prime is because of how efferent and popular it has become. Like the article said, to accomplish what they do their employees are put on the back burner. Uber has been riddled with sexual scandals, such as the James Winston incident. Even fast food restraints that everyone loves such as Chick Fil-A has its own issues. To consider yourself an ethical consumer basically means you don’t consume at all in today’s world.

Big tech is undoubtedly a huge privacy concern. However, while I agree with the article that big tech is causing many problems for us, because of its monopoly, I don't think the best course of action is to quit completely. As a student, I use Google all the time for email, word processing, and to get assignments. It simply is not feasible for me to boycott Google because it is so convenient and because there are no alternatives. The article mentions this using the example of Facebook, which has a monopoly on social media, "Many people have hesitated to delete Facebook because doing so felt futile." Because eliminating our usage of big tech is so difficult, we must look for other ways to protect our information. Every year governments are adding new privacy regulations that help consumers. Especially if you live in the EU, you have so much control over your data. Simply using the settings menu to disable sharing data with third-parties or as the article mentioned, the "Apps Others Use" setting can help protect your data. Even those with fewer privacy rights can do a number of things, such as using a VPN to hide their identities and location and using an ad-blocker to prevent Google and Facebook from generating revenue. Big data and big tech are as inescapable as they are detrimental. Instead of quitting them cold turkey, we can use other measures to protect ourselves, such as the privacy settings big tech provides us and third-party programs that can hide our identities.

Most people think they are ethical consumers and are very smart about their buying options. After reading this article, I can easily say that I was surprised at how unaware I was of the companies I was buying from. I used to use Uber all the time. It was a very smart business option and was very useful for me. But, now that I know that there are many accusations of scandals and sexual harassment, it makes me feel like I am now supporting the actions that Uber is doing. No one wants to be associated with those accusations, and no one wants to be put in that situation. Same with Amazon. I used to buy off of Amazon religiously, but seeing that people have come out about the working conditions that employees are under is sickening and drives me to start doing research about other companies. Jim Steyer, the chief executive of Common Sense Media says in response to the question about at what point do we become more ethical consumers that, " I think this is an incredibly powerful question to ask...It's a very important moment where consumer behavior can have a transformational impact." I feel that I will definitely start doing more research on the products I buy, as well as make my peers aware of the companies they are "supporting."

I constantly search for items online and choose the cheapest and/or fastest option. When doing this, I fail to consider who’s at the expense of my desire for the inexpensive. I watched a documentary a few months ago about the truth behind many companies that sell clothing at very low prices. The math behind their low-priced items? Create items for as cheap as possible. Pay our workers as little as possible. And set the prices as low as possible while leaving a margin for us to profit. These workers, that are making the clothes we wear and the items we use, are not only paid very little but have low quality working conditions. As the article said, “Education is key.” Without watching that documentary, I wouldn’t have known that some of my favorite stores are treating their workers poorly. We can reverse this issue by being knowledgeable of the ethics of our companies and choosing to not support the companies that don’t support their workers.

I've always thought that I'm generally a conscious consumer, but after reading this article I've come to the realization that I'm neither as conscious or as ethical as I thought I was. I don't tend to pay attention to the scandals large corporations have because I'm not directly affected. I have been blindly using the products of companies that protect their chairmen from sexual assault cases that they've been accused of. Consumers such as myself are also partially at fault as well. We continue to give money to these corporations without looking into what they stand for or what issues they have. The corporations hold most of the blame though. Consumers put their trust into these large companies and we expect for them to follow the law while providing their products or services. The question comes down to whether you continue to support these companies because it's convenient even though they go against completely what you believe in. Or would you rather take the time and look into different sources that align with what you believe is correct.

While I do think consumers should be held somewhat responsible for what they buy, I think corporations are more at fault for unethical consumption. We, as buyers or consumers, should be able to trust that our resources are coming from a reliable source. Just like most of us pick convenience over our morals, so do big companies like Amazon. "Which way let's us spend the least amount of money?" is a question that both CFOs and average consumers ask themselves often. However, decisions made by corporations affect a lot more people than our decisions at the grocery store. Therefore, in my opinion, corporations should be the ones responsible to make sure we are ethical consumers.

I like to think I am an ethical consumer, I only wear makeup that is not tested on animals, I stopped supporting Wendy's as it did not sign the agreement to protect farm workers and I most definitely do not support zoos or SeaWorld. To get to the point I do not support companies that know they are doing wrong yet simply do not care and do it anyways. These are companies that deserve to be called out for their wrong doing. Even though these companies are bad they are not the only ones that are responsible. The government is responsible for letting this happen. The consumers are responsible for knowing how people/animals are being treated at these companies and simply not caring. I think all of us as customers should try and become more aware on what happens at these companies to spread awareness and to stop supporting these companies. For example I did not know that same day amazon deliveries were not good for the environment and the people that deliver it. But now that I do know it totally makes sense. In conclusion I think I am a ethical consumer but I still have a lot to learn about companies that knowingly mistreat people, animals and the environment. It is important to know which companies to stop supporting and it is important to spread awareness about these companies. Because the best way to stop a company is to boycott and that starts with us.

I do believe to a certain extent that consumers are responsible for the behavior of companies. Obviously contributing to the profit of a company is supporting their business and if the company is doing well then why change what’s working. However, I also feel like it is not always up to us to decide whether we buy ethically or not. Recently, I have noticed that a lot of the time labels like “cruelty free” and “sustainably made” come with a price. We should not have to pay more for daily items like beauty products and medicine just because it’s free of harmful chemicals or wasn’t tested on animals. Those aspects of how a product was created should be a given, not an added bonus. To eliminate the price of labels we need to begin making it a normal to create ethical products. This would give a lot more people the opportunity to be ethical consumers.

After reading the article, I believe that I could be a more ethical consumer. I never really took the time to look at the issues surrounding many of the apps, products, and services I and my family use. I don’t really know all of the information about the companies that we use or buy from, which can be dangerous. After the numerous security breaches with companies like Facebook, I decided I should definitely research a company before using what it offers. If people had knew that so many problems would come out of products, apps, and websites that we use, we probably would have taken our time finding the best options. Instead, many of us just care about the way something looks at first glance, not caring about the consequences. Nobody can be that naive anymore, especially in this day and age when technology dominates most of our daily lives.

In an attempt to divert attention from their habits, companies have a long-standing policy of shifting blame to consumers where possible. A Scientific American article written by Matt Wilkins, an ecologist, gives us the example of single-use plastics, which are ubiquitous in our society. Beginning in the 1950's, companies formed the non-profit Keep America Beautiful, which encouraged environmental stewardship in response to plastic pollution. The problem? This effort shifted our public focus from company responsibility to consumer responsibility. Recently, consumers have created movements to reduce use of plastic straws, plastic bags, and the like. Starting conversations that lead to changes in consumer behavior ARE valuable, and shouldn't be written off. But, unless these ideas spark a movement, which happens rarely, noble sentiments mean nothing. If we want to create ethical consumers, we have to start at the top to create ethical companies, and make sure that the drive for profit never outweighs company responsibilities. Hard-line government regulation, though unpopular, would be the most effective way to impose ethical behavior on companies.The consumer only has so much choice - I buy from Amazon because I would never be able to get the products I find there in my hometown, or use Google because my school has a Google integrated system. We shouldn't have to choose between ethics and practicality. We, the consumers, deserve to be able to presume ethical behavior.

I am not an ethical consumer. I don't know much about the companies whose products and services I use or buy. Although as I grow older I am starting to look more into the products I consume. But since I'm still a child I have little say in what products I consume since my parents purchase the majority of the items I consume. Sometimes I’m able to influence the decision on the products and services my family chooses to consume but the majority of the time I have no say. Unfortunately I believe I have to wait until I’m 18 and on my own to become an ethical consumer. Until then I’ll try to let other consumers aware about the products and services that they’re using. After reading the article, I have become more aware about certain organizations like Facebook and Amazon and will limit the use of them in the future.

After reading the article, I have definitely reconsidered using organizations like Amazon and Google. Not only them, though...the article also calls out Uber, Facebook, and Verizon. It’s crazy that both Google and Uber covered up their employees who sexually assaulted people: "Last year, hundreds of thousands of customers abandoned Uber...after...repeated accusations that it turned a blind eye to sexual harassment." Google is so convenient, but now I don’t like them because they also created a censored version of Google for China. The fact that is one of the most terrifying is that a Verizon worker had a miscarriage because of the “human toll of fast service”, as the article words it. I would have never thought that these big organizations are causing physical harm to people. I like how the article said that we, the consumers, are the ones with the power to stop these unethical companies. We are the ones that are keeping big organizations like Google in power, but we can change that. I now realize that those big companies are big for a reason because they will do whatever they need to make their customers happy, but I will try to look for ethical alternatives in the future.

I don't put the blame on the consumer, but instead the companies. Monopoly companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook don't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. They are to the point where they cant be stopped, but they can definitely be changed. Even though the article does express that small protests and boycotts don't affect companies in the short term, over time they can really deplete the publics view. These companies have such an influence on our daily lives, studies have proven they have gone as far to alter our moods so that we will be more open to buying a certain product. To me, the question is when do companies have too much information on us, and I think it is inevitable that they will someday control every facet of our lives Unfortunately, it has come to the point where many consumers will choose accessibility and efficiency over over their own personal privacy.

One would think that shaming might be enough to get consumers to make more ethical choices in their day-to-day lives, and if you asked me before 2015 I may have agreed with that solution. However, that was before the scandal surrounding the now multibillion dollar company, Beats Electronics, occurred. When Dr. Dre, co-founder and namesake of the popular headphones “Beats by Dr. Dre”, faced allegations of abuse from several different women, social media platforms exploded with outrage. I remember seeing hashtags condemning his actions (such as #BeatingsbyDr.Dre) trending on twitter for days. That same year, Dr. Dre even issued a short and vague statement posted right here on the New York Times, where the allegations against him were confirmed as true. But still, this wasn’t enough to get people to stop buying his products. In fact, the company he founded continues to thrive to this day despite proof of his history of violence towards women. The reason I can’t help but to consider this scandal when reading Chen’s article is due to the amount of exposure it received to consumers in my age group. While some teens might be aware of the corrupt deeds associated with Amazon or Uber, almost all have heard of the allegations associated with Dr. Dre. As the primary audience to which many of these companies market to, we need to do a better job when choosing the kinds of businesses we support. This means being informed, and valuing morality over what is popular or trending.

Actually, I am an ethical consumer. I will say that I've only been one recently because most of my life I have not been ethical in regards to that. Especially on Twitter, I would see these news that show the exposing of a certain company or tweets that reveal what a company truly is. I believe most consumers are not ethical because the mass majority are not informed about what some of these companies do or have done. Ever since I have seen the likes of Facebook or Johnson & Johnson revelations, I have decided not to purchase their products or give any sort of money towards those companies. I believe if consumers want to be ethical, then they should start to get more informed about the business industry so they can be smarter when it comes to their purchases.

I do not think I am an ethical consumer as I still get stuff from Amazon even when hearing about they treat the workers badly and have terrible working conditions for them. Some of concerned about tech companies is how they can censor people just by making changes to the search engine just like google. Not only can tech companies censor you they can get all kinds of information about you. Then when they inevitably get breached, all the users have to suffer that their private information is out there that people got a hold of. I feel that if you buy a product from a company whom you know is doing wrong, you are supporting their practices as you aren't forced to buy from. If it's an online service you can easily just stop supporting them and they won't get your money anymore causing them to change their actions and act better.

Before reading this article I felt that in general I was an ethical consumer. After reading though I feel as though I should be ashamed of myself. I had no knowledge of a lot of these scandals and I have done things like ordering "same- day" delivery. I'm appalled that Amazon has worked their employees hard enough for their to be "miscarriages by pregnant workers" and something that awful can not continue. I can confidently say that I will never use "same-day or overnight deliver" again. I do feel like I have been an ethical consumer in terms of "slowing down my consumption". I still have an iPhone 5 while most of my friends have an iPhone 7 or an iPhone 8. Its very important to slow down your consumption not only for the environment. Some gadgets that we update to seem like a waste of money to me. Unfortunately for humanity their is too much demand for any international business to be completely ethical. Companies will not change their ways and some of them can't. Its up to us as individuals to get together and find ways to solve these problems. Some people believe that since they are one person it wont matter if they continue to be selfish. The problem is that if everyone thinks that then nothing will change. Your individual efforts might not seem worth it but if enough people contribute we as a race can solve some of the most pressing environmental and humanitarian in the world.

As consumers, we take for granted easily accessible, mass-produced goods every day. Despite this luxury, there does exist some responsibility in refuting or condoning the actions of companies we buy from. Many people willingly buy products without knowing the details of their production, or how much we can actually trust them. With knowledge of the behavior of these companies, consumers need to consider if they truly value the consequences of these actions and have the courage to speak out. Is it a breach of privacy, scandalous act, or inappropriate working condition that makes us reconsider purchasing something? Taking these aspects seriously can be challenging; we often convince ourselves that this behavior is not a big deal because of our reliance on and longing for the alluring products. With this in mind, it is those who speak up and spread the word who make a difference; they act on our responsibility in dealing with the misconduct. These people, who look past the temptations of the product, will bring awareness to all those who are hiding in the grasp of the flashy labels, trendy products, and irresistable goods that entice us into looking past the troubling behavior of the companies. Exploiting their concerns will hopefully cause everyone else to question the tight grip that companies have on us and our values.

“I think this is an incredibly powerful question to ask,” as Jim Steyer said. It definitely is, it’s a crucial and essential question that needs to be answered because our generation’s future will rely heavily on big tech companies and our ability to act as “ethical consumers”. To be honest, I’ve never really questioned or even known about some allegations towards huge companies, whose products that I buy, until now. It’s certainly very concerning when a huge company overworks its employees and hides data breaches or customer complaints, so their credibility isn’t ruined. But like Mr. Steyer said, “Sometimes shame is one of the most important arrows in your quiver.” Being able to do something as a consumer such as, boycotting and shaming, in order to fix and improve a company’s actions and behaviors, makes an ethical consumer. My greatest fear of the future, is the possibility that some companies, tech ones especially, will become so powerful, to the point where scandal, accusations, and boycotting will become like a mosquito bite; something so minor that our power of ethicality becomes irrelevant. This is why we must continue to act as ethical consumers, and show those companies that we are the ones who have put them in that position, and we have the power to put them down, if they don’t change for the better.

I am guilty of turning a blind eye towards these issues. The scandals haven't affected my use of the services because I never really believed it would make a difference. The Amazon issue is a prime example of this (no pun intended). I am an avid user of the service because of how convenient it is for me. The article talks about the European warehouse workers experiencing inhumane conditions, but this is in Europe, not the US, where I live. How will my use of the American service affect European workers? The article also gives examples of Facebook’s information breach and Uber’s lack of care for sexual harassment. I never used Facebook until recently in order to find a car to buy, and I don't care if they take that information and use it for things like ads. Actually, it would be great if I got ads for something I am looking for. As for Uber, I cannot speak from my perspective without a slight bias. Most of the sexual harassment victims are females, it would be insensitive for a male, like me, to try and defend their services because I am not a victim nor do I have the fear of it. Unfortunately, I still use their services for the convenience. This article most likely won't affect my use of these services as I still am under the assumption that my use won’t make a difference.

We as humans can't possible be what scientists deem as "ethical". Our needs mentally and physically are just too many to not harm the environment. The way we use electricity, heat, cars, we just demand too much. In the article they say that though big corporations like Amazon and Google mass produce in ways that kills the environment, we as the consumers are at fault. They say that when we purchase products from one of these environmentally harmful companies that we support them in their harming of the environment. I believe that we do support them by purchasing from them, but we shouldn't trouble ourselves about hurting the environment. No matter how little we would buy, we would always find a way to harm the environment. In short, though we should concern ourselves about our ecological footprints, we shouldn't let it control our economy. We can do all we can to prevent harming the environment but in the end, the environment will be harmed no matter what decisions we make.

I haven’t rally ever paid attention to how products have been made. This problem has never concerned me. It is true that companies that we support so often go through inhumane ways of producing the things we enjoy and indulge in. Big companies like Google, twitter, amazon and so much more go through these scandals and try to cover them up so they don’t hurt they consumers. I wonder if we start paying attention to these problems more often then maybe we can avoid supporting companies that don’t give basic human rights to their workers and complete honesty to their customers. I want to start paying more attention to the ethics of companies before I choose to support them by giving them my money.

I like to think I am an ethical consumer, I only wear makeup that is not tested on animals, I stopped supporting Wendy's as it did not sign the agreement to protect farm workers. To get to the point I do not support companies that know they are doing wrong yet simply do not care and do it anyways. Just as it is important to not supports bad companies it is just as important to support companies that are trying to do good. Such as Starbucks, they hire refugees, ex felons, veterans basically they hire people that really need jobs and they take care of their workers all while helping the environment. This is a important company to support. It is important to know what companies to support and what companies to boycott.

I can honestly say that as of right now, I am not an ethical consumer. I've never actually put much thought into the business aspect behind the products I buy. I am somewhat concerned about the behavior of these mass companies as the damage done in terms of data encription and internet privacy is crucial to our safety/well being. An example that I felt was rightfully brought up was the instance of pregnant warehouse workers having miscarriages in result of doing their job. This affected me, as I believe no person should have to experience any sort of trauma while simply making a living. As much as it is a company's own fault for heir wrong doings, they can only do so much damage on their own. Without the consumer, the seller is left almost powerless. Evil requires an audience in this aspect. I believe the most reasonable method stated within the article was to simply "live slower." I believe this method is said to encourage us to live in a way of which we acknowledge the fact that there just may be bigger things than our own selfish needs. If you have the capacity to wait for a product, take into the consideration the good it can do all of these workers and their well being. By being a better consumer, we encourage our sellers to be better. This article has impacted me to live a better life. Although not a complete change, it will affect my future decisions and remind me to be more careful with my money.

Ok, I'm going, to be honest... I am not an ethical "tech" consumer and never even thought something like tech could be ethical in the first place. Things, like going on Facebook or choosing one-day shipping on Amazon weren't ethical, to begin with. I may have known about these things, but it never really affected the way I spent or the amount of time I spend on an application due to the convenience it brings. Yes, I know it's a problem, but it's kind've hard to change it. That doesn't mean I'm still concerned with the way things are going, however. The thing I'm most concerned with is with how the companies are handling these controversies since it feels like they couldn’t care less about these privacy issues or ethical problems until someone finds out, which typically means that the problems been going for a long time already. With things like the Facebook hack or the Amazon controversy. Would the problems be fixed if social media and the public pressured them to do so? I don’t know that’s just my opinion on the article itself.

I would like to be more of an ethical consumer. Obviously, I hope the things I buy don’t negatively impact anyone, but sometimes it does and I have no clue. I usually don’t know much about the companies I buy from, but now I feel like it’s really important that I do. I am now concerned about the behaviour of tech companies after reading this article because I never knew about all the horrible things that were going on behind closed doors. The part that stood out to me the most is knowing that some pregnant women have had miscarriages after being overworked. To me I would question if working there was even worth it anymore. I feel like we can blame ourselves sometimes, but at the same time, not all of us know what’s going on with some companies, and how they treat their employees. Repurchasing from companies that abuse or treat their workers like trash is our way of saying “it’s okay” when it’s really not. I feel like the easiest thing that everyone can consider doing is not getting really quick shipping because that puts a lot of pressure on some people, over working them, and possibly impacting their mentality in a negative way. Also by not upgrading our technology all the time, but sometimes people do it because they’re having issues. I’ve heard rumours of some companies that would slowdown their last sold product so people could upgrade, spending more money on a new one. Moving forward, I would like to practice shopping as an ethical consumer.

Unfortuantely, I am not an ethical consumer. I don't know a lot about the companies I buy from and I realize I don't think much of it. If I was more educated on the companies, that knowledge would factor into my choices. I'm not too concerned about the behaviour of tech companies. If I had to choose an example from the article that would concern me the most, it would be under the, "Think About Your Friends" section. Even though a lot of information about me may be online, this concerns me the most because I've always done my best to be as private as I can be, but my friends could have carelessly given out my information without knowing. Consumers have partial responsibility. The more we buy, the more we give the companies and the less likely they are to change their ways because of the success they are receiving from it. You can purchase products from a company without knowing anything about them so it doesn't always mean you approve of the sellers actions. Slowing down and giving up convenience for independence seem the most practical and effective to me. Thinking about your friends is the least for me. The article does motivate me to be a more ethical consumer. I'd look more into the companies I buy from before purchasing to change my consumer behaviour. If I don't agree with how they're operating or their beliefs, I'd easily find an alternative to receive what I want.

It is a grave mistake to place private information in the hands of a social network. #cancelfacebook is a mere reaction to the recent privacy scandal, and while Facebook did overstep their rights, angered consumers would do best to take a step back and reflect. The consumers hold the power in this scenario. Facebook users were not shaken down for their information. Even under the pretense of confidentiality, one should never assume that they are safe. Today, teenagers are constantly told to limit their activity online and never post anything they wouldn’t want a future employer to see, and yet, the same adults spouting this advice are lashing out over the latest online security breach. A simple solution is to not put your private information in the hands of a multi-billion dollar company that sees you as a number or worse, an investment.

Based on the article "Are you an ethical consumer", I feel that you can do whatever you want when you buy things online. I personally think that Amazon has the cheapest things for the best prices especially with prime. I don't order from there often and I don't really think how hard it is to get free 2 day shipping. When you see the amazon commercials, it is usually a lot of happy boxes singing. From reading the article, it is probably the opposite of that. Maybe one day these companies will have ethical standards, especially for the people oversize. Child labor and people being underpaid shouldn't be right and hopefully we can change that one day.

We as consumers bear a small responsibility for the actions of a company. When we buy something we, in a way, let the company know that whatever it is that they are doing to market this product is working. When you purchase a product you are condoning the actions of the seller, because they were successful in getting you to purchase whatever it was that they were selling. Companies operate off of consumer habits, so they adapt to what the consumers want (in terms of marketing) until their product starts selling. When it starts selling, it's because the consumers are happy.

Is technology poisoning young minds, and giving them access to grizzly, and crude language? Yes. Technology will play huge roles in future generations. Phones are in the hands of most teenage throughout the whole day. This generation posts images up on instagram to portray their life, and once they see other lives they start to become jealous, and insecure. Studies have shown how awful social media can be to human brains. Causing depression, anxiety, paranoia, etc. Social media is a vicious cycle, and teenagers need to be aware of how they're being effected.

I am concerned by the behavior of Facebook. Recently in my Modern Issues class, we watched The Facebook Problem, and it seemed at least to me that Facebook knew about how the data that was being collected and used even for wrong doing but did nothing about it. An issue like this should be made a top priority for such a large company.

I don't really ever think about what tech companies could be learning about me. I feel like I so often will put in my email address or my name or other personal information to access a site and I don't think about where that information could go. I want to get better at not allowing apps to use my location or actually reading the term and conditions so that I know what I am agreeing to.