There is no information on earth whose accessibility will improve the world more than this.
Recently Google staged the beginning of a contest. They call it "10 to the 100th." They accepted submissions for ideas that would "change the world by helping as many people as possible," and they've put up $10,000,000 to make the winning ideas a reality. I submitted one.
I'm finding it hard to get around the notion that the force shaping today's world more than any other is the rich, Western consumer market. That is, when you or I run to the local Target, we are exercising our share of the world's most powerful aggregate force. Think about it - we're busy making money to buy things, and the rest of the world is busy making those things. More lives are shaped by our collective purchasing decisions than by any other identifiable factor.
The problem is, this power is not recognized by the public, the consumers, us, and so not used intentionally. Those who have recognized it are large multinational corporations, who realize that they can drive down costs by forcing poor people to work in poor conditions, and reap huge profits by advertising their cheaper products to rich people as cool, new, expensive.
And corporations are far more flexible than the governments that regulate them. They can work in many countries at once, while any one government may only govern one. The drive for profits in this void of accountability has led companies to despicable business practices, taking advantage of workers and the environment in countries where the government is unable or unwilling to effectively regulate them.
So now an American mother buying back-to-school clothes for her daughter might be buying clothes made by a little girl who will never go to school. And when a little boy pulls a Christmas chocolate out of his stocking, there's a good chance a little boy in West Africa was enslaved to make that chocolate. And yet still we buy.
We base our purchasing decisions on what will benefit us and our families - what will look good, taste good, feel good, etc. Our main source of information on new products is the litany of commercial advertisments we are subjected to.
But this barrage of ads is a slight of hand, a painting over, a curtain falling between us and the reality of the products we are buying. The truth is that they came from somewhere, they were made by someone, and this history matters far more than whatever version of hip the advertiser wants us to associate his product with. And it's only if we care about and act on this history that we can harness the power of our own purchases and make the changes we'd like to see in the world.
After all, the ultimate power lies with us. We have the money. And if we won't buy it, companies won't make it. Collectively we have the power to improve millions, if not billions of lives, simply by making more informed, more intentional purchases.
So what has kept people from doing that so far? At first I thought it was lack of information, that no one knows where and how products are made, or who makes them. But I have come to learn that it's not that the information isn't out there, it's that it's not accessible. It's spread out across 100 books and 1,000 websites. Many don't know how to go about learning all that would be necessary to make proactive purchases. So what do we do?
This is what I proposed to Google. Create a wiki-based website, like Wikipedia.com, that collects all the information about the ethical practices of all the companies that we buy from. So if all you want is to buy an ethical toothbrush, just do a search on the site for 'toothbrush,' and the five most ethical options will pop-up. If you want to go deeper you can type a company name and read through the collective knowledge of its ethical practices, good and bad. And you can search for an industry, like chocolate, and find out what is happening in the chocolate industry that you might want to consider before buying chocolate.
I call it WikiChoice.com. If Google likes it as much as I do then it will be entered into a round of voting in January, and I will need your help to make sure that this idea is chosen.
Truly, there is no information on earth whose accessibility will improve the world more than this.
I'm finding it hard to get around the notion that the force shaping today's world more than any other is the rich, Western consumer market. That is, when you or I run to the local Target, we are exercising our share of the world's most powerful aggregate force. Think about it - we're busy making money to buy things, and the rest of the world is busy making those things. More lives are shaped by our collective purchasing decisions than by any other identifiable factor.
The problem is, this power is not recognized by the public, the consumers, us, and so not used intentionally. Those who have recognized it are large multinational corporations, who realize that they can drive down costs by forcing poor people to work in poor conditions, and reap huge profits by advertising their cheaper products to rich people as cool, new, expensive.
And corporations are far more flexible than the governments that regulate them. They can work in many countries at once, while any one government may only govern one. The drive for profits in this void of accountability has led companies to despicable business practices, taking advantage of workers and the environment in countries where the government is unable or unwilling to effectively regulate them.
So now an American mother buying back-to-school clothes for her daughter might be buying clothes made by a little girl who will never go to school. And when a little boy pulls a Christmas chocolate out of his stocking, there's a good chance a little boy in West Africa was enslaved to make that chocolate. And yet still we buy.
We base our purchasing decisions on what will benefit us and our families - what will look good, taste good, feel good, etc. Our main source of information on new products is the litany of commercial advertisments we are subjected to.
But this barrage of ads is a slight of hand, a painting over, a curtain falling between us and the reality of the products we are buying. The truth is that they came from somewhere, they were made by someone, and this history matters far more than whatever version of hip the advertiser wants us to associate his product with. And it's only if we care about and act on this history that we can harness the power of our own purchases and make the changes we'd like to see in the world.
After all, the ultimate power lies with us. We have the money. And if we won't buy it, companies won't make it. Collectively we have the power to improve millions, if not billions of lives, simply by making more informed, more intentional purchases.
So what has kept people from doing that so far? At first I thought it was lack of information, that no one knows where and how products are made, or who makes them. But I have come to learn that it's not that the information isn't out there, it's that it's not accessible. It's spread out across 100 books and 1,000 websites. Many don't know how to go about learning all that would be necessary to make proactive purchases. So what do we do?
This is what I proposed to Google. Create a wiki-based website, like Wikipedia.com, that collects all the information about the ethical practices of all the companies that we buy from. So if all you want is to buy an ethical toothbrush, just do a search on the site for 'toothbrush,' and the five most ethical options will pop-up. If you want to go deeper you can type a company name and read through the collective knowledge of its ethical practices, good and bad. And you can search for an industry, like chocolate, and find out what is happening in the chocolate industry that you might want to consider before buying chocolate.
I call it WikiChoice.com. If Google likes it as much as I do then it will be entered into a round of voting in January, and I will need your help to make sure that this idea is chosen.
Truly, there is no information on earth whose accessibility will improve the world more than this.
Labels: consumerism, Economic Injustice, Google, wikichoice
posted by James at 23:40
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16 Comments:
james, you better buy that domain now... if you don't, i will just to make sure you can get it.
already got it! .com and .org! Glad you're with me on this one.
oh wait, you have... disregard that last comment.
but on another note, i really like this idea. i've been struggling with how overwhelming it is to live responsibly in america. a wikichoice would make that so much easier.
WOW! You have my full support friend when the day comes. Brilliant.
So that's it, the cat's out of the bag. I know I've said this to you before James, but I wanted to voice it here too. This idea is amazing, life changing, shocking, and has the ability to alter the course of the world as we know it.
Contact me about putting up something as a placeholder for those domains. Something that'll let people sign up to get updates.
*shakes head with a smile* I knew you'd have a great idea! Not only does it have incredible potential for helping others, but it uses a medium that is familiar to many and it is easy to implement. Plus, google == information.
Congrats on the idea. I look forward to congratulating you in January. :)
James, this is a wonderful idea. It will certainly give people the power to make a statement with their money.
Hi James - this is a great idea, and I hope you win the money. However, I bet this is something you could get started for less than 100 bucks. All you need is basic web hosting (with PHP), and Media wiki (which is free), time, and friends (to spread the word). Why not take a slogan from consumer culture and "just do it?"
Hi James,
Of course, I love it. You should check out the conversation happening here, too:
http://dogoodwell.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/question-of-the-week-who-needs-to-take-the-lead-on-sustainable-consumption-producers-or-consumers/
Well done my friend. You know how I feel about this. Let me know if you want to do some more reading in this area. I've completely immersed myself in this stuff and be glad to point you to some good reads. Good luck!
This is absolutely BRILLANT! Go for it!
Hi friends! I'm so excited by your interest and excitement! Thanks for taking a moment to comment. It's very encouraging.
Lanecia,thanks! This idea was fully formed during our trip to Uganda.
Aaron, my internet spirit guide, thanks man. There's more I'd like to talk to you about this project.
Kait! Thanks so much for the tip off! I'm really excited about this.
Lisa, thanks!
Robin, thanks for pointing me to media wiki - I didn't know that was available! We're going to start putting things together soon.
Aimee, thanks for the heads up! And for your constant stream of ideas and support. You're a blessing!
Bryan, I'm looking forward to discussing this more as it develops. I hope you'll be very involved.
Keller, thanks!
James...I think this idea of yours is hugely amazing. I would love to help in any way I can...I don't really know how I can help but I would love to do something, anything to help get this idea off the ground and on to changing the ugly face of consumerism in the United States.
Thanks Jordan. I'll keep you posted on progress!
More than happy to help if you need me bro. There are definitely some things I think that should be taken into consideration in such a project. I can't stress enough how important it will be to try and put this whole thing into context and really understand the conditions that allow ethical consumption to appear as a functional reality. Only then can you really see the potential pitfalls and paths you do not want to go down. Let me know when you want to talk.
Awesome idea. Wonder if people are really as social-conscious as they'd like to say, but I really love the initiative and hope it will further emphasize the need for honest, fair stuff in the world.
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