Around 6 months ago, Tony got me onto a website called The Story of Stuff. This website contains a vide presentation by Annie Leonard about how we obtain stuff and what happens from extraction to disposal and how it affects our planet, our environment, our psyche and the lives of those who live in developing countries around the world.
The video proposes that we are unable to go on the way that we are and that on a finite planet the linear system that we have in place doesn't and cannot continue to work.
One of the tough questions posed for me is 'Who is paying for the things that I get?' We are all looking for bargains and the opportunity to accumulate as many things as we can for as little cost as we can. I think that this attitude is unhelpful. Now when I see ads on tv for cheap clothes and electronics and the like, I feel terrible because I know that if I particiate in the accumulation of these things then I am most likely being party to a system which sees the world's poorest people paying for my things.
This happens when we import goods that have been produced cheaply. More cheaply, in fact, than they can possibly be produced. The cost is most ofen paid by the workers who are paid much lower wages than they should be. I expect that my wage will allow be enough to feed myself and my family, provide them with safe, adequate shelter and clothing and provide for education costs as necessary. Extras are to be seen as extras and should be carefully considered, I think. Not necessarily cut, but carefully considered.
If I recognise and see that this is true, then, what should my response, as a Christian be?
Firstly, I think that we need to recognise that the plight of the masses is going unheeded because it is unheard. The world's poorest people, the billion who are hungry, have no voice in the global community and no way to make their voices heard. Proverbs 29:7 tells us that
'The righteous care about justice for the poor,
but the wicked have no such concern.'
To care for someone is to have more than feelings of concern for them, but rather it is to do something about it. I cannot say that I care for people and do nothing for them. That is not caring.
What does this have to do with stuff?
If I accumulate things that I know are obtained via the suffering of others, then I am participating in systemic injustice and I am a perpetrator of it. I know that chocolate that is not fair trade is most likely sourced from West Africa, and is very likely produced by child slaves. If I know this and continue to buy the chocolate and do nothing about it, then I am condoning it and, in effect, saying that the chocolate bar in my hands is more important than justice and safety for the child who has been kidnapped from Burkina Faso.
About 90% of all toys that exist in the world are made in China, and most of those are made in sweatshops where workers are paid inadequate wages, forced to work overtime, not given enough days off and whose lives are shortened by unsafe working conditions. If I buy these toys knowing that this is the case, then I am saying that it is more important for my daughter to have the plastic toy than it is for the woman who works in the unfair conditions to even see her children.
Christians could effect social change today if they just stopped buying goods produced via the exploitation of workers and were willing to pay extra for things produced in a manner that was fair for everyone. If all Christians did this then there would be no shift in workers and little unemployment as a result as the same factories that produce the goods now would be given the money required to treat their workers well.
Much more thinking and consideration is needed on this and related topics, but we must not be participants in the kind of injustice that sees children kidnapped and forced to work away from their families, or mothers forced to make a choice between providing for their children or having a relationship with them.
Please be aware that your spending habits have far reaching consequences and, I think, God will hold us accountable for them.
I dont want to be the rich man in James 5:
1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
I'm interested to hear others' thoughts.
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Thanks Graham. The James passage seems an exact parallel to the real situations you described. That's scary stuff. The problem is so systemic that we can ignore it so easily.
ReplyDeleteI have a little question - the "1% of the income from the richest 5% of Christians" or whatever the statistic was from a previous post: Where did you get those numbers from?
I cannot believe I genuinely thought that our stuff was obtained in a more ethical way. I knew about the story of stuff of course, but (from memory) it was more about how the land is stolen from people or the chemicals are put in their atmosphere or whatever, and so they pay for my stuff in that sense. But since the whole Nike sweat-shop thing I thought we didn't tend to get stuff from those situations anymore. So I was very naive, and it's still happening.
As usual Frontline nails the whole thing when Mike's sweat-shop story is turned into a story on fashion because that's what people want to hear!
Hey Graham, I have a question for you:
ReplyDeleteAt this stage in my life, I'm accumulating quite a bit of stuff. This is because I'm at the beginning of my life as a parent/wife, and I need to buy things for my family (clothes, furniture, household stuff). I understand the idea is to limit this expenditure as much as possible (which could be completely - maybe I'm too easy on myself), and where possible use second hand goods (which usually have the most minimal environmental and negative human impact). But what should I buy when I have to buy something? eg I recently saw an umbrella for 200 euros. It was handmade, from a shop that had been in business for about 120 years. It was a family company, and I'm almost certain the production was done locally (though I have to admit, I'd need to double check that). It was made with very high quality materials, and had a lifetime guarantee.
I immediately thought "what an outrageous price" and sadly put it down. Later I got thinking about it (in a 'i wish I could afford that umbrella' kind of way). As a Christian, I dont think I could ever justify this kind of purchase (that almost goes without saying i think). But then, do I think this way because I have been raised in a culture that worships cheap stuff? Or because I'm becoming more holy?
I would guess that in my life so far, I've gone through about 20 umbrellas. Each one was cheaply made, and eventually broke or got lost somewhere. They will all end up in landfill when I'm dead, I highly doubt anyone would hang on to them. They probably cost the environment in innumerable ways, but the human cost would also be huge. Somebody made that umbrella, and I'm guessing if I paid about $10 for it, then there is absolutely no way they were paid a fair price to make it for me. If I had've bought the expensive one, there is a good chance it would have been the only umbrella I would own for the rest of my life. When I die, it would hopefully be in good enough condition that someone could use it after me. It would probably cost (financially) the same as what my other twenty umbrellas, and any future ones, have added up to. And there's a good chance (so let's assume) that the materials and labour were sourced more ethically than the cheap ones. I face this same conundrum all the time at the moment (children's shoes, kitchen utensils etc etc etc).
What do you think our responsibility is when weighing up the upfront cost of something? I dont want to be cheap, and I'll do everything I can to avoid having cheaper and cheaper goods at the cost of those who make them. But what do I buy when it's raining and I have to buy something?
ps sorry for the extremely long question
Hey Ally,
ReplyDeleteI think that that is a great question. In short, I do not know.
I think there are a few things that I think we should consider in decsions like these.
1 - Morally, I think that Paul tells us in Romans that if we are not sure if a decision is sinful or not, then we should not do it.
That aside, there are a number of other considerations.
I think that the landfill problem is a good one to consider. We certainly want to be cutting down on this.
I think that there is also a good chance that dirt cheap umbrellas are made in sweatshops, but I don't know for sure, so it would probably be good to avoid them.
As for the expensive one...
I think that for me the temptation of something like this is to justify the cost of something I want and like, and say it is in the name of fair trade. I think that in this regard you need to search your heart and ask yourself honestly, is this the best way to get something I need (and an umbrella fits into that category, I think), or is there a better way I can think of that is cheaper, just as good and won't be to the detriment of others.
Also, will second hand do the job just as well? That solves the cost problem and the landfill problem.
I think that this is a really difficult question because, like you said, I think that we have no idea what the real cost of goods is because other people have been paying for so long, so how do we count the real cost of an umbrella and decide if it is unreasonable?
I haven't said anything that you haven't considered. I think that you have to try your best to be informed, and be honest with yourself in terms of being actually true to the ideas that the bible presents. Then, if being true to the Bible means changing your views about what is and isn't ok about consumerism, then you have to be true to that.
I don't, despite the way that sounds, think that this is individualistic, I think there are absolute rights and wrongs for everyone, but the situation you present here is fairly difficult and complex.
So if you're not sure if the cheap umbrella is sinful, and you're not sure if the expensive one is either... :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Graham. It's a shame Germany doesn't have op shops. I did see a "second hand boutique" once, but the prices were the same as an expensive department store. I guess the problem is with how to step outside our culture. Everywhere I went in Paris (this is where the umbrella incident occurred), stuff cost a fortune. According to an article I read, Paris does not have the same consumer culture that many other cities do. People do not buy stuff constantly, instead they pay a high price for very good quality. They don't expect things to be cheap. They do expect them to be good. This is basically the opposite of what we expect in Australia (if it's true that is). But even this is relatively new, I'm pretty sure my grandparents expected things (like umbrellas) to last them forever.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't work out if I've simply been conditioned to think that umbrellas (and everything else) should be cheaper than they really should be. It's sinful to buy luxury goods for the sake of our own egos. But how do we work out the real cost of something (labour, materials, environment) and pay the actual price, not less?
Of course I don't. It's not my decision to make. I think that for you guys at the moment it is largely a matter of conscience. I was thinking before, though, after I wrote the reply above that I think it is better to buy the cheap one than an expensive one that is expensive only because of who made it, or that it is a brand name or whatever. Then, after you buy the cheap one, donate some money to World Vision Stir or something like that that advocates for this kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't think it will be the last umbrella that you buy because umbrellas often get left or lost rather than broken.