In a previous post, I set out a mini-law and I promised examples to come. As a reminder,
Docthib’s tiny law: « If, for a given product or service, you are looking for a more sustainable or respectful alternative*, while demanding the same level of quality as before, then you are not a true activist. «
* In the sense of sustainable development, sustainability, or respect for personal data and privacy.
My first example is an obvious one: Amazon. These days, most people shop online on this site. It’s quick, cheap and there’s a huge choice. When I was young (in the second half of the 20th century), there were still drugstores in every neighbourhood: nearby your apartment, you could find stain removers, cleaning gloves and basins, paint or bicarbonate, hardware, light bulbs…
Amazon has replaced all that, and any small-to-large DIY store will swoon with envy (or jealousy) at the choice offered by this online site. Now, real-life sales assistants tell me that customers come to ask for advice, take a photo of the product with their phone, and finally buy it on Amazon.
But this company is neither sustainable nor environmentally friendly, and it treats its employees and suppliers badly – not to mention collecting personal data from consumers whenever they shop. Amazon doesn’t pay taxes, fires unionised employees, and sends tens of thousands of new products to landfill every year.
What alternatives have I been using now for several years ?
My first solution is Fnac–Darty (a French company). This company pays its taxes, has real shops with real shop assistants, plenty of choice on the shelves (while avoiding cheap electronics from producers zillions of miles away), and there are no controversies over this company – or at least, much less than those over its almighty competitor.
This is a fact that the products sold by Fnac are often a little more expensive than those of its aforementioned competitor – but not always. And for online purchases, their delivery times can also be a few days longer.
This brings us to two additions to the tiny law above :
- price is not everything ;
- the notion of comfort.
Price isn’t everything, because for a company that pays no tax, and even no social charges in some countries, it’s easy to have lower prices. So let’s try to replace the current discourse. Instead of saying » Amazon offers the best price « , let’s say » Amazon refuses to ensure the safety of its employees, and refuses to pay its contribution to society « . Do we want to encourage this system when we personally pay tax and we benefit from social protection? In other words : when I pay a little less for a product sold by Amazon, I am encouraging a fraudulent and unethical company.
Let’s talk now about comfort, with the example of my alternative when purchasing books (I read a lot). Amazon may be the biggest bookstore in the world, but in comparison :
- The shelves in each Fnac shop are very full, so you can compare, read a whole chapter, browse in some strange sections in the library, and therefore discover, taste, see, smell…
- Local bookshops, although smaller, can order any book, with delivery usually arriving the next day. And all this comes with a personalised advice from the sales assistant.
There’s some much pleasure in diverting from one’s path for a few minutes, to stroll the shelves of a bookshop, or even talk to a human being about the comparative merits of two authors or learn about the bestsellers of the month.
My third source of alternatives, apart from books or products that Fnac sells, is a little folder in my browser that I’ve called » Achat-zone » (in French, standing for Shop-Zone. But the French wording actually resembles the name of the company that should not be named). Achat-zone is my anti-Amazon. It is a folder in my personal toolbar in Firefox, and I regularly update it with all the French websites and products that I regularly use but can’t easily find in store , like clothes from a French brand, household products or useful supplies…
Of course, this means online purchases with delivery that takes a little longer than with Amazon. But I’d rather give (indirectly) my money to La Poste (French mail company), which dispatches my parcels, than contribute to the hellish stress and work insecurity of Amazon’s delivery drivers.
Let’s come back to this notion of comfort, or giving up a certain level of comfort. The impulse to buy from Amazon is often encouraged by the promise that the product will be delivered very quickly – but in all candidness: is my life going to change because this product is delivered on Tuesday rather than Friday ? In these times of instantaneous gratification, it’s always nice to experience patience, to measure the passage of time, and to understand that an order + delivery must take a certain amount of time, just because there are human beings at the other end of the supply chain. At worst, when I’m told that certain delivery times will be » long » (10 days! How inconvenient! As if some people were stalling right next to their letterbox this whole time), I can always question the purchase : « After all, do I really need this product ? »
So let me amend slightly my tiny law, to add the dimension of comfort, or the voluntary choice to accept a reduction in comfort :
Docthib’s tiny law: « If, for a given product or service, you seek a more sustainable or respectful alternative*, while demanding the same level of quality or comfort as before, then you are not a true activist. «
* In the sense of sustainable development, sustainability, or respect for personal data and privacy.