That is, each time we purchase an item, there are impacts on nature during its production and there are further impacts due to the use of a product. The contract we sign is hidden because, for the most part, we are ignorant of the effects we have bought into and the effects from our use. We should be concerned. These hidden contracts damage our life support systems. The species making up ecosystems that are affected by these hidden contracts also provide all humans with irreplaceable services such as oxygen production, water purification, water distribution, local climate control, flood control, soil generation, pest control, and pollination.
Paper comes with hidden contracts too.
For example, the kinds of paper we use and how we use it, are all indicators of our personal, institutional, and cultural ethics. But, like it or not, hidden contracts exist. Now, apply the paper analogy to our other consumptive lifestyle behaviors. Depends on your ethics. Here s a simpler test.