Last year, Amazon reported 180 million U.S. Prime subscribers, a new high for the retail giant. That means more than half of Americans are subscribed to the service. The number reaches even higher when accounting for subscriptions shared by multiple people. However, the service’s ubiquity and convenient two-day (and sometimes one-day) shipping has drawn criticism from those who say the company employs unfair business practices and exploitative labor policies.

Last week, Dr. Joseph Capizzi, moral theology professor at The Catholic University of America, addressed the issue of Catholics shopping at Amazon and other big box stores. “The question is about cooperation with evil,” Capizzi told Drew Mariani. Well-formed consciences, Capizzi said, are “almost intuitively going to perceive…there’s something wrong with…cooperating with this particular business.”

One former Amazon employee, Susan from Salem, Wisconsin considered the company to be an ‘American sweatshop.’ In her experience, Amazon’s quest for efficiency meant “the machines were driving the people who are operating…instead of people operating the machines.” The taxing work Amazon expects took a toll even on a younger worker Susan packed boxes with, and “after…six months or so, he was sore every day,” she said.

The Church stands against dehumanizing labor, and teaches businesses “must not simply require that people adapt to their work as if they were machines.” Rather, work should build up the dignity of each human person.

However, avoiding businesses that promote evil is difficult when the services they provide are fundamental to our lives – like the internet.

For many consumers, convenience and thrift trump alternatives. Dan, a public-school teacher from Richmond, Virginia said “I’m taxed to my limits on time.” Amazon, then, becomes the only option for shopping, besides the grocery store. While Dan said he would love to patronize small businesses, “it’s not 1943 anymore, it’s 2025.”

One bargain shopper, Ethan from Blaine, Maine, tries to balance thrift and locality. To get the best deal, he purchases some goods online – like his tires. “But with that savings, I try to spread it around a little bit.” That spreading around includes shopping at local stores owned by Catholic families.

The emphasis on living locally is part of the Church’s teaching on subsidiarity, which according to Capizzi, is less of an obligation, and more of a natural way to live. “It’s more natural…to live a local life where you’re connected to the store owners.”