Ethical Consumerism: A Balance of Knowledge and Action

1188 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: effects of consumerism on the environment

Shelves in many shopping malls are lined with a vast, colorful variety of merchandise. Rows of curious items catch one’s attention upon entering a sterile-smelling shop, each piece specifically crafted to be sold and taken home. Compared to this consumer-happy paradise, the world in which the worker lives, who fashions these objects, is usually little more than torture. Take, for example, child labor in India. These child laborers work for little pay and in harsh conditions, to generate products for American consumers to buy. Keeping production-related atrocities in mind, what should one ethically be liable for while shopping? The ethical responsibility of the individual consumer is to have general product knowledge and take action in response to that information. The awareness of unethical products, taking action according to this awareness, and social empathy toward the people who receive negative impacts from irresponsible buying habits are duties that every buyer must comply with when browsing the marketplace. One should take these duties upon his/herself to evade the greater negative repercussions of simply ignoring ethical buying habits (e.g. illegal immigrant labor and immigration, the earth and the greenhouse effect). Another reason for adopting ethical buying behaviors is because it can affect future generations and for the reason that consumers retain the right to choose what to purchase. To purchase justly, one must think and empathize before attaining successful ethical consumer habits. Knowledge is the heart and soul of ethical consumerism, for it is not only a responsibility but the foundation of ethical buying habits. One does not instantly have the conviction to take on something as tedious as ethical consumerism... ... middle of paper ... ...itionists were the equivalent to ethical consumers, in the sense of the empathy they felt for the working class. By empathizing, one can create zeal in cause and complete the other two tasks allowing one to be an ethical consumer. Seeking knowledge and converting that data into divided tasks transform an individual into an ethical shopper. Ethical consumers are those who look up information, act upon it, and empathize with those who feel the blows of unethical buying habits. The colorfully labeled shelves carry no resentment or distrust in the eyes of an ethical consumer, for they are those who stand up and take ethical behavior practically. An ethical consumer’s path is not smooth, for it is a walkway riddled with steeps, bumps and cracks. The obstructions in following such a path are exhausting and may be a nuisance but in time will reimburse the purchaser.

Show More
Related

  • An Analysis of the Article, Two Cheers for Consumerism by James Twitchell.

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    The chosen article is Two Cheers for Consumerism by James Twitchell. In this article he talks about consumerism, commercialism, and materialism. He argues the stand point of consumers and the role they live by every day. In other hands the critics, Academy, gives the consumers and overview description to their consumers.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Where Am I Wearing

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    In China, Kelsey Timmerman spent time with a couple who worked at the Teva factory, traveled to the countryside to meet the couple’s son, insert name, who hasn’t seen his parents in three years due to his parents working long hours and it being expensive to take a train ride. In the US, the author visited one of a few clothing factories in the US to talk to the workers about his shorts, and the decrease of American garment factories. Timmerman wants the consumer to be more engaged and more thoughtful when mindlessly buying clothes. By researching how well the brands you want to buy from monitor their factories and what their code of ethics details, you can make a sound decision on if this is where you would want to buy your clothes. The author writes about brands that improve employers lives like SoleRebels, a shoe company who employs workers and gives them health insurance, school funds for their children, and six months of maternity leave. Brands like soleRebels that give workers benefits most factory workers have never even heard of help improve the lives of garment workers and future generations. From reading this book, Timmerman wants us to be more educated about the lives of garment workers, bridge the gap between consumers and manufacturers, and be a more engaged and mindful consumer when purchasing our

    Read More

  • General Motors's Ethical Behavior

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1970’s, questions continued to arise about the concept of social conscience. As consumerism increased, experts began

    Read More

  • Ethnographic study

    2123 Words  | 5 Pages

    This essay is an ethnographic study of Whole Foods Market which is located in Kensington, London. Whole Foods Market is a niche supermarket that sells high quality organic and natural products at high prices. In this essay, I will provide a brief orientation of ethics with regards to the concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility - macroethics and Business Ethics - microethics and the theoretical frameworks of consequentialism, deontology and virtue ethics. I will be using deontology framework in ethics devised by Immanuel Kant to assess if the marketing strategy and the products sold at Whole Foods Market support their principle of ‘organic and natural’.

    Read More

  • Imitation of Wylie Final Draft

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    Humanity is an intriguing race indeed in the world. We can be careless when we purchase things. We tend to buy things with no awareness of the insane, expensive prices and end up purchasing things to fulfill our desires in fancy malls and stores. Anyways, there are many situations that of course happen within society today with unnecessary purchases.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Consumerism In Brave New World

    1890 Words  | 4 Pages

    ‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley is a science-fiction book in which people live in a futuristic society and a place called the World State. In ‘Brave New World’, Aldous Huxley used the idea of consumerism to describe the behaviors and lives of the citizens of the World State. The practice of consumerism by the people of the World State fulfilled their satisfactory and happiness. However, it also blinded purity and truth among its people. Different classes and different genders of people practiced different acts of consumerism such as consuming soma, technology and bodies. They sought happiness from them and eventually these acts became a social norm. However, these practices of consumerism also had side effects. It blinded truth such as

    Read More

  • Skymall: Pie In The Sky: Ethical Consumerism

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his article, “SkyMall: Pie in the Sky”, Bill McKibben reveals how absurd consumerism has become. He uses the SkyMall catalog placed purposefully in every seat-back pocket on North American airplanes to exhibit the harebrained things people think they need in today’s world. Its products range anywhere from a $4,000 massaging recliner that pampers its user beyond imagination to an ultraviolet toothbrush cleaner and Germ Guardian. The catalog’s audience is obvious. Someone would have to be focusing on themselves and how tired, overworked, paranoid, and spoiled they can possibly be. No one in their right mind would buy these items, but many times ridiculous items like them are bought. Why do people waste their money this way? McKibben points to the instant gratification, laziness, robotic actions, spoiled lives, foolish spending, and selfishness of society to explain this phenomenon (557-559).

    Read More

  • Product Liability

    1950 Words  | 4 Pages

    In an ideal world, consumers and companies would equally share the burdens of product liability and consumer responsibility. However, in the real world, we must make tradeoffs between these two. How we do this will not only affect our legal environment, but our economic and social environments as well.

    Read More

  • Consumerism Essay

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    Webster's dictionary defines consumerism as "the economic theory that a progressively greater consumption of goods is beneficial." today we are surrounded by a culture of things and possessions:a materialistic world.consumption of materialistic goods has encroached upon every sphere of our lives and we don't even realise it.at first products had a value of necessity in our lives.but now they are sign of choice, social status and identification.the more we advance technologically and socialy the more we need products to keep up with the times.but do people really need all the things they buy?consumerism today is all about people feeling the need to buy more and more material goods to attain some sort of satisfaction.

    Read More

  • Business Analysis: Sears, Roebuck, and Co.

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hoffman, K., & Siguaw, J. A. (1993). Incorporating Ethics Into the Services Marketing Class: The Case of Sears Auto Centers. Marketing Education Review, 3(3), 26-32. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

    Read More

  • Starbucks: Ethics in a Cup

    1430 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the ever evolving world of capitalism, a common thought thread of dog eat dog has emerged. In order to survive a business must do whatever it can to turn a profit, with no regard to social, environmental, or economic responsibility. This worked for a time; profits were soaring in almost every business sector. Until the business world would be rocked by scandals at the start of the twenty-first century. The lack of business ethics in corporate America led to the worst economic downfall in America since the great depression. Today lawmakers, stakeholders, and consumers are demanding more ethical business practices, and more social responsibility. Businesses that are open and conscience of ethical practices are noticing an upward trend in profits, employee commitment, investor loyalty, and customer satisfaction (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2011). One business has taken ethics and social responsibility seriously from its inception and has grown into the world’s most recognizable coffee supplier, Starbucks. Starbucks is one of only 23 companies to make Ethisphere’s Most Ethical business list 6 years row (Ethisphere, 2012).

    Read More

  • The New Consumerism Summary

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    Americans today are consumer-driven and rely on materials to fulfill them. Unfortunately, this has permeated through our whole society, but why is that? Because the American market has been controlled by unnecessary consumption for decades and this is not incidental. As Americans we are surrounded by an atmosphere of advertisement that constantly portrays to us the benefits of buying good things and the drawbacks of being the only one without a phone or a computer. They do this in order to replace a want with a need. If a consumer believes something is necessary to a happy life then they will go out of their way to purchase it even if they do not have the ability to pay for it. This “need” complex not only arises from the media or newspapers, but from our neighbors and friends. This social competition for luxury goods has been noticed since the 1950’s and has been created from another need to satisfy. Consequently, Americans have placed many of their identities and lives in materials because they believe that these unnecessary goods will satisfy something that only God can fulfill.

    Read More

  • Relationship Between Consumption and Identity

    1583 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people become victims of consumerism, often aspiring to unrealistic heights or being unable to sustain the financial implications of passive consumerism. The difference between essential consumerism and euphoric consumerism is a very fine line that can be easily crossed over if control is not maintained.

    Read More

  • Theories Of Ethics Of Amazon

    1351 Words  | 3 Pages

    For many years, Amazon has been held as a gold standard of product distribution. They are highly efficient at providing quality products to their customers. According to Amazon, they are able to do so ethically. However, their history has not been without controversy. Most recently, the New York Times released a report that called treatment of their employees unethical (Kantor and Streitfeld). The purpose of this paper is to determine which of the four ethical theories Amazon would claim to be using as a guide to their social responsibility practices. I will begin with a brief description of Amazon and its company values, and an explanation of each ethical theory. Then, I will use Amazon as a case study for these theories. The last question I will address is whether Amazon’s practices are sustainable over time.

    Read More

  • Reflection Paper On Apple

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    A moral dilemma I confront in my life is whether I should purchase products from corporations I know are unethical. For instance, I buy Apple products because they are convenient and easy to use. Furthermore, smartphones and laptops serve almost as necessities for a college student in 2016. However, I read articles exposing Apple’s corrupt practices. BBC Panorama investigated a factory in China that produces Apple electronics and revealed Apple as a company that overworks and neglects their employees (Bilton). I will use Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics to analyze my moral dilemma from Aristotle’s perspective.

    Read More

More about Ethical Consumerism: A Balance of Knowledge and Action

Open Document