Each day, we have to make choices for a trademark or another, for a product or another. We have criteria to decide and hopefully are we interested to know if those products we are using are made in the best conditions for workers, good for health, etc.

while on the one hand you are correct in stating that we all have our own criteria and WE have to make choices- the choices we make are rather limited to being nonexistent almost. most large grocery stores carry the same corporation selling you products- you maybe get 5 different corporations selling you crap that was imported here from 3rd world countries or from across the nation. whereas a food co-op or a natural grocery store has local products/produce, and different, more mindful companies who sell organic goods. those are both very limited in scope. we should be supporting our own communities, and that means going to farmers markets and banning with others in your town to grow and make products out of native flora.

here in Portland, or i can go to the farmers market and buy soap, food, cat food, paper, candles, sponges, etc and there is a majority of local stores that sell other goods i purchase such as DVD'rs, and clothing -where i am at least supporting locally, buying fair trade, recycled/recyclable, union or non-sweatshop.

my point is that, no we don't need to make choices between trademarks- our choice should be to avoid trademarks because they do nothing for local communities, nor for a nations economic health. we also need to educate ourselves and inquire about corporations and make our ethical decisions from there. there are such things as good and bad choices and the best choice.


With his Ford T and the assembly line, he was a precursor and changed totally the capacity of production AND following our lifestyle.

as for ford, assembly lines and mass production not only are anti social and alienating, but the satisfaction of making and finishing something you are making by hand is eliminated, fueling even more disconnection by taking away an essential part of what makes us human- the ability to create.

mass production ruins environments and fuels consumerism. not everyone needs their own car. not everyone needs the same t-shits with the same logo in the same place. not everyone need to look exactly like the next person. mass production effectively killed DIY. people stopped making their own clothes, hand crafted woodwork and other trades declined, even repair shops are hard to find. this form of thinking lead to the McDonald revelation of specialization and then fueled taylorism and then the chinese got ahold of it and it is called something else now. and you might know what it is like to be owned by a factory if you live in china or japan.


i am not a primitivist, if people want goods, we should be able to compensate- but not on a mass production scale. especially when there is so much waste.

if people were given the power and the education to make their own goods or were able to build a car from scratch- or at least by using spare parts- workers and consumers would be much happier. of course goods would cost more than they do now- but we also must learn to take into consideration the true cost of goods- from labor costs, environmental costs, social costs and health risks.

that being said- i think a good place to start would be to buy more from thrift stores and farmers markets.