I mostly rely on consumer reviews. Even if I buy something in a brick and mortar store, if I am spending more than $100, I check it out online first to see what the reviews are. I tend to look at the overall ratings and then read the worst reviews to see if people complain about the same thing, which would indicate a problem in quality, or if the manual is just difficult to understand, because it seem slike it ws not written by someone who was a native speaker.

There are some places i won't shop ans some companies will try to avoid, based on how they treat their workers or where they donate money. However, almost everything in the stores here in the U.S. is put together or manufactured in a 3rd world country that treats their workers poorly. So, my purchases are more politically motivated.

I don't spend a lot of time researching, but most of my money isn't spent on unnecessary goods and services. If I'm aware of a company that's involved in activity I disagree with, I will make an effort to avoid supporting them but I'm not obsessed with it.

Buying no -the decision is based on economics - need, utility, cost.
Investing yes