The Consumer's Responsibility

I think that many, if not most, people in our country would agree that we are not very happy about how many businesses are run . We are upset that businesses are so big that we cannot afford to let them collapse, even if they make poor choices that lead to their own destruction. We hate that we don't know what's in our food. We don't like the thought of workers in sweat shops or other harmful conditions. We wish that farmers and other workers were paid fairly. We want livestock to be treated decently. We don't want our cosmetics to contain untested, potentially harmful chemicals. However, it seems like all of these horrible things slide by, and little changes...

There is much discussion about what our government should or should not do to fix these things, but for some reason not many people talk about the fact that these companies would not be so big or even in business at all if people didn't buy their products! The truth is, there is a lot of information out there about these big companies and their shameful actions. However, how many people bother looking these things up, and, if they do, how many people bother to act accordingly?

I think that the truth is that we have become so convinced that we deserve to buy whatever we want whenever we want it that we have forgotten that products that cost more may cost more for a good reason! We feel like we need all sorts of "things," so we can't afford to buy quality products from good companies that charge more for their products because they are paying their workers more, harming the environment less, and doing other deeds that truly we should appreciate.

I know I've said it before in a different context, but this truth is just as pertinent here: We need to consume less stuff. I am no economic expert, but I tend to believe that if people decided to buy less but buy higher quality goods produced by reputable companies, a lot of our problems would diminish. Blue collar workers would probably be paid better. People could perhaps work fewer hours but still receive a living wage. More people would end up working in agriculture since our farming industry would focus more on the health of humans and the environment, and a larger workforce would be needed to satisfy the demands. Fewer people would be working in monotonous factory jobs since less "stuff" would be being produced. The list goes on.

I know that this seems idealistic, but the funny thing is that it is not companies who will make this decision for us. It is the consumers that can force this to happen. We are the ones supporting bad companies since we just buy whatever is cheapest, and cheap products are cheap for a reason. We have the power to force a company to shut down or reform simply by not buying their product.

If you are not happy with the big businesses of today, will you consider doing your research and becoming an informed, thoughtful consumer?