if we’re talking about iPhones, well, I don’t think we have to talk a lot about those.
Based on your other comments, your proposed solution to iPhones is Fairphones and Shiftphones, which are not only more expensive than lower-end iPhones, but also typically only available in Europe.
let’s please not pretend this is something you have to invest hours of your day into
It is though, precisely because, as you say, there are many many sub-companies for nestle and coca cola. They are near-monopolies owning large swaths of products making it difficult to identify alternatives, and once you identify true alternatives, you have to determine whether those alternatives are really “more ethical” whatever that means. It’s truly a waste of time.
Boycotts are different because the demands are clearly vocalized and efforts are coordinated, making for a bigger impact. There’s also the carrot of “if you do xyz specific actionable thing, we will come back and start buying your products again.” Boycotts also don’t require the same level of time consuming scrutiny on an individual level. You look at the list of brands and you avoid those brands. Easy.
“voting with your wallet” in the way it’s usually meant does not and has never worked and puts the burden on individuals to invest an inordinate amount of time and research for typically minimal returns like “support potentially slightly less bad company B instead of slightly worse company A.” Voting with your wallet also shames those who don’t have the financial resources to feasibly pay for “more ethical” things, which are typically also more expensive.
Your time is far better spent on higher yield things. For example, boycotting, meaning organized movements with specific demands, does move the needle. Using directly democratic levers to push forward policy when available, such as state ballot proposals in the US, works. Replacing products from companies in your life with community made things (like lemmy), which I view as a form of prefiguration, works. Labor movements like general strikes to push policy forward works. These things actually bring people together and are worth their time investment, unlike “voting with your wallet.”
Idk i may be only 14 but im thinkin it’s pretty deep