Categories: Rants; Commerce and business; Ethics and laws
Word count/read time: 523 words; 2 minutes
It is no longer vogue to express concern for the environment or
people harmed by the indiscriminate and immoral acquisition of resources.
Yet I find myself reading about manufacturers' (changing,
non-existent, ambiguous, wishy-washy) commitment to
sustainability, conflict-free resources, fair business practices, and other
just causes.
Their websites and literature are peppered with such references.
Are they trying to convince themselves because they know it's
a sham? Meaningless words are everywhere: try, whenever, if, or,
usually, mostly, etc.
Try=no.
Usually=no.
If=no.
Basically,
everything=NO
across the board.
There are always myriad exclusions and exceptions, similar to drug ads with a laundry
list of side effects. Or websites proclaiming
how
they
don't
value your privacy yet
will sell your information and tracking history, load your browsers with
cookies and tracking software, and steal whatever data they can.
Does the truth ever come out?
""Whenever" possible," I assume. Yet sellers still demand a premium for
the non-existent labor, processes, or materials they purport are part of their product.
If only they applied that same energy to being ethical and straightforward.
Companies hope the empty message, not the truth, will endure.
Conceptually they are all in; in practice they fail. You believed the
buzzwords they spewed like gospel, likely forgot
or didn't qualify the exclusions. Those who actually do what they say
are disadvantaged since it requires more time, energy, and costlier materials.
Unfortunately, I chose
a craft ubiquitous with lies and low-quality goods: chainmail.
(I'd call it an art form but that'd be a gross disservice to art.)
It is the rarest exception - there we go, more exceptions - when
literature isn't flooded with falsehoods and outright fraud.
Sometimes people embrace bullshit completely.
Quoted from one seller, he makes "Humbly, the best chainmaille on earth."
I would be embarrassed if those welds (or any of his products) appeared in my reject pile
and they're in his $10,000 chains?! Talk about the Dunning-Kruger effect,
see this picture.
With 25+ years of experience, this defines a new paradigm of pathetic.
He also "developed welded-link chainmaille." Seriously, lying that blatantly?!
People have been welding chainmaille before his great-great-great-great-grandfather was wearing diapers.
I've been doing it long, long before he probably knew what a welder was, but whatever.
And no one, especially him, "developed cutting edge welding techniques for chainmaille" with
a crappy $150 tabletop wannabe welder, one he is clearly incapable of using properly anyway.
Unless he means cutting edge like a razor blade, as in his chains are
so deplorable
they'll slice and dice your flesh and clothes. Interesting way to interpret the truth.
Need I continue dismantling this charade?
Such behavior is insulting and despicable. No wonder people perceive chainmaillers as
degenerate scheisters, a stereotype virtually inescapable since it is the
typical chainmailler's calling card. Many other businesses and individuals behave this way
so it's not restricted to this lowly craft.
It does no good to call out these jokesters since they
only answer to themselves. Deceit, delusions, and denial are their modus operandi.
Integrity is the exception for them.
Therefore, I will be crystal clear regarding my materials, processes, or
manufacturing techniques: There are no exceptions.
Posted by M: June 3, 2025
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