If earning is a necessity, then spending is a responsibility.
CCompanies spend a lot of capital to establish their brands. Brands are trusted by customers and provide standard services. According to French sociologist Jean Baudrillard, brands have a “signal value”, which makes them different from non-branded products. So, in the era of niche consumption, do non-branded products stand a chance?
Over time, we have become ready to behave in a corporate-friendly manner. Branded products are expensive and exclusive. We don’t pay for the product, we pay for the brand. We pay for complex supply chains and the vast resources needed to run them. Most people are willing to pay extra for a product to make them feel special. But most of the time, exclusivity is not about the quality of the product; It’s just about marketing. Besides, how much sense is there in paying extra to feel that exclusivity? In the words of Ernest Hemingway, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow beings. True nobility lies in being better than your former self.
During medieval times, most Indian villages were largely self-sufficient. Although this self-reliance also created a kind of stability, today isolation is not only harmful but also difficult to achieve. American author Donald Miller has said, “In the age of information, ignorance is a choice.” Moreover, our lifestyle today requires various specialized goods and services that only big companies can provide. So the new question is, whom do we trust to meet our needs? We should be thoughtful about how we spend our money. Most of the profits go to the top management in the companies and it does not help in the progress of the common people. They generate employment, but that too does not seem proportionate. It is mostly used to diversify their brand portfolio. But there are many individual hawkers, micro, small and medium enterprises, women self-help groups, tribal groups etc. who provide goods at affordable prices. They may not have advanced marketing, but they have great products to offer. Unfortunately, various traditional arts are becoming extinct without support. It is not just about their livelihood but also about our heritage. Not all products could be bought from them, but some products like food items, khadi clothes, perfumes, artefacts etc. could definitely be bought from them.
Products that come from complex supply chains are not only more expensive, but they also have a larger ecological footprint than those that come through traditional methods. In the wake of the health and ecological crisis, Western consumers are turning to minimalist, vegan and organic products. This should inspire us to find our own creative ways to deal with such issues. India has a long history of responsible product making, which had a large market before the Industrial Revolution. But such industries were damaged to make way for European goods. Indian philosophy has never persuaded us to rely on things to fill the emptiness of our personality. This does not mean that brands should be abandoned immediately. Rather, many brands have started making more responsible products and they are worth noting. We just have to think before buying.
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