also iirc "no ethical consumption under capitalism" applies to purchasing goods that you need.
like say you wake up in the morning. you drive to work. on the way you realize you need to fill up on gas. your options are bp, shell, quik check and raceway. this is like choosing between someone who kicks puppies and someone who kicks kittens. all of them have done fucked up shit, all of them have blood on their hands and all of them will use your money to continue to fund their killing of the earth. but you have no choice, because your car is a gas car and you can't afford to drop fifty paychecks on an electric. that gas car is the only way you can get to work. and you need to work to live. so you're forced to choose, even though every option is unethical. there is no ethical consumption under capitalism.
you buy groceries from the grocery store. food that you need to live. the water bottles are from nestle, however. the bananas are chiquita and the oranges are from a farm in georgia that uses prison labor. "okay then," you may think, "i'll go eat out. i wont contribute to this." but the restaurant you go to has a single guy working consecutive twelve hour shifts for peanuts. and the fast food place right next door has prison labor too.
you have no choice but to choose something so you don't go hungry, but every mode of consumption is unethical in some way shape or form. because there is no ethical consumption under capitalism.
but here's the thing: you dont need the newest tim horton's ravenclaw latte to live. yes, even if you need the coffee to not fall asleep at work. because while every cup of coffee there is made using the same exploitative labor, both of its own employees and of the coffee farmers in the global south, only one of those coffees is actively giving money to someone who is singlehandedly using that money to kill trans women. all choices are unethical, but one is certainly more unethical than the others and it is completely optional. no one is holding a gun to your head telling you to order the ravenclaw latte. you dont risk unemployment and homelessness if you dont order the ravenclaw latte. you wont starve to death or die of thirst if you dont order the fucking ravenclaw latte. in fact you're paying more money for the latte than you would for literally any other coffee on the menu. and that extra money is going to jk rowling. you're essentially buying coffee and then making a voluntary donation on top of it.
there is no ethical consumption under capitalism is political theory. it's not a get out of jail free card. it's not a magic phrase to say as you throw up your hands, say "whatever," and personally get down to lick joanne's moldy ass boot. it doesn't just magically absolve you.
no one is forcing you to buy that stupid latte but yourself.
