Final Draft: Consumerism & Fair Trade

May 26, 2013

2855 Stevens Creek Blvd

Santa Clara, California

Dear Shoppers,

            When it comes to shopping in the United States it is seen as one of the fundamental aspects of our culture. Our economy is based off consumerism and our lives as well. Shopping is apart of the American lifestyle, but what most Americans don’t know is that while we splurge on new clothes, fancy foods, new cars, and etc. we are contributing to many problems we are unaware of. We are supporting outsourcing, which contributes to environmental problems, poverty, and further separates the truth from reality of what is occurring in the world. The world doesn’t have to be like this and frankly first world countries and major corporate companies should change their ways before we end up like people in the Disney movie Wall-e. We can choose to make a difference by buying fair trade and local products. This would help our own communities and others around the world instead of contributing to the wealthy wallets of major companies. As shoppers and consumers we hold the power in changing the ways we shop, and to further create a better sustainable planet. By bringing awareness to this situation where many people don’t know the whole story, we can truly better ourselves and every other person around the world.

            People who grow up in the United States and other first world countries have embedded morals of how “new” is always better and how some objects we own add to our status. Why is it so important to us to stay in trend, update ourselves, and be fixated on everything new?  The reason is our country is all for consumerism. These large companies grab our attention by tons of advertisements, celebrity endorsements, and especially big sales. They have tricked us into needing things we don’t actually need. A good example of this trick is the cell phone update craze, as I would like to call it.  New phones are always constantly being updated. For example say the newest IPhone just came out, people who just bought the latest one six months ago have the greatest desire to update again to newer phone. Even though their phone works perfectly fine. Our society gives us this unrealistic perspective of how we are supposed to live and gives the illusion to people of what they think they need. According to Edwin Zaccaï the author of Sustainable Consumption, Ecology and Fair Trade, “ …one’s consumption does not match one’s authentic needs, wants, intentions, well-being, and so on” (23). Even I am guilty if buying things I don’t necessarily need, but the reason why people do it is based on what they only know. What most people don’t know is how companies not only trick us into to wanting their products, but also don’t even tell us how it’s made, who made it, and the negative conditions that come out of it.

            What we consume and purchase comes from these large major corporate companies, correct? True, and they outsource most of all of their products. Outsourcing is when companies have their products made in other countries for a much cheaper price. Most of these countries are developing countries and have a very high poverty level such as: India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and many others. The reason why big companies outsource is so they can profit more from their products, which they benefit from tremendously. As consumers we also benefit from outsourcing as well. For example they extremely low prices that we find in stores such as Wal-Mart are low because they barely pay anything when they are made in other parts of the world. As companies and consumers get the large end of the stick, the laborers that work in the factory, poverty stricken communities, and the environment get the short end. 

            Many people are unaware of the negative and detrimental effects that come from these outsourced factories. The factory workers are not only paid minimal wages, but work in poor conditions and sometimes very dangerous.  Just recently on April 24, 2013, an eight-story Plaza collapsed on thousands of people working in garment factories. The garment factories consisted of a several different companies that made clothes for sale in the U.K, Untied states and other countries in Europe. The death toll is still rising everyday as they try to find many missing people (bbcnews.com). Most of these factories are sweatshops and even have children working in them. Many scandals have occurred over the years in similar stories such as Nike, Wal-Mart, Gap and other large companies.  Remember when the united stated was during the industrial period? There were no labor laws, deadly conditions, start to environmental problems and even child labor. According to T. Chase Meacham the author of the article “The Bangladesh Factory Collapse: We Haven’t Ended De Facto Slave Labor, Just Outsourced It” states that, “…we haven’t really solved labor abuses, we have just outsourced them.” Only some of these major companies are now just realizing how important is it to stop these harsh conditions, which is sad that thousands of people had to die for them to realize that. According to Stephanie Clifford from the New York Times, “…a group of major retailers and apparel companies, including some- like Nike and Wal-Mart- with a history of controversial manufacturing practices overseas, says it is developing an index that will include labor, social, and environmental measures.” I am surprised that these companies are willing to make a difference. Most likely to meet the consumers satisfaction of actually showing some heart towards this tragic incident, but also probably meet the new needs of the demand for fair trade goods as more and more people become aware of these sickening facts.

            Fair Trade is one of the best solutions to stopping outsourcing and all the negative affects that come along with it. Fair trade is a positive outlook for those living in poverty in other countries all over the world. For people in developing countries fair trade jobs do so much more that give them more of the profit. Workers and farmers can rebuild their communities and give them a positive outlook on life. When these countries are building better communities they are creating a better way for there children to be educated, better health care programs, and a cleaner environment, which overall creates a better world for everyone. Emma Watson a supporter of Fair Trade explains, “[that] charity as wonderful as it is money runs out”. She visited the Swallows of India and saw how fair trade jobs significantly helped those people. Through this clear example of how fair trade improves the lives significantly of people in poverty stricken areas, it saddens me how fair trade is just beginning to become more known. When we buy fair trade not only will the products be better made, but also you know in your heart that you are helping the world become more stainable world we can be proud to live in.

            By raising our voices against the way our clothes and most of our goods are produced we can stop and reform our consumer ways.  The first step that we can take is to bring awareness to this on going problem and realize what we should buy and what we shouldn’t. Shopper Lauri Langton from Seattle states in the New York Times, “ you should be able to tell right away, where the product is produced, so that you can walk away from the product and not buy it if you do not believe it was processed in a humane way”(Clifford). Not only should we be able to know where the products are coming from, but also we should take a step back and realize if we actually need what are looking at to buy.  We as the consumers hold the power to buy what we want and from that we hold the power to change the world into a better place.

Sincerely,

Amanda Gamban

Works Cited

Clifford, Stephanie. "Pressed by Consumers, Retailers Are Revealing More." The New

            York Times. The New York Times, 09 May 2013. Web. 13 May 2013.

Meacham, Chase T. "PolicyMic." PolicyMic. N.p., 10 May 2013. Web. 13 May 2013.

Mustafa, Sabir. "Bangladesh Building Collapse: How Many Still Missing?" BBC News.

            BBC, 05 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 May 2013.

Zaccaï, Edwin. Sustainable Consumption, Ecology And Fair Trade. London: Routledge,

            2007. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 29 Apr. 2013