YOU MATTER: Our Role in Creating a Better Tomorrow

YOU MATTER: Our Role in Creating a Better Tomorrow

Ava Warfel

Hey you! Yep, I’m talking to you! Have you ever stopped to think about what you contribute to our world? Maybe you are a great employee, a fabulous student, a committed mother, or maybe an awesome big sister. No matter who you are, you matter; and with that, what you do here on this planet matters too. 

Every time that you go to buy something or do something, you are casting a vote for what you want our world to look like. We live in such an interconnected world that sometimes it can be hard to see the profound impact that your actions can have on people you will never meet in places you have never heard of. That’s what globalization is all about; the connection of people from all around the world though exchange of resources, ideas, and actions. If our actions have such a large impact on the world around us, how can we make sure that we are having the most positive impact on the world as we possibly can? Follow along and I’ll show you how. It might not always be the easiest, but it will always be worth it. Surprisingly, changing the way you consume starts the moment that you step outside the front door. 

So many of the products that we consume come from places in the world that we might have never even considered. Take a peek at the tag on the shirt you are wearing… where was it made? Have you ever been there? So many of the issues with our consumption come because the things that we wear and the items that we consume come from all over the place. In order for our shirt to be on you right now, it likely contains cotton grown in one place that was then shipped across the globe to be made into yarn in another, less developed country where production is cheaper, where it was then shipped to a country lacking basic human rights and therefore paying incredibly low wages making production cheap, and then off to another country to be sewn before being shipped back to a distributor and then to a specific retail store in the US where you bought it and then put it on this morning. Even talking though it is exhausting! In every step of this process, there are massive externalized costs like damage to the environment and infringement of human rights, to only name a few. 

When we consider the products that many countries export, becomes evident which countries have more means and are more capitalistically oriented. As shown in the map below, it tends to be more developed counties that export finished products rather than raw materials, showing how they have participated in this globalized exchange of goods to make the products that they then export. This is evidence of developed countries heavy focus on exploitation, capitalism, and profit.   

https://supplychainbeyond.com/6-maps-explain-global-supply-chain/

There’s a simple solution to this problem: when we focus our consumption on local products, the impact of our consumption is improved from the ground up. Here’s how:

Make sure that you are purchasing locally sourced goods whenever you can. Search for locally made clothing and goods, and seek out locally grown foods that are in season. When you buy local, you not only directly support your local economy and benefit the community that you live in, but you also eliminate the human rights and environmental issues that occur when you consume products that have been shipped from halfway around the world. Additionally, quite often you can develop great connections with those who produce the goods that you consume, thus fostering a greater sense of community that leads people to be proud of the area that they live in. 

If you cant buy something locally, try to participate in direct trade. Your probably thinking, “what on earth is that?!” Putting the fancy name aside, it’s actually pretty simple. Direct trade is the practice of buying directly from the producer, cutting out many steps in the supply chain. for example, rather than buying chocolate at Wal-Mart that was processed in Hershey, packaged at a plant in Mexico with cocoa from Ecuador and Nigeria, and made with milk from New Zealand, you just directly buy the cocoa from the producer, giving them fair pay and the ability to set a price that will give them a livable wage. This eliminates the industrial, capitalistic intermediaries in the supply chain and while not as great as consuming local products, it is a massive step up from ordinary capitalistic consumption and production. 

This is all great, but it’s not just enough to focus on where and how we consume; but also how much we consume. It has been shown that 99% of the products that American’s consume are thrown out within 6 months of their purchase. If humans could just focus on purchasing the items that they truly need, rather than the things that they want, we could lower consumption and further contribute to protecting human rights and creating a fairer society that is also more sustainable for the environment, and the future of our world. We have all heard the adage, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, but we often forget that it needs to occur in that order. 

So often companies find ways to convince us that what they are doing is good for the world and the environment, but we need to look beyond the facade and look into the details. We need to stop believing the gimmicks and learn to focus on the facts. When it comes to protecting our future, less is always more. Do you really need that fourth gray sweater or do the 3 that you already have cut it? Do I really need to eat an avocado shipped in from Mexico when there is delicious local vegetables in season? It’s about being a conscious and responsible consumer. Like I said earlier, we are the ones who are in charge of our destiny. If we want a better world, we have to fight for it. 

To be sure, it’s unrealistic to think that you will never consume an industrial product ever again. In reality, that’s not the point. The bottom line here is that we should all strive to do the best we can, as often as we can, with whatever we can. If you can’t buy local, try to buy direct trade. If you can’t buy direct trade, try to find a sustainable producer. When it comes down to it, just do your best. That’s all you can ever ask for. 

At the end of the day, you matter. We matter. People matter. The world matters. Give this world what you’ve got, and never forget: your choices make a difference.