What Am I Supporting?

Sometimes, you hear people say they won't support a certain store because it backs an organization or promotes an image they do not agree with. Or maybe someone tries to only buy local products, or at least things that are American made. Another thing people might be conscientious about is buying clothing that doesn't come from sweatshops. All of the people who are doing these things at one point or another asked themselves this question: "What am I supporting by choosing to consume this product?" 

  

Over the course of my college career, I've found myself asking that question in various ways. After all, that's where the question was first posed to me at a time that I felt I had the ability to act on it. While the question of support sounds pretty self-explanatory, I want to spell out what I mean by it. What we buy things from, we fund and thus contribute to their ability to stay in operation. Give them enough support, and they get the message that they're doing the right thing with how they operate and what they provide. Without the consumers, the producers cannot survive. Similarly, various producers have the means to financially support different social causes and organizations. They might use this as a selling-point to their consumers, but, to keep a wide customer base, they might not widely advertise it. So, without the support of these producers, some of these organizations might not have the means to fulfill their missions, expand, or stay in operation. Thus, the money you give to a company might be funding not just the company themselves, but also these other organizations with which they have chosen to partner.

With all of that in mind, there have been two distinct areas that I have committed to being an intentional consumer. The first one has been media - particularly the music and movies/TV shows I consume. I'll admit that it didn't start off as a big-picture pursuit, but it has morphed into that. Some people argue that the music's content isn't what matters, but the sound and the feelings it conveys. I'm not one of those people. I'm interested in what the music is pointing to, and if I don't agree with it I don't want to support it. More recently, I have taken that stance with movies and TV shows also. What does that look like? I have gone through, and continue to go through, my music on my iPod and Spotify to weed out songs that promote what I do not wish to promote or think about. When choosing a TV show or movie to watch, I try to avoid picking ones that are saturated with positive messages about things that I don't believe are truly positive. With all of the big data marketing analytics going on in the background of these things, I want to send a message that a portion of my demographic does not want to see or listen to this content. Does my individual choice make much of a difference here, probably not. But making it known why I make these decisions and possibly inspiring others to do the same can. In fact, there's an entire movement surrounding this particular pursuit, so I know I'm not alone here.

Now, I mentioned there are two areas that I try to be intentional about. The second is coffee. It might sound kind of weird, but it comes from what might be called a second-hand personal experience (you'll see what I mean). A year and a half ago, I went to San Lucas Tolíman, Guatemala and spent some time at the mission there. One of the main programs at the mission that I got to learn about has been a direct trade coffee program. That's right, not fair trade, but direct trade. That means the entire production happens in that community, and the farmers are given a fair wage that doesn't depend on market value. This is a big deal, especially when the other option in that area for coffee farmers is to work for a finca. What's a finca? Essentially a modern-day plantation. They are paid minimal wages to work land they do not own and can be easily blacklisted by their boss if they do something they do not like. What happens if you're blacklisted? For some families, that means being forced to live in a ditch on the side of the road without much of an ability to get out of said situation. If your coffee is not fair-trade or direct-trade and comes from Guatemala, you might very well be supporting this without realizing it. Once I did, I decided I would only buy coffee from companies that tell their consumers exactly where their beans come from. Given I had the ability to actually see Misión San Lucas Tolíman's coffee program, I buy from them.

So, with these two examples, I didn't really touch on everything I was talking about in my second paragraph. That's because these are the ways I have chosen to be an intentional consumer at this point in my life. I just haven't really done that research yet. But, with a quick Google search, I can give you all a couple links for companies to consider "cutting ties" with or seeking out if you're devoted to certain causes. If fighting the abortion industry is important to you, check this out. If you are concerned about environmental causes, here's a place to start (p.s. I know there are gas companies here, but most of us need to buy gas at one point or another anyway). If politics is your thing, here's a list of corporations that tend to "throw more money at" either political party (yes, Democrat or Republican). If you have more ideas, please share!

This should be enough to get you started if you feel the pull to let your money speak. And I recommend that if you do choose to actively support or not support something with your spending power, try to be well-versed in why. That way you might inspire others to join you and help you stick with it.