Consumers with a Conscience apply within....

We live in a world of endless possibilities. Consumerism consumes our world. In particular here in the west, we can purchase pretty much anything our heart desires for a price. But for me, it is not simply about the Pricetag. I want to question, and specifically examine the even greater human cost that our never ending love affair with consumable products has.

In this post, I hope to provoke people to become more aware about where their products come from, so that we all care enough to demand that corporations practice transparency, fairtrade, and sustainability.

Do we not have some social responsibility when it comes to our next purchase? Our demand for the next Avant-garde gadget determines the supply, therefore to find out where it came from just makes logical sense, no? asking whether it was sourced ethically? rather than simply ignoring the bigger picture. Burying our head's in the sand and moving onto the next best gadget on offer, the next new handbag in the shop window, or that newer version of mobile phone and justifying it by simply putting it down to freedom of choice ?

I have often heard it said 'having too much choice, is not neccesarily a good thing'. I have also often heard that in order to make an informed decision we should have all the facts.

The purpose of this post is not to make you all feel guilty about craving that new diamond ring, or flashy mobile phone, new designer goods, gadgetry or electronic gizmos which compete for our attention daily, after all this is what capitalism is all about. Supply and demand determines it all. I like so many have been guilty of all of the above, however at the end of the day it's all just stuff !

At times, I think we all place far too much emphasis and importance on the accumulation of 'stuff'. We have been programmed by our capitalist culture. Subliminal messages, clever marketing, and branding all intimates that we should equate our happiness, or success to how much 'stuff', or the type of 'stuff' we can, or have acquired, for example - that great little sports car, or state of the art TV, designer clothes etc.

Thinking about it reminds me what Dostoyevsky says in' The Brothers Karamazov', wherein he wrote:

“The world says: "You have needs - satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Don't hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more." This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe that this is freedom. The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and murder.”

I believe it is a worthy topic to discuss in greater detail. As a consumer I do feel a moral obligation, or social responsibility when it comes to buying products. I feel it is simply good practice, more altruistic, and healthier generally for society. Educating ourselves, learning about the humble beginnings of things increases our appreciation for things no ? so why shouldn't we apply the same to those must-haves on our shopping wishlists ? I believe that if people had all the facts about these coveted products, perhaps there could be a little more equal opportunity,which would help create a greater distribution of wealth in this world. Instead, past and present status quo dictates, that a few fat cats get fatter and richer, more often than not off the misery and backs of those less fortunate than you or I.

From the food on our tables, to the clothes on our backs, to the shoes on our feet, the jewellery we adorn ourselves with, electronic devices etc..all of which make some of us so happy to buy, yet how many of us know the real facts about what they are made of ? who made them? where they came from ?How aware are you ?  Do people even care? It would be interesting to survey this , but perhaps for now you can share your own opinions on the subject with me !

The author Jon Foreman once said : "Greed, envy, sloth, pride and gluttony: these are not vices anymore. No, these are marketing tools. Lust is our way of life. Envy is just a nudge towards another sale. Even in our relationships we consume each other, each of us looking for what we can get out of the other. Our appetites are often satisfied at the expense of those around us. In a dog-eat-dog world we lose part of our humanity.”

This could certainly be applicable to our current western culture.

There are so many examples, however I could be here all day recounting, so I will discuss just a couple which spring to mind for the purpose of this post. 

Firstly, consider that ostentatious symbol of modernity, with it's aesthetically pleasing design from 'Apple' which has earned it a cult like following here amongst western society, yes folks, the unmistakeable and the infamous 'iphone'.

I recall a couple of years ago when they were launching the iphone, the amount of hype and almost near hysteria it stirred up amongst colleagues and friends. The slick marketing and advertising campaigns had worked their magic and we were all spellbound by it's power and beauty, propaganda like this could have been envied by Joseph Goebbels himself  for sheer effectiveness ! The queues outside the major stores in Oxford Street, London,or on fifth Avenue, New York, or downtown Tokyo, were indeed proof of such. As armies of potential buyers congregated and queued for hours, some for days in order to get their hands on one!

The demand for this new coveted gadget rocketed beyond the realms of supply , so the manufacturers rallied their chinese drones, an effective and willing army of workers to painstakingly assemble the intricate,various components which make up the iphone. These armies of workers were necessary to manufacture the product to match the armies of customers coveting it. Of course 'Apple' knew it was cheaper to have chinese hands assembling these components than purchasing expensive robot machinery to do the job which would turnover larger profits in the long run. And so, we saw the likes of "Foxconn' open up giant factories all over southern China to meet demands.

 Most consumers here in the west were completely ignorant to what was a reality for these workers. Kids as young as 13, working 12 hour shifts ,under harsh lights, working to demanding and meticulous expectations. The pressure was so much on that most lived in dorms onsite, while others would sleep under their desks. Things some came to a head when a spate of worker suicides took place and reports trickled out.

Foxconn and Apple made big claims about how modern and fantastic facilities were onsite for workers,or should we say for the average chinese, which they seemed to use as a defence to the critics. Later, after  one jumper left a note explaining that he committed suicide to provide for his family, the program of remuneration for the families of jumpers was canceled.

Some began to see the Foxconn suicides as a damning consequence of our global hunger for low-cost electronics.  Foxconn and Apple defended factory conditions while struggling to explain the deaths. “Suicides in China Prompt Damage Control,” was the headline reported by The New York Times. After 10 suicides Foxconn errected nets around their factories, a pathetic attempt of damage control. 18 suicides in total were reported during the rush in production of the ipod to get to customers.

Currently, the insanity continues in Chinese Factories with the production of the next Apple must have the 'ipad'.

Secondly, I would like to highlight something that I have to admit until fairly recently I was rather ignorant about. What the big Electronic Corporations in the west don't want to be publicised. Instead cleverly branded adverts replace home truths in favour of aspirational desires. In order to bring you the Playstation's, Blackberry's, Mobile phones, and swanky Laptops,Tv's etc a certain mineral is required, it's called Coltan. Coltan is a rare mineral used in the production of tantalum capacitors, a required component of most electronic devices.

The Democratic Republic of Congo supplies over 80% of the world's Coltan. Until recently, I was clueless about the misery the lust for this mineral Coltan has cost the people of the Congo and beyond. This coveted Mineral Coltan has caused wars, bloodshed, and pure misery throughout the Congo, and indeed alot of Eastern Africa, similar to the misery we were made aware of in the past few years to that of 'Blood Diamonds". 

In 2003 the UN condemned the illegal mining and smuggling of Coltan ore by militias from neighbouring countries; Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi.

The FDLR rebels – comprising of members of the Hutu Interahamwe, who were responsible for the brutal butchering of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide, having subsequently fled to the DRC – are reported to be using valuable minerals obtained in their territories in eastern DRC in exchange for weaponry.

Western Society continues to pillage Africa for her Natural resources for a pittance, then reap great financial rewards in the west. This mineral is so valuable that the current warlords fight over who will have control of it. They have slaves whom they rape, torture and murder if they refuse to dig this mineral out of the rock with their bare hands. They then sell it on to the big distributors. most of the Coltan is exported to China, where it is made into electronic goods, then sold on as luxury goods in the west for us to consume in blissful ignorance.

Our demand for these goods enables these Militias to kill and treat people as sub-human, and I for one am completely horrified. Greed and lust for power drive them on, however you could argue that in the west our Greed and lust for luxury products and brands drive us on to consume at a veracious rate. 

If nothing else, I believe we need to be fully aware, and educate ourselves as consumers, if we want to really have a clear conscience. Our demand currently fuels great hardship and misery. We need to demand better of the corporations who seem to have little or no ethical values, respect for local peoples from the developing world from which they source minerals. Their drive is only profit, or should I say Greed.

As consumers, I feel we need to have a conscience, for if we are educated and care about where our goods come from, only then have we any power, power to demand better from such organisations which drive our economies. We should demand they are transparent, ethical and sustainable. We should know where Coltan, and all other natural minerals come from so we don't have to worry about whether we have any blood on our hands when we are buying a new product. If we do not demand better, and thus dictate the policies of these corporations the bloodshed will continue. We by association to a product simply by buying it or owning it will force an even greater pricetag ! And this price to our very humanity does not sit well with my conscience. Out of control consumerism only leads to one road - Ruin.

Consumers I urge you get a conscience.

As the saying goes before you make up your mind, open it ! 

(please note: some scenes in the following video may cause upset, not suitable for under 12s)