Consumers Flashcards
Can we shop for s better world?
Consumer power
How many created wants can we satisfy
32 million acres a year of rainforest being cut down - follow the frog- rainforesg alliance certified product
Critiques of consumption: the good and the bad
- consumption sustains people and produces aggregate happiness and prosperity
- consumers are sovereign (poweful change agents in classified economies)
- paint a positive ethical picture of markets and consumption
Distribution of wealth creates a problem
Politics of purchasing
Consumer sovereignty. They’re important they listen to changing tastes of consumers.
Are consumers this powerful? Consumerism can be used to provide a far reaching critique of free markets: - we should put moral restrains on consumption (borgmann)
- shrink markets, lower production
Can we use purchase to vote for socially/ environmentally better products
Can resist or even decide to ‘opt out’ of the consumerist lifestyle, and the various problems it creates
Three principle examples of consumer
Ethical consumer
Sustainable consumer
Anti consumers
Ethical consumer
Can determine what is right and wrong.
Is the conscious and deliberate choice to make certain consumption choices due to personal moral beliefs and values
Example: vegetarians, vegans, environmentalists, religious people, people concerned with labour standards
Ethical consumers can also boycott ‘bad’ companies and or support ‘good’ companies.
Sustainable consumers
Consumption here is the use of goods and services that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life, while minimising the use of natural resources, toxic materials and emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle, so as not to jeapardise the needs of future generations
Anti consumers
Try to reduce their total consumption
They commonly do so because they do not believe in the consumerist thesis: ie that more goods makes you happy
They think that less consumerism is much better than sustainable consumerism
Limitations of consumer responsibility
Anti consumption, sustainable and ethical can be merged and change day to day.
Even with segments there is a lot of variety between people.
And the same person can act differently and contradictory.
Responsible tourism
Consumers want holidays that minimise environmental impacts and bring positive benefits to communities.
Consumers want all the perks of normal holiday but be ethical/responsible when they travel
Consumer participation in responsibilities experience benefits
Community benefit: give something back
Group benefit: educational experience
Personal benefit: higher quality experience
Goals driving PARTICIPATION in responsible tourism
Inner directed (self interested) - ‘tailor made for individual needs’ responsible = higher quality for themselves.
Outer directed (concerned for others) - ‘interact with local people, what impact I have’. Concerned with the impact they’ve having
Goals driving INVOLVEMENT in responsible tourism
High - ‘working with people; learning and sharing skills’. Want to interject, get involved.
Low - ‘eco friendly warriors’. Arms length responsible consumer.
Consumer responsibility varies in extent (quadrant)
Involvement high, participation inner directed - mindful minimising.
Involvement low, inner directed participation - instrumental opportunism
Involvement high, outer directed participation - conscious advocating
Involvement low, outer directed participation - education empathy.
Instrumental opportunism
These weren’t expected to even be on list but 30% were.
Conscious advocating
Working with local community
Though would have been the majority, however only 25%-30% of people were.
