Economic Power

Please don't ever forget that one of your strongest sources of empowerment is your economic identity. You are what you buy. This implicates us in so many of the world's systems of oppression, but we should not simply allow this to make us victims. We are not entirely helpless. Sure, it's hard, nigh impossible, to avoid purchasing clothing and products that come from the hands of the oppressed - everything I can afford still seems to come from China/Taiwan/etc.

But we are not entirely without choices.

The first step is awareness, and awareness comes with questioning. Ask yourself, and your suppliers, where do these things come from? Who made them? At what cost? Is it worth it to me? Then make your decision. The more aware of the consequences of where you spend your money, the less comfortable you will be participating in the destruction of a fellow human's dignity.

It's not just about avoidance either; there are now many companies which genuinely offer products that benefit the community. Sometimes they cost just that much more. Sometimes they are fraudulent. Don't be taken in by token PR agendas. Educate yourself.

These are some of the things I am proud to participate in or abstain from:

http://www.omnipeace.com
OmniPeace is a humanitarian fashion brand that supports breaking the cycle of poverty through education and ending extreme poverty in Africa by 2025.

Don't be fooled by Starbucks' "politically correct coffee". All too often terms like "organic" and "fair trade" are employed as a PR effort to make you feel good about shelling out as much as $5 for your daily legal high. Decide for yourself how sincere their claims are - I encourage you to read analysis like this. In the same token, do consider and question even such expose's. Get all the facts before it's too latte! (Consider also, the LOCAL impact Starbucks has on your community - environmentally, economically, aesthetically...)

When you're tired of the lies and cunning half-truths, and are ready to wean yourself away from the addictive nipple of the Sbux Empire, consider how you are now going to spend all that money you're saving since you cut your habit. Consider the Mocha Club:
https://www.themochaclub.org
Do you know what kind of impact $7 a month can have on a person's life? For the price of giving up just two of your precious mochas, you can feed, water, educate, and protect millions.


And finally, this week Lady Gaga released her new song, 'Born This Way', hailed as the "new gay anthem" for our generation. Her team gave one store, Target, the exclusive rights to pre-sale of the new album, and until recently was also the only vendor for purchasing the single for download (iTunes now has it as well).
Target has a long history of making substantial donations to anti-gay politicians, including as recently as last September, and supporting homophobic agendas. They have as yet not made any statement to the contrary, much less an apology. Pretty odd for being the only guys able to sell the new "gay anthem."

I love Target stores and products as much as anyone, plus I'm always winning their gift cards, so believe me when I say it's NOT easy to stand up for your values and boycott this retailer. But it's for our own good!


Economic power; sometimes it's all you have!

Edit: I'd like to apologize for a gross misrepresentation here from yesterday; I posted an endorsement of a product I haven't fully investigated myself yet, and since both their quality and production method has come to be suspect I can't give them my support. I won't naysay them either, unless you ask me if I like them in which case I'd have to say I did not enjoy the product. Anyway, always make sure you're prepared to go all the way when you start questioning your environment!