January Goal Post

As 2018 already starts to fly by, it's becoming crucial to plan the rest of my work for the year. I've been thinking a lot about the psychological and socioeconomic aspects of ethical consumerism lately and how to balance practicality with a moral mindset. In other words, the biases that we hold as well as cognitive dissonance can make us more likely to buy things even though we know about the source's poor ethics. I've also become increasingly aware that more often than not, ethical costs more. Cost is perhaps the biggest reason that people can't always buy from the most ethically sound companies. As I continue to think about the factors contributing to my "why don't we buy?" question, it becomes more and more apparent that I need to up my research.

In the upcoming week, I will be working on my display case outside the library. The months to follow will be mainly focused on doing research and preparing for the symposium. I want to dig deeper into the history of the ethical market, how corporations decide between profit and humane treatment of employees, the disadvantages of operating cosmetic companies in China where animal testing is required by law, and if we can all benefit from shopping for quality over quantity.