Column: Resisting corporate power

Labor and human rights organizations are always asking the public to boycott certain corporations for one reason or another. Practicing everything from sweatshop and child labor to discrimination and money laundering, corporations are always being exposed for their irresponsibility. It's almost impossible for even the most socially conscious consumer to keep track of which companies are being targeted at any given moment, and even harder to be sure which products and sub-contractors have connections to those specific corporations. People often feel like their own personal boycotts, and even mass collective boycotts, don't have any significant effect on the corporations they target.

Even more to the point, sweatshop labor and environmental destruction are not practiced only by corporations targeted by activist campaigns; the problems are endemic. Through its ruthless competitive focus, capitalism encourages companies to pursue only the aim of profit, disregarding social and environmental concerns across the board. Even though many of us choose not to shop at places like Wal-Mart and Gap because of active campaigns against their social practices, the companies we choose to buy from instead are often guilty of the same crimes. The most obvious question posed to anti-sweatshop and anti-corporate organizers is, "How do we avoid buying things produced under unfair labor conditions or with environmentally unsustainable methods if we plan to buy anything at all?"

In spite of this seemingly bleak situation, there are many corporations with social practices that are better than others and many organizations dedicated to telling us which they are. Websites like www.coopamerica.org have developed databases of ratings of the social and environmental responsibility of most of the world's major corporations. Potential consumers can decide which corporations have the best practices and shop accordingly. Groups like Domini Investments (www.domini.org) and Social Funds (www.socialfunds.org) have developed similar ratings for corporations to guide potential investors. Socially responsible shopping and investing has the potential to affect the practices of corporations as long as they know the reasons people are choosing to shop in their stores or in others.

Another way to avoid supporting injustices with your money is to shop in secondary markets. Thrift stores, street fairs, giveaways and trades all prevent your money from going to support irresponsible corporations. Though these items are as likely made under unfair labor conditions as those you buy directly from corporations, you are not adding to the demand curve for sweatshop clothing if you get it from a friend or a neighbor.

Another way is simply to buy less stuff and sell and give away the stuff you already have. The vast majority of Americans consume much more than is necessary to live a comfortable life, and this over-consumption isn't good for anyone. We waste energy and resources that could go to better purposes, corporations exploit more workers and use the money we give them to further this exploitation and workers everywhere spend more hours on the job and less time with their families. Those who want to argue that our rich corporations provide poor people with good jobs ignore the fact that corporations move from country to country looking for lower wages and leaving workers and families behind, provide bad jobs that often cause serious health problems, and destroy pre-existing local economies by mass-producing items that were formerly produced by individuals around the world.

Unfortunately, it is not enough for us to just boycott, shop in secondary markets or buy less stuff. Our power can't challenge corporate power unless we change the way Americans think about consumerism. People must be educated to understand the social price of the items they buy instead of just the dollar amount on the price tag. We have to organize against labor exploitation and demand that communities be educated and that companies produce responsibly and with regard to human rights and environmental safety. Organizing groups of people to work actively on this issue is key to creating more just labor conditions for people everywhere.