I’ve always done my best to shop local. However I found it difficult when I moved to Los Angeles in 2015. I started grad school and I didn’t have time to find my new favorite local spots. I started shopping at Amazon while simultaneously studying macro social work. Completing research projects about reducing economic inequality (one of the Grand Challenges of Social Work) while using my money to add to Jeff Bezos’ 180 billion dollars felt kind of terrible.
I decided enough was enough in May 2020. As countless small businesses closed, I decided to stop supporting Amazon. Although I canceled my Prime membership, I know I’ll never really be able to “cancel” Amazon. Not on my own anyway. And that idea is what sparked Ethical Essentials L.A. (EELA). Small businesses with ethical practices and only the safest ingredients create the products at EELA. I’m “canceling” Amazon and I hope that you do too. Every order comes with a fabulous little zine called “How to Resist Amazon and Why” by small bookstore owner Danny Caine.
