Module 6 Journal Reflection - Karley Glosek
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Southern New Hampshire University *
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Philosophy
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Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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Karley Glosek
Ethics of Consumption When considering my own individual choices as a consumer, I recognize that the choices I make are neither completely unethical nor completely ethical. For example, as someone who prefers and genuinely enjoys thrifting, almost all of the clothing that I own was thrifted rather than being bought at a large corporation that’s known for mass-producing items of clothing. Further, when I do closet clean-outs, I always donate everything I can to my local women’s shelter. Due to the fact that the clothing I buy and get rid of is being repurposed, rather than being left to sit inside of a landfill, I feel that my actions here are considered ethical. However, when considering my personal choices in regards to the consumption of things like food and kitchenware items, I feel that I am lacking in ethicality. For example, I frequently buy wasteful, unethical items such as paper plates, paper towels, plastic cups, plastic silverware, plastic storage
bags, etc. Although I do own more than enough real plates, cups, and silverware, I still choose to buy these things because they are convenient. These items make for less dishes that need cleaning as well as less wear and tear on my expensive dinnerware. Further, while I could (and really should) buy alternative products to paper towels and plastic bags, such as reusable cleaning cloths made from recycled materials and silicone reusable storage bags, it would be much less convenient. Rather than just throwing away used paper towels and plastic bags, these items would need to be frequently washed and maintained. Delving even deeper into the ethics of my individual consumer choices, I don’t think that I can really ever recall a time in which I’ve put much thought into the source of the goods that I consume. While I am aware that the ethical sourcing of products has been a widespread debate for some time, it’s simply just not something that I tend to think about. For example, I remember
seeing a viral post on Facebook one day that was urging people not to buy from a recently popularized shopping site known as Temu. Their reasoning for this was that Temu had been known to sell products that were the direct result of forced labor. However, not too long after reading this post, I had bought several fake plants and other décor items from the site. due to the fact that I had been on a tight budget and needed décor to clutter up my corn snake’s new terrarium, I did not care much about where the products were coming from. However, this is not to say that I simply do not care at all about situations of forced labor or sweatshop conditions. I think that these acts are absolutely heinous and unethical, and I take accountability for my irresponsibility and the importance of making more responsible and ethical choices as a consumer going forward. When consuming resources, I think that it is imperative that I consider ethical principles such as my contribution to society and human wellbeing, avoiding harm and being careful not to cause harm to others, taking action not to discriminate, being respectful of the work that is required to produce the items in which I consume, and remaining a fair and honest person. Obviously, I am not the only consumer on the planet, and it is important for me to be mindful of the impact of my own consumerism not just within society, but also the impact of my own consumption on the world itself and nature. With that, it is important that I consider the impact made by society in regards to consumerism in order to attempt to remain as fair as possible when
it comes to my own choices as a consumer. In the situation I had mentioned earlier regarding the shopping site Temu, there were many ethical dilemmas encountered. Due to the fact that I was on a tight budget, I was faced with the dilemma of consuming unethically sourced products or scraping the web for equally financially-friendly products that were undoubtedly ethically sourced. In our current world,
however, it unfortunately seems all but impossible to find ethically sourced and financially friendly alternatives for most products. Further, I faced the dilemma of buying possibly unethically sourced products or forcing my snake to go without clutter until I could afford something else, which would have caused my snake to be under a great deal of stress, as snakes require lots of clutter in order to feel hidden and protected.
As I had previously stated, I cannot recall a time in which I’ve put much thought into the source of the goods that I consume. Therefore, I have also not put very much thought at all into the global impacts of my decisions as a consumer. However, I take full accountability for my irresponsibility and going forward, I will make it a point to hold myself accountable and be more
thoughtful of the impacts of my personal decisions on others, as well as on the earth and nature, which both hold crucial roles in regard to the ability of overall human existence.
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Corporate Consumption
In our current world, it is becoming increasingly common to see large corporations take initiative towards more sustainable practices. For example, in July of 2020, Apple Inc. released its initiative towards complete carbon neutrality across the entirety of its business. More specifically, the corporation claims that by 2030, they will have zero carbon impact to the environment, thus eliminating the company’s impact on the pressing issue of global climate change (Apple Newsroom, 2020). Further, the company has made many strides to achieve its plans towards sustainability. For example, in 2019, Apple had already decreased its carbon footprint by a striking 4.3 million metric tons through innovations in design and use of recycled materials (2020). Further, in 2018, Apple became the first ever company to release devices made with “100% recycled rare earth elements” (2020). There are many ethical implications of the company’s decision to eliminate its carbon footprint. For example, through this initiative, Apple is making a point to address the serious global issue of climate change. Therefore, the company is taking accountability for its responsibility to the environment by making ethical decisions to decrease its environmental impact. Further, consumers worry about how the implementation of the company’s plan will affect consumer costs of Apple products. Therefore, consumer’s worry that the costs will rise by seemingly unethical amounts, when Apple products are already not necessarily considered “financially friendly.” Lastly, while Apple Inc. takes initiative towards environmentally responsible and ethical business practices, there are critics who argue that the company only really cares about improving its public image rather than being an environmentally friendly company.
When searching through Apple’s 127-page code of ethics, it is made clear that the company has long addressed the global environment in regards to the importance of environmentally ethical business practices. For example, in an archived Facilities Report dating back to 2008, it is reported that since 2006, the company has been committed to assessing and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Further, there is mention in this report of initiatives to reduce energy and water consumption as well as waste production. Lastly, the report also includes charts comparing Apple’s environmental impact in terms of energy consumption, water consumption, and waste production for the years 2006 and 2007. In each of these charts, there is a clear decrease for all of these factors between the years of 06-07 (Apple Inc., 2008). In Apple’s current code of ethics, last updated on January 1, 2022, there are several mentions of the global environment in regards to the importance of ethical environmental practices. For example, there are three whole pages in Apple’s code of conducts dedicated to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Management
, which states that:
“Supplier shall identify, manage, reduce, and responsibly control Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from its operations. Supplier shall regularly quantify, set targets, monitor progress, and reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases through process modification, abatement, energy conservation, use of clean energy, or other measures” (Apple Inc., 2022, p. 107). Therefore, throughout history it is seen that Apple Inc. has long been committed to ethical environmental practices. I believe that the business model demonstrated here is one that every business and/or corporation should strive to follow. As times change, new factors come into play that come to be of importance, especially for large corporations like this one. Rather than
ignoring these factors, Apple is constantly committed to staying on top of these concerns and doing what they can to ensure that these concerns are adequately addressed.
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References
Apple Incorporated. (2022). Apple Supplier Code of Conduct. https://www.apple.com/supplier-
responsibility/pdf/Apple-Supplier-Code-of-Conduct-and-Supplier-Responsibility-
Standards.pdf
Apple Incorporated. (2008). Facilities Report: 2008 Environmental Update.
https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Facilities_Report_2008.pdf
Apple Newsroom. (2020). Apple commits to be 100 percent carbon neutral for its supply chain and products by 2030. Apple Incorporated. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/07/apple-commits-to-be-100-percent-carbon-
neutral-for-its-supply-chain-and-products-by-2030/