Simmone Shah in Time Magazine:
Sara Belhouari, a financial advisor based in Brooklyn, is implementing what she calls “financial activism,” a process that involves spending her money with more intentionality. She’s been rethinking her support of large corporations. With companies—including Amazon and Uber—pledging donations to Trump’s inauguration fund, Belhouari plans to stop supporting businesses that don’t align with her values. “These corporations have so much money, influence, and power.” she says. “A lot of the companies that I’ve chosen not to support are donating to politicians that are going to push forward really harmful practices.”
Nabihah Ahmad, a student at Columbia University, has long made it a point to support businesses that prioritize things like sustainability or fair labor practices. Last year, she built an online search engine to help people find alternatives to products from companies profiting off the Israel-Hamas war. In the wake of the presidential election, she expanded it to champion black-owned and women-owned businesses in the United States. She says that millions of people have visited the site each month, and that it’s a sign that people are becoming more cognizant of their purchasing power and its impact. “There’s just been this societal shift towards being conscious consumers and using our purchasing power correctly when it comes to climate change or political issues,” she says. “Our money very much controls the outcomes of all of these things.”
More here.
Enjoying the content on 3QD? Help keep us going by donating now.