The book I’ve been wanting is more affordable on Amazon
But I can’t give my money to Jeff Bezos
I’m supposed to support small businesses
I spent 20 minutes in Sephora trying to find the best conditioner
I think I find one, but it doesn’t say “no animal testing”
How can I buy from my favorite brands
When I heard their CEO has all those sexual harassment allegations?
I cut the top off of every tube I own
So that I use every last drop of product
Zero – waste living is in, you see?
But the bottle is non-recyclable plastic
It’ll probably sit in the ocean for 500 years
What if it kills a turtle and it’s all my fault?
The restaurant I wanted to eat at pays their servers less than minimum wage
I know I’ll leave them a good tip
But the manager pockets 20%
Is it better if I just don’t go at all?
The shirt I just bought was made by a fast-fashion brand
I know I’ll wear it all the time
But those children in the factories barely get paid
And all of that water is getting polluted
My purchase probably contributed to global warming
But I can’t afford to buy sustainable
Target had some really nice pride merch this year
I still use that tumbler I got
Even though they slapped a rainbow on their logo for June
And took it off on July 1st
I’m not supposed to benefit from rainbow capitalism
I grew up in a time when my diet was the “other,” the “weird”
I started eating meat again when everyone went vegan
What a hypocrite, everyone probably thought
Every bite of chicken I eat wastes hundreds of gallons of water
Those animals were probably subject to genetic modifications and hormones
But I’m really lacking protein in my diet otherwise
It feels like there’s no right way to do this
I’m always going to sacrifice one thing for another
Then I realize, that’s the problem
There’s no such thing as ethical consumption
And yet I can’t stop trying