The phrase “no ethical consumption under Capitalism” has become a meme and dumbed down by teenagers on TikTok proceeding to bash corporations that pretend to care about anything other than profits while simultaneously peddling human made waste from third world countries. It is not, by any means, fundamentally incorrect, but a new documentary by a group of eco-friendly next generation companies, Seeding Change: The Power of Conscious Commerce, comes out to prove the opposite. Whether it’s successful or not is not easy to say. But it is clear that it has a heart in the right place, a mind in the doing and an absolute faith in the power of small companies to make huge changes.
Richard Yelland’s relatively short documentary revolves around the founders and representatives of several small startups that have embedded sustainability and fair trade into their core operations: Sambazon, which processes food from açai and attempts to compensate Brazilian farmers fairly, Guayakí Yerba Mate, which calls its business model “market-driven regeneration,” and Numi Tea, which specializes in organic tea. These companies, among many others, are all over two decades old. Eventually osme of them became part of OSC2 (One Step Closer to an Organic and Sustainable Community), a social enterprise that combines the activities of small firms to enhance their market power. One of their most admirable achievements is the advocacy for biodegradable packaging.
The founders of all the above companies speak on how successful they have been in creating these new production models. I will give them some credit how in their companies dealings, social justice is never presented as primary issue: These are profit making companies whose existence is centered on marketing and selling products, and being considerate about supply chains is just one of the things that they offer potential clients. For that reason, Seeding Change does at times feel like marketing for these companies Buy these teas, these soaps and these products, and you’re not causing as much harm to the environment as you would when buying the big brands.
Which is true to a certain degree. If Nestlé or bigger companies went through with sustainable, egalitarian principles then the world would be a better place. But it is also the case that the economic models for many of these countries and communities depend on unsustainable forest clearance and other practices so that they can continue to make money in the short term. Simply sourcing more tea and paying villagers a bit more is not going to make much of a difference to their economic prospects. This is a much larger problem that needs to be solved than what any one set of companies can actually handle.
The founder mentions, “the future is scaling this model,” despite there being not much insight on how this can be done. From this perspective, ‘socially’, this film appears to be great. Are buyers of the product asking themselves, “how do I make it look appealing?” I suppose if you are an investor eager to invest in potential start up companies or a CEO, that might be the case.
The documentary does not go into any of the companies to the extent that it would be able to assess if their best practices are adhered to. A fast scroll down the Wikipedia page reveals that some of them have managed to get themselves into some controversies over the years, usually having conflict with local authorities or some form of regulation. These are still corporations that make money by selling the harnessed resources of poorer nations to richer ones. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism but if this is the system that sustains the first world, as the diverse interviewees of Seedless Change seem to claim, then it is worth doing our best to do as little damage as possible while earning money even if doing no damage, and being ethical, is an imperfect and difficult goal at times. At least its a start a seed toward a better future. At the very least, it makes us feel better about ourselves.
Yelland managed to craft an astounding documentary. But it’s somewhat hard for me to overlook the cynicism that people let into its participants and any success they may have had relative to other’s success (and success stories are always existent). Regardless, the film does have an air of positivity about it. With the hope that a new generation of entrepreneurs emerges, one that has a wider perspective of the world and their role in it. Seeding Change’s ultimate aim is to air a variety of positive practices, alongside programs that showcase self sustaining resource management and fair trade practices with a “triple bottom line” management perspective. Admittedly, the world does present social and economic issues that seem like they cannot be realistically addressed and solved. And Yelland is beyond excited to show how badly we have messed with our environment. It’s no wonder why we would be in a better situation if individuals, and not merely companies, hold on to a more positive and supportive approach. Even if the business for profit agenda is not the easiest means to save humanity, it still remains one of the tools available. And I guess these are better than nothing as well, as far as being pointed in the right direction.
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