Bigger India
A Backlash Is Boiling Over An American Traveler Making Millions Off Of Chai Tea
Many people are mad at Eddy is because she—a white woman from the U.S.—is profiting off of a piece of Indian culture, gaining financial benefits from Indian culture while not actually being Indian.
For the conscientious traveler, heavy questions loom over every trip: can I witness and even participate in a culture without harming it? Is it okay to take pieces of a culture that I admire and use those pieces in my own life? Is ethical travel possible? And one of the most important questions travelers from developed countries—particularly white travelers—can and should ask themselves is: if I take a piece of this place, am I appreciating or appropriating?