Last week, I saw a post by @earthlyguy on IG. One of the first slides said, “capitalism as a culture doesn’t just destroy nature, it disconnects you from it, so you forget what’s worth saving”. Here was a later slide:
It ended with a call to action to consider who profits from your life: what you wear, eat, click, fuel, etc. It got me thinking about boycotts, and habits, and what we can do to build a better world.
There are a few boycotts or conscious shopping decisions I’ve made in the past few years that have become ingrained in my regular habits. I stopped going to Starbucks and McDonalds after BDS added them to their boycott list. I love a McDs fry, and sometimes it’s hard to find a coffee shop that’s not Starbucks—so I felt the friction when I first started my boycott. After 2ish years of this, however, I no longer conceptualize this as a boycott—it’s simply a change in my shopping habits. Now, when I’m craving fries, I keep frozen ones on hand or go to a local restaurant. I honestly don’t miss Starbucks at all because my local coffee shops and roasteries are far higher quality.
It doesn’t take active thought to keep up these boycotts anymore; it’s easy to go to my local options instead, and now I’m investing my money back in my community instead of some rich CEO’s pocket. I think some people avoid boycotting because they think it’ll be a constant challenge, but in reality, it just takes a little extra work to find your alternatives. Once you do, you’re good to go.
In order for boycotts to be effective, they have to be sustainable. The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted over a year—this took meaningful dedication and sacrifice on the part of the boycotters to give up their public transit for a year. In the end, they were successful, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott is one of the most well-known boycotts in US history.
If Target is the only place you can get baby diapers in your town, Target isn’t a functional boycott for you. We have to be strategic; you don’t have to participate in every single boycott that’s called for. Focus first on the ones you can best keep up with long term. Build new shopping habits, learn how to re-train your expectations around shipping times (goodbye Prime same day shipping), being able to get out-of-season product all the time, etc. As you retrain your brain, you may find it easier to participate in other boycotts that previously seemed too difficult to support.
Late-stage capitalism means we live in a world where everything is commodified (I’ve got some thoughts on the wellness industry re: the commodification of health replacing real wellness, but others like Kate Glaven have said it better). Two things can be true:
1. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism
2. It’s our responsibility to make thoughtful choices with our money
“No ethical consumption” has been parroted so many times that most people have lost the point of what that actually means. It’s not a free-for-all green light to buy whatever you want—it means that capitalism touches every aspect of our lives. In an ideal world, no one would have to pay for the things they need to live, but that’s not the case under capitalism.
In the absence of perfect choices, you make the next best choice. When it comes to shopping thoughtfully, that means supporting sustainable boycotts, supporting local, and sacrificing convenience for ethics where possible.
At the end of the day, if we want to build a better world, we have to be prepared to sacrifice our comfort and convenience to do so.
