The purpose of this site, which will largely function in typical blog fashion, is to address the creative act of ethical consumption in contemporary American society. It is my claim that ethical consumption and its subject, the ethical consumer, are an art projects: they are attempts to represent an idea and how it materializes in the world. They are an intervention, though incomplete and aestheticized. At their best, they can be socially and politically fruitful sites, but most often serve only as inefficient, ineffective critique, relegated to ‘fashion’ or ‘kitsch’. And, at their worst, they are detrimental to progress, taking attention away from underlying structural issues by aestheticizing the material conditions that have facilitated the ability for some to be recognized (through their voice, their choice, their art) and others to be ignored, unrecognized, or misunderstood.
Having that said, I fully recognize and take responsibility for my role in the reproduction of the status quo, as a scholar, a consumer, and a citizen of the global North, specifically of the US. I am ambivalent about my consumer choices and my day-to-day activities, often finding myself resigning to the ‘fact’ that ‘this is just the way it is’.
To be completely transparent, I shop at Whole Foods. Not only do I shop there, I go to the store nearest to my home and work nearly every day, sometimes twice a day. I own a number of garments from lululemon and their website is one of the most frequented on my browser. Also, while there are a number of great independent coffee shops in the District of Columbia, I most often go to Starbucks. I have had a ‘Gold Card’ since 2010 and like the idea of collecting ‘stars’ for free drinks. I own a car (well, I almost own a car, I have 14 more monthly payments before it’s 100% mine) and I sometimes drive it the 2 miles to work simply because I don’t feel like riding my bike. I loathe public transportation. I don’t always buy organic foods, with the exception of strawberries because I am allergic to the pesticides they use in conventional cultivation. I also leave the sink running while I brush my teeth… and so on and so forth (as Zizek would say).
I am stuck in a debate that largely takes place within my own head as to whether ethical consumption is in fact the best we can do and if an alternative is even possible. At the same time, I am struck by the fact that ethical consumption is simply an artifice for deepening crises–social, political, and economic–world over. I fear that believing we can make capitalism better will actually lead to an overall demise in the quality of life for many, as it serves as a pleasant valance to the reality of continuing and expanding injustice through the globalization of commodity chains (you know lululemon is no longer made in Canada, right? But, instead, under ‘fair’ conditions in Sri Lanka).
At the same time, as an American I know that I have to look out for me first. Personally, with my esoteric PhD that has resulted in a $200k+ debt (yes, my choice, my ‘fault’) and my current income being only my $12/hour service industry job (which I don’t hate, don’t get me wrong), I can’t help but celebrate when Whole Foods has zucchini on sale for 79 cents a pound.
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