From the Archives: Didn't Mean to Interrupt Your Prime Day Shopping...

Some musings on paying the true price of a product

Photo by Marques Thomas on Unsplash

It’s a week of unfettered capitalism, where one absurdly large corporation has declared a two day spending extravaganza that has forced everyone else to compete. While Amazon is busy with ‘Prime Day Deals,’ one of my favorite small toy companies is offering discounts with promo code 24PRIMEDAY5 and even better, the zero-waste make-up brand Zerra & Co. settled on promo code FCKAMAZON24 for its mid-July sale. Really, it’s become something of a bizarre national holiday.

We spend a lot of time in my corner of the internet talking about all the problem with accumulating junk and how to break free from the cycle of consumerism. But today I’m more interested in the real cost of the items filling our virtual and literal shopping carts.

Of course, there are the costs that you personally bear when you make a purchase: maintaining, cleaning, and storing an item, not to mention eventually disposing of it. But there is also an enormous cost being paid that you may not see and that is not always reflected in the price tag.

Ever wonder how fast fashion companies sell $3.99 dresses or $7 shoes? Because they are cutting corners on labor or environmental issues. Your $3.99 dress only happens if a company doesn’t pay a living wage to the women and children working in its factories. It only happens if they allow lead and toxic phthalates in toddler clothing, or if they pollute air and waterways near mining and factory sites.

If you’ve ever sat through an entry level macro-economics course, you might remember this as a ‘negative externality,’ where the production or consumption of a product creates a cost for someone else. The most commonly referenced example of this is air pollution— if the factory down the road releases particulate matter into the air, I can’t opt out of inhaling it, whether or not I support the company or agreed to the pollution. In a perfect economic system, regulation exists to limit these externalities. In the real world, we are still ripe with these externalities.

There is even an entire True Price movement working to identify the actual cost of goods in our lives by accounting for the host of social and environmental ills that result from producing and consuming “things.” These calculations attempt to account for everything from the costs of child labor to negative externalities such as air pollution or soil erosion. And while it may not be realistic to pay the ‘true cost’ of literally everything in our lives, knowing the true cost can help companies and consumers better understand the impact of what we buy. The New Yorker notes that this movement “capture[s] the deep moral intuition that human rights and the natural world should not be violated for the production of cheap goods.”

When we make purchases, we are purchasing not just with money and with hours of our lives, but ALSO with our values.

If I value workers earning a living wage that allows them to support their families, it doesn't make sense to buy from brands with a history of unsafe or predatory labor practices.

If I'm concerned about the impact of plastics on our health and our ecosystem, I shouldn't give my children ‘throwaway’ plastic toys.

If it's important that the things in my home don't end up in landfill, I should make purchases with the idea of ‘buying for life’ rather than purchasing the latest Instagram trend.

Unfortunately, as consumers have become more aware of sustainability issues, companies have become more adept at greenwashing. Plastic toys and water bottles now carry a “BPA-Free” label, only to substitute other endocrine-disruptors such as BPS. Fast fashion retailer H&M promotes its garment recycling program while still producing 3 billion articles of clothing a year and burning up to 12 tons of unsold clothing annually (this practice isn’t just limited to H&M, by the way: Burberry, Nike, and Amazon have all been guilty of this practice as well).

So what can consumers look for as evidence that products are made responsibly?

• Look for timeless craftsmanship with natural materials, or cutting edge use of recycled or bio materials— Wood, whether for a cutting board or children’s toys, will never go out of fashion. But we’re probably not walking around wearing wooden clogs. So for the host of things— from shoes to outdoor toys— where wood and natural fabrics aren’t really options, look for companies going above and beyond to cut their environmental impact. For example, a growing number of companies (such as Green Toys and Nothing New sneakers) are made from 100% recycled materials.

• Companies that stand by their products for the long haul— Look for companies that offer lifetime warranties or repairs, and that avoid the 'planned obsolescence’ model of cheaply made products with constant upgrades. Ditto for ‘fast fashion’ and ‘fast furniture.’ Companies with any sort of sustainability mindset will build products that last— and while that will inevitably come with a higher price tag (initially), they also have a longer life span. Some companies, like BuyMeOnce, even offer lifetime guarantees on some or all of their products.

• Look for supply chain transparency— Is the company forthcoming about where its factories are located, and how its employees are treated? Larger corporations often dodge significant issues such as child labor— even in the United States— through a complicated network of sub-contractors. Taking responsibility for the full supply chain of a finished product is complicated, but companies disclosing this information (ranging from Driftaway Coffee to Outerknown clothing) is a good start. Open Supply Hub is a fascinating resource for companies looking to disclose more about their supply chain.

• Look for what happens to returned merchandise— While most merchants aren’t very forthcoming with this information, companies focused on sustainability across a product’s life cycle often are. For example, Avocado mattress is able to donate 90% of its returns to charitable partners, and returned Fable dishes are used at charity events. Other companies have concrete plans for their products end-of-life, such as Native Remix, which turns old shoes into playground material.

And because I’m not terribly interested in paying more for greenwashing, there are also a few labels I try to keep my eye out for:

• Fair trade certification, which tells me a product is manufactured in a facility that pays a living wage to its employees.

• B Corp– Businesses can become certified B corps when they demonstrate a commitment to transparency in their business practices and high standards for labor and environmental practices, including things like vetting their supply chain and considering the impact of corporate decisions on all "stakeholders" (including the surrounding community, not just customers and shareholders).

• Greenguard Gold Certified-- A certification that a product has been tested for hundreds of chemicals. Greenguard gold certified products have low levels of volatile organic compounds or VOCs. These chemicals, such as formaldehyde, can "off-gas" to impact indoor air quality.

• GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) Certified-- Certifies that a textile product is in fact made from organic materials and safe manufacturing processes . A similar certification, OEKO-TEX, evaluates textiles for chemical components-- but some levels of OEKO-TEX certifications do allow chemicals such as phthalates and formaldehyde in limited amounts.

Of course, not everything you purchase will meet all— or even any— of these standards. I’ve yet to find an eco-friendly vacuum, Instapot, or kiddie pool (definitely open to suggestions on this one). But when there are dozens— or even hundreds of thousands— of options on the market, your choice matters.

While corporations like Amazon are likely here to stay— all the more reason to push for reforms ranging from cutting carbon footprints to less packaging and an end to the practice of destroying perfectly good items— this Prime Day, they don’t need your support. But your favorite small business probably does.