11 Items People No Longer Buy on Principle

Some people stop buying certain things on principle, not because they cannot afford them. The money is there, but spending it feels wrong. Those purchases clash with personal values or priorities. Choosing not to buy them matters more than owning the item itself.

Products From Companies With Bad Labor Practices

You stopped buying from brands using sweatshop labor or treating workers poorly. Price advantages don’t justify supporting exploitation. Research revealed which companies maintain ethical practices.

Fast fashion and discount retailers built businesses on worker exploitation. You buy less from ethical sources instead of more from problematic companies. The principle of not funding abuse outweighs savings.

Single-Use Plastics When Alternatives Exist

You refuse to buy disposable plastic items with reusable alternatives available. Plastic waste damages the environment while alternatives work better. The convenience of disposables doesn’t justify environmental harm.

Reusable bags, bottles, and containers replaced single-use plastics. You invested in quality reusable items once. The principle of reducing plastic waste guides purchasing even when disposables seem easier.

Conflict Diamonds and Unethical Jewelry

You won’t buy diamonds or jewelry potentially funding violence. Ethical sourcing and lab-created options provide alternatives. The principle of not supporting conflict outweighs traditional preferences.

Jewelry purchases now require verification of ethical sources. You choose lab-created diamonds or alternative stones. The luxury of traditional diamonds isn’t worth potential human suffering.

Products Tested on Animals

You stopped buying cosmetics and household products tested on animals. Cruelty-free alternatives exist across all product categories. Animal testing for consumer goods violates your principles.

Beauty and cleaning products from companies avoiding animal testing work equally well. You research brands and choose ethical options. The principle matters more than specific brand preferences.

Fast Fashion From Ultra-Cheap Retailers

You quit buying $5 shirts and $10 jeans from fast fashion chains. The environmental damage and labor exploitation behind ultra-cheap clothing became unacceptable. Fewer better-quality items replaced disposable fashion.

Fast fashion encourages wasteful consumption and worker abuse. You buy secondhand or from ethical brands. The principle of sustainable consumption guides clothing purchases now.

Nestle Products After Learning Company History

You boycott Nestle products on principle. Research into company practices regarding water rights and infant formula in developing countries changed your purchasing. Many alternatives exist for every Nestle product.

The boycott requires reading labels as Nestle owns hundreds of brands. You’re committed despite inconvenience. The principle of not supporting harmful corporate behavior matters more than brand loyalty.

Brand Name Medications Over Generics

You refuse to buy brand name drugs when generics exist. The identical medications at fraction of costs make brand purchases ethically questionable. Overpaying for branding when people struggle to afford medicine feels wrong.

Generic medications work exactly like brands at 70% lower costs. You choose generics on principle. Supporting reasonable medication pricing through purchasing decisions aligns with your values.

New Books When Libraries Provide Free Access

You stopped buying new books when libraries offer the same content free. Supporting libraries through usage while saving money aligns with your principles. Publishers don’t need your money when free alternatives exist.

Library cards provide access to millions of books. You reserve new releases and borrow rather than buy. The principle of using public resources and avoiding unnecessary consumption guides this choice.

Bottled Water Companies Privatizing Public Resources

You refuse to buy bottled water from companies privatizing public water sources. Tap water works fine and companies shouldn’t profit from public resources. Reusable bottles make bottled water unnecessary.

Water is public resource that corporations commodified. You reject the model on principle. Carrying reusable bottles eliminates need while refusing to support water privatization.

Lottery Tickets and Predatory Gambling

You won’t buy lottery tickets on principle. Lotteries target low-income people promising false hope. The system extracts money from those who can least afford it. Refusing to participate is ethical stance.

Lottery tickets represent voluntary tax on people bad at math. You won’t contribute to systems exploiting desperate hope. The principle of not supporting predatory business models matters more than entertainment value.

Items With Excessive Packaging

You avoid products with unnecessary packaging. The environmental waste and deceptive sizing offend your principles. Buying items with minimal packaging or bulk options reduces waste.

Companies use excessive packaging for marketing and perceived value. You choose products packaged responsibly. The principle of reducing waste influences product selection even when packaged items seem more appealing.

Values Guide Spending

These purchasing boycotts reflect personal values. You make financial sacrifices to align spending with principles. The items themselves might be fine but buying them violates what you believe.

Living by principles means sometimes paying more or accepting inconvenience. You find satisfaction in purchases matching values. The refusal to buy certain items on principle creates sense of integrity about consumption.

This article first appeared on Cents + Purpose.