You’re reversing causality. People don’t want gore-tex, and they don’t want cobalt batteries. They want dry boots and transportation.

If some corporation comes along and says they have dry boots and electric cars, it is not realistic to expect every single consumer in a society to become expertly informed on fluorochemistry or the economics of mining, and then also expect them to make the decision that is best for all of us.

But it is a nice dodge for those profiting from outsourcing costs on the public.

From one angle, that is all modern corporations are: a mechanism for offloading costs onto the public, while privately pocketing the profit.