According to Charles Taylor’s theory, morality includes doing what is right and good to be done at a particular time. He states that morality and ethics should not be separated as they are handy in hand. Further, he notes that moral reasoning should be applied to examine both demands and moral principle essence. Today’s world has acquired consumerism as part of the human race characteristic where people pursue immediate satisfaction for their needs and wants. It has created an ethical dilemma requiring contemplation, self-analysis, and attention. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the importance of sustainable consumption and the moral decision on consumption to individual and public corporates.
The importance of understanding sustainable consumption disclose the link between the environment, future generation, and human race actions. It advocates for individuals to take accountability and be held responsible for their doings. Owning that consumption trend dramatically influences future generations and the world. In addition, it aids in eliminating the belief that world resources are unlimited and should be exploited and instills in conserving and preserving world resources (Hellberg, Sofie, and Beniamin, 97). Moreover, the moral principle emphasizes individuals being accountable stewards by reducing the negative impacts of consumption habits. It is enhanced by emphasizing shifting from disposability and a culture of excess towards waste reduction and mindful consumption. Consequently, being knowledgeable of consumer choice s power and adopting sustainable consumption practices helps to build a fairer and more environmentally caring society.
Among the many struggles of aligning to the principle action as an individual I have faced is my consumption choices on beverages like tea. Learning about the adverse environmental effects and exploitative labor practices linked with tea processing factories made me aware of the importance of aligning moral principles of sustainable consumption with my actions. It became evident the necessity of being morally imperative while purchasing from both environmentally friendly brands and being ethically sourced. Advocating for upholding ethical practices with sustainable measures can reduce exploitative labor practices while minimizing environmental effects (Yildirim 878). However, the quest to take the best tea made meeting the demands uneasy. Characterized by the allure of the most affordable well, tasting brand resulting in weakness where I gave in to satisfy my instant gratification for the quest. In addition, social media influence and my mind desire created a conflict within myself in efforts to embrace sustainable consumption and affordable cheap tea. Therefore, my personal experience on a quest for tea gives a limelight on the challenges of upholding moral decisions on sustainable consumption.
Businesses, too, face a moral dilemma in efforts to align with the appropriate sustainable principles. For instance, in production plants such as agro-processing plants, in pursuit of maximizing profits while minimizing production costs, corporates fail to uphold ethical and environmental considerations. The processing industry is driven by prominent production tones with exploitative labor practices, mainly by to the workers, farmers, and minors (Maciejewski, Grzegorz, and David, 153). With the pressure to sell large volumes of processed products, the agroindustry mainly comprises excessive carbon emission and environmental degradation. The moral principle for sustainable consumption requires corporates to practice fair labor and environmental protection measures. The agro-processing industries have recently adopted sustainability consumption and taken more environmentally friendly measures to protect the ecosystem (Tambovceva et al. 245). Some of the measures include reduced carbon emissions practices and waste recycling practices. It is evident that in the long term, businesses enjoy a positive public, and corporate image, and increased customer loyalty. However, in incurring suitable consumption by businesses, the cost incurred is transferred to customers, increasing the buying price of products. Although businesses face various challenges while implementing moral principles on sustainable consumption, they enjoy increased sales volume for their products in the long run.
Both individuals and public corporations should maintain a moral principle to ensure that the world’s resources are well maintained while improving sustainable consumption development.
Works Cited
Maciejewski, Grzegorz, and Dawid Lesznik. “Consumers Towards the Goals of Sustainable Development: Attitudes and Typology.” Sustainability 14.17 (2022): 10558.
Yildirim, Seda. “The consumer role for sustainable development: how consumers contribute sustainable development goals.” Research Anthology on Measuring and Achieving Sustainable Development Goals. IGI–Global, 2022. 872-888.
Hellberg, Sofie, and Beniamin Knutsson. “Sustaining the life-chance divide? Education for sustainable development and the global biopolitical regime.” Critical Studies in Education 59.1 (2018): 93-107.
Tambovceva, Tatjana, Dzineta Dimante, and Dzintra Atstāja. “Consumer behavior changes through education for sustainable development: Case of Latvia.” International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management 21.5-6 (2018): 238-252.
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