It's a classic case of revealed vs declared preferences. People overwhelmingly say they want everything ethically sourced, but they reveal that they don't want to pay more for it, which makes ethically sourced anything a luxury good in the cases where it succeeds at all. People want kids out of
At some point IMO people need to grow up and recognize that there's a GULF between the world people say they want, and the one they insist on creating. Assuming that your money follows your stated intentions, you're part of a small minority that truly cares about this to the extent that they're willing to pay for it.
According to the complaint, people, generally, are putting their money where their mouth is, and that the market prices such higher, as one would expect.
The problem is the information asymmetry: a consumer can't know if the word "sustainable" indicates sustainable practices, or is just ink. That's where regulation ought to step in, but of course, waves at current political turmoil…
I think this is just an argument for why we should decide what production practices are acceptable for society, impose it, and dole out harsh penalties for cheaters.
If you're going to line your coffers by selling things to us, then we get to decide things like whether you get to use slave labor, whether you get to adulterate it with pollutants, whether you get to lie about its contents, etc.
That way people can pick the cheapest product and receive something that isn't completely horrific. We already kinda have this, but your comment just supports the need for it.
It's there for the sub-set of people who truly care, or want to socially signal that they care. It's like... Tony's Chocolonely or any of the fair trade centric chocolates. They exist, they make sales, and you know who blows them out of the water every year? Nestle. Mondelez.
For every person who goes to Whole Foods and checks the labels, there are thousands of people who go to Wal-Mart or Costco and the only thing they check is the price.
Tony's Chocoloney had to stop marketing their chocolate as the only chocolate that doesn't use slave labor because they couldn't guarantee it.
Unless you're literally flying over to vet suppliers yourself, there's practically nothing you can do as a consumer to guarantee you're not being lied to.
Frankly, maybe this is an opportunity for an OSINT org. Just as soon as they stop having all these wars of aggression with professional misinformation campaigns to focus on, of course.
At some point IMO people need to grow up and recognize that there's a GULF between the world people say they want, and the one they insist on creating. Assuming that your money follows your stated intentions, you're part of a small minority that truly cares about this to the extent that they're willing to pay for it.