✍🏼 Boycott: Choosing Community

✨ time to spill some tea
Sunday 31 August 2025 📆

the girlies love to say « there is no ethical consumption in capitalism » with a monthly SHEIN haul 🙄

The fundamental question is: How do you choose to spend your money? Will you choose convenience or community? 

It takes 5 seconds to check the labels of the products I buy. After years of practice, it is part of my routine. Look out for Nestle, bottled waters, the coffee and chocolate industry, BDS for Palestine, forced labour products from PRC, Loblaws, and now this "Buy Canada" movement (rather than US-made products). 

We can choose convenience to order via Amazon, or to take a walk to the local convenience store to grab the equivalent.

Boycotts are an act of solidarity, it is putting our money into action to reduce harm and exploitation. It is also about choosing to support the local economy and ethical businesses.

If you must know - I LOVE COFFEE ☕️

Coffee is also one of the most exploitative industries, well known for using child labour and causing environmental atrocities. Even when I was broke af, I bought coffee beans from sustainable farmers and direct traders roasters even when it costs extra $15 per bag. While my $15 may not change the global economy of coffee industry, I can give my money to people who share my values in making the coffee industry sustainable and equitable.

Boycotts are not one size fits all: each person’s economic status, health, accessibility, and time may limit their ability to seek alternatives. 

It is never too late to change your consumption habits to reflect your values! 
It is always worth it to choose community! 💛

Buy secondhand! ♻️
Learn to repair rather than discard! 🛠️
Source from an alternative manufacturer! 🛒
Borrow from a friend! 🔄
DIY a solution with existing resources! 🧩
Project pan, to use what you have! 💯

Welcome to Kong Girl Socialist's Yum Cha 飲茶 series — a flexible short-form blurb where I drop mini essays, reflections, and commentary.

Afternoon tea is a daily ritual of many Hongkongers! Not only to physically sip hot tea while munching on a snack, Yum Chat are social activities to 吹水 chit chat with your friends 🫖