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Economic Globalisation > Lecture 9 - Commodity Fetish > Flashcards

Lecture 9 - Commodity Fetish Flashcards

1
Q

What is the commodity fetishism

A

-The way commodities have this normalised value in of itself –
Objective value.
-The social character of their making (the labour and time relationship) is completely absent of the product
-As such we’d say it has ‘phantom objectivity’ (Watts, 2005 p100-1)

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2
Q

What theory is commodity fetishism associated with

A

‘Lifting the veil of production’ (Harvey, 1990)

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3
Q

How is the commodity fetishism a critical projection of ‘lifting the veil of production’ (Harvey, 1990)

A
  • Removes all the things that get in the way os us knowing the relationship the product has to the making and makers
  • Aka the ‘truth’
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4
Q

What is removed when we look at commodity fetishism under the veil of production

A

We remove the brand and associated things with the product

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5
Q

How do we ‘follow’ our commodity and theorise its value

A

Look at the history behind it - the chain to how it became to be the item it is today

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6
Q

What do websites do in finding the geographical life of a product

A

Original sales websites wont tell you much about where they came from – brands provide information that focus on consumption not production

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7
Q

How can we look at what the public thinks is ethical

A

By looking at Public Codes of Practice Commitments and

Reasonable Levels of ‘Transparency’

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8
Q

Examples of public codes of transparency

A
  • No child labour
  • Health and safety in working conditions
  • No discrimination
  • No forced labour
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9
Q

Issue with websites listing factories

A

They show factories where they are made (but not just the factories, we need information on the other areas before the factories)

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10
Q

What is found when we try and look at following the geographical histories of commodities

A
  • The information is not all in one place
  • Time
  • Information tends to be hidden
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11
Q

How is a commodities value not ‘one truth’

A

Cultural and symbolic value + the meanings embedded within it

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12
Q

What are the 2 logics that underpin ‘value’

A

Production + consumption

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13
Q

‘Production’ as a logic of ‘value’

A

-Best labour/time relation for the gaining profit

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14
Q

What locations attract the most investment

A

Locations that offer the cheapest, fastest production and speed to the market

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15
Q

What can subcontracting do

A

Complicate the CC process

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16
Q

‘Consumption’ as a logic of ‘value’

A

What the brand represents/means

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17
Q

What does branding and marketing do to a product

A

Add ‘consumption’ value

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18
Q

How can we make items have more ‘production’ value

A

Make efficiently and cost effectively / cheaply / quickly as possible

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19
Q

How can we make items have more ‘consumption’ value

A

Make a brand that consumers buy into, that has cultural and symbolic value

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20
Q

What is required for a valuable brand (quote)

A

Careful coordination of packaging,

promotion, advertising, brand and product positioning, distribution, pricing etc. (Till and Heckler, 2008)

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21
Q

How did Goss talk about built environments as a part of building a bran

A

‘Magic of the Mall’

22
Q

Who talked about the ‘Magic of the Mall’ (1993)

A

Goss (1993)

23
Q

What is the ‘Magic of the Mall’

A
  • Space that encourages buying
  • Creates moods
  • Uncomfortable benches and surveillance
24
Q

Who talks about luxury fashion space

A

Crewe (2015)

25
Q

What does Crewe (2015) talk about

A

How luxury stores create artistic and sophisticated moods

26
Q

Who talks about the sex product retail industry

A

Martin 2014

27
Q

Sex product retail industry

A
  • Male sex shops: secretive

- Female sex shops: boutiques, high street, coloured, light

28
Q

How can a brand expand beyond the sphere of strict ‘selling’

A
  • Brands sponsor events
  • Promote certain lifestyles
  • Product placement
29
Q

Co-dependent contradictions of ‘value’

A

E.g.. How can a brand maintain it’s luxury and prestigious
brand aura, whilst simultaneously pursue the most cost-
efficient/cheapest options of labour/time relations
(sourcing)?

30
Q

Who was Ian Cook

A

A cultural and economic geographer

31
Q

Name of a cultural and economic geographer

A

Ian Cook (2004)

32
Q

What did Ian Cook argue

A

‘That there are many different and partial stories associated with the commodity’s journey’ - gives voice to those areas in production that are often over looked within the commodity chain

33
Q

Real world following example

A

The Rana Plaza Collapse

34
Q

When was the Rana Plaza Collapse

A

2013

35
Q

Where was the Rana Plaza Collapse

A

Bangladesh

36
Q

How many people died in the Rana Plaza Collapse

A

1,135 people

37
Q

What does the Rana Plaza Collapse highlight

A

The human costs of using the cheapest and fastest production model

38
Q

Media of the Rana Plaza Collapse

A

Lots of media attention - people were concerned their favourite brands were unethical

39
Q

Rana Plaza Collapse - brands associated

A

Labels found: Primark, Mango, Matalan

40
Q

Rana Plaza Collapse - did the associated brands know

A

They didn’t know due to extensive subcontracting

41
Q

‘Place’ as a brand value - how

A
  • Draws attention to the provenance of the product

- Higher value/premium brands use ‘place-image’

42
Q

‘Place’ as a brand value - example

A

Milan – fashion capital, Prada etc.

43
Q

Transparency of place

A

It is not transparent but imagined

44
Q

Pike (2015)

A

‘Conceptualises and theorises how, why, by whom, where and in what ways geographical associations are deployed selectively by brand and branding actors to create and fix meaning and value in branded goods and services commodities in the times and spaces of market settings’

45
Q

‘Conceptualises and theorises how, why, by whom, where and in what ways geographical associations are deployed selectively by brand and branding actors to create and fix meaning and value in branded goods and services commodities in the times and spaces of market settings’

A

Pike (2015)

46
Q

Example of place and value behind a product

A

Dr Martens

47
Q

Dr Martens - expectations / views

A

Alternative, youth, edgy, English

48
Q

Dr Martens - reality

A
  • Formed 1901 by a family
  • ‘Revolutionary’ footwear
  • Punk rockers
  • Rebellious
  • Fails to mention history
49
Q

Dr Martens - when did they move production abroad

A

2002 (headquarters still in UK)

50
Q

Dr Martens - % offshore production

A

98%

51
Q

Dr Martens - how many made in the UK

A

2011- 2% of the total 3.8 million pairs of the production was made in the UK
Yet still calls itself a British brand

Economic Globalisation (10 decks)

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