How It’s Actually Made: 53 Products People Would Stop Buying If They Knew What’s Behind Them

Everyone likes to think they’re savvy consumers. You know all the tricks to get the best deal on everything from your morning coffee to your favorite makeup, and you’re always looking for ways to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. Oh, the things we do to look and feel good. We’d do it all for the sake of small, joyous pleasures...

Or not. What if you knew how the products you use daily were made? Would you still be willing to shell out big bucks for them?

Each product has a story behind it — sometimes fascinating, sometimes disturbing. We see something we like and we buy it, rarely stopping to think about where it comes from or how it’s actually made. But it’s our social responsibility to make better choices and ponder the implications of buying certain products and services. Let’s start from here!

It turns out there are plenty of things people would stop buying if they knew how they were made. We recently got hooked on a Reddit thread that sparked conversation, with thousands of comments sharing which companies have dark secrets in their closets. Some products are created in factories that treat their workers poorly. Others are made with ingredients that could be harmful to your health. And some are just straight-up gross!

From unethical manufacturing practices to crazy ingredients, this post may leave you thinking twice about what you put in your shopping cart from now on. But don’t worry, this isn’t an anti-capitalist rant — just a reminder that even though something might seem like an everyday necessity now, there’s always an ethically better option out there. Join us as we share what people have to say about it and shed light on the dark side of consumer goods!

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Junduk said:
After I found out the story behind the palm plantations for the production of palm oil I made it my personal mission to completely throw it out of my life.

delayedregistration replied:
"Palm oil is the biggest reason for massive deforestation around the world. South America and Southeast Asia (Indonesia in particular) are producing the most. There are moratoriums on new palm oil plantations, but companies are skirting that issue by paying individuals to start forest fires so that the companies can then buy up the land that is no longer a forest. Deforestation is destroying habitats for animals like orangutans and tigers. And all of the burnings of the forest are also burning peat. Peat is essentially forest detritus that house huge amounts of C02. By burning it we are quickly releasing all of that C02 into the atmosphere. Worst of all, the plantations are only good for one or two cycles, then the land is essentially discarded, and new plantations are made. In my opinion, palm oil production is the greatest ecological disaster in history. It is nearly everything, and essentially impossible to avoid. There are so many different names for it, so it can go unnoticed so easily. Even the supposedly sustainable palm oil production is extremely damaging to the environment it is grown in."

Junduk , delayedregistration Report

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How It’s Actually Made: 53 Products People Would Stop Buying If They Knew What’s Behind Them

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