My ethical consumption is privileged

Disclaimer: I would not be surprised if ethical consumption is not the right term for what I’m saying. I also want to clarify that a lot of this is just based on vibes and not really any strong understanding of this subject.

I recently subscribed to Kagi and bought a Framework 13 Pro. I have been a subscriber of Obsidian for a few months now. Much of my consumption is aimed toward companies that generally respect me or aim to uphold values that I believe in:

• Obsidian is local-first and extensible, essentially letting me do and say whatever without spying on my notes.
• Kagi is a paid metasearch engine that promises better results by not selling my data and pushing sponsored results (a large part of why it’s paid).
• Framework makes modular, repairable laptops because they believe our hardware should last longer.

All of these companies hold values that I support, and so I throw my money at them to help them achieve their mission. Are they infallible? No, they have their flaws, but the core values are what I’m trying to fund here.

Some of my money is probably going to end up funding something I don’t like, but it seems that is inevitable regardless of which company, organization, or developer I turn to. Consequently, consuming ethically is basically impossible, even for someone like me who has the time, motivation, and money to actually go and make use of these products.

Taking aside that ethical consumption is impossible, the fact that I can even make attempts at doing such is privileged. I can afford the time and effort needed to not become the product being sold—maybe not everywhere, but certainly moreso than many people around me—and that is a form of privilege.

Sometimes it feels like you get looked down upon by consumers of these products for not consuming them, even when not everyone can do so. I’m part of that problem too, as I know I’ve been condescending about the brands people choose too.^[1]