The textile slaves aren't enough. For electronic devices - yes, the ones we like so much, phones, computers, tablets - there is another type of exploitation: that of rare earths. Ever heard of cobalt, lithium or tantalum? They are essential minerals to make our gadgets work. And who extracts them? Congolese children, who dig with their bare hands in the mines, immersed in mud and toxic dust. They are only ten years old, but a bright and digital future does not await them. For them, the future is dark, unhealthy, without hope.
So, is this really the bloodbath we whatsapp number list want to continue to play? Virtually queuing for yet another discount while on the other side of the world someone pays the highest price for our superfluous?
There are already enough objects in homes to fill a museum of useless things. On average, there are 300,000 objects accumulated in closets, drawers and shelves. 300,000! Many of these you don't even know where they are. And to find them, you will spend 200 days of your life looking for them. Do you know how much time you will spend buying new things? About two thousand days. Yes, you understood correctly: entire years spent between purchases, searches and waste.
So today, turn everything off. Turn off your computer, turn off your smartphone, turn off the TV that screams “unmissable deals” on Black Friday. Get out of the house and turn on your brain. Take a walk, breathe fresh air, look around and ask yourself: “Do I really need another sweatshirt? Do I really need the latest model of headphones or the fifth pair of sneakers?” If you stop and think about it, the answer will almost always be no.