Better alternatives

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullah everyone. How are you?

I'm doing alright, alhamdulillah. I've been just living my life. Of course, I've been following daily the war in Gaza, thinking what could I do more.

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So when I was a young and idealistic hippie, I used to boycott different, multi-national companies. My boycott wasn't linked into any specific events, but it was an overall act against capitalism. 

Then, time passed and I got more sick and then, surviving midst of it all was basically all I could do. I thought I'd have made my life easier without being so "strict" so I quit being a vegetarian and I basically bought and consumed what I wanted. Started buying clothes from actual stores instead of second hand shops and flea markets.

But through time I started to miss my ways and my idealism. Now, with a bit more mature eyes, the situation hasn't changed much. We have more green or green-washed brands, more vegetarian meat alternatives in markets, and so on, but the big companies still keep thriving.

The companies which were shady before, and definitely are shady now.

To mention just few, (check Naomi Klein's book "No logo") McDonalds, Coca-cola, Pepsi, Nestle. Unilever, Kraft. Zara, Adidas, Nike. Starbucks. And so many more.. all these companies don't care about their workers and they sell their goods (or bads) in illegal settlements in Palestine, or in 'Israel'. Puma supports Israel's Football Association. L'oreal.. The list goes on. 

Check BDS Movement and Ethical consumer's boycott list to get started. 

I know we have gotten used to our ways, and it takes a little effort to create new habits. In this situation, where Gaza and Palestine are facing genocide, it's the least we can do. We can vote with our wallets.

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What does life then look like, without these multi-million businesses?

I can tell you it looks just as fine or even better than before. Just think in new ways. Eat healthier, make better choices. Make your coffee at home and save some money to send as sadaqa (charity). You will get used to your new ways in few days or weeks. It matters where we use our money so don't give it to those companies who just care about their profit, destroying innocent lives. It will have an impact, it already has. So just keep going.

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Thank you for reading. Until next time,

Aisha