Hello,
This is an excellent and important question.
The issue can be broken down into three key aspects:
Firstly, Understanding the Reality.
I also believe that some of these products are manufactured under conditions that we might consider akin to slavery. However, we must be very cautious when making such determinations. I do not have a clear answer as to whether these workers have a better alternative, nor whether a global boycott of such products would ultimately help or harm them. These are complex and highly debated questions, and therefore, we must approach them with great caution.
Second, The Specific Halachic Perspective
Jewish law establishes the obligation to avoid purchasing stolen goods, as seen in Bava Kamma 10:9:
“One should not buy wool, milk, or goats from shepherds, nor wood and fruit from watchmen…”
The question is to what extent this halachic obligation extends to any product manufactured under unjust conditions—whether involving human exploitation, animal suffering, or environmental damage.
At present, halacha has not been expanded to prohibit all such purchases, and I do not foresee broad consensus on such an extension. There are, of course, some problematic reasons why this expansion has not taken place, but there is also a fundamental reason within halacha itself: Jewish law is cautious about imposing overly idealistic standards that are impossible to fully uphold. Perhaps in the future, such an approach will become feasible, but for now, we are still far from that point.
Third, The Ethical Standard (Midat Chassidut – Going Beyond the Letter of the Law.)
From an ethical standpoint, avoiding such purchases is certainly praiseworthy. Fortunate is the person who refrains from buying products rooted in injustice—whether that injustice involves human exploitation, animal suffering (such as in industrial slaughterhouses), or severe environmental harm.
That being said, even ethical stringencies have their limits, and we must be careful not to become chassidim shotim. However, when an issue is both significant and likely to be real, it seems appropriate to avoid contributing to it.
Personally, this is why, although I am not a vegetarian, I do not eat beef—both due to concerns about animal suffering and because of the enormous environmental damage caused by the cattle industry.
Wishing you all the best,
Rabbi Yuval Cherlow
Head of the Tzohar Center for Ethics
