Responsible Consumption

Responsible consumption is a new concept that is just starting to emerge within theoretical and policy-relevant discussions, as well as within wider popular debates, about how to rethink consumer behavior in the light of key events in the early twenty-first century: most notably, the global recession of 2009 and global climate change. As such, it is a little early to offer any final word on what this concept will ultimately come to signify in analyses of consumer culture. That said, it warrants brief consideration here as it is slowly starting to gather currency and would seem to reveal a growing sense of disillusionment with so-called green, or ethical, consumption.

Simply put, responsible consumption represents a belief that there is an urgent need to perceive of our actions, our consumer choices, not just individually but also socially, cooperatively. The concept is informed by, but at the same time distinct from, [Page 1218]debates and issues raised by green, or ethical, consumption. The difference in meaning is both nuanced and revealing, as it illuminates contemporary concerns over the impact that consuming ethically can have in meeting those challenges identified above. A crucial difference between each of these three related concepts is this, green, or ethical, consumption would appear to some to have become a relatively unthinking, unreflexive act, co-opted by astute advertising and marketing professionals who have identified—not just a sign of global awareness and resistance among informed citizens but also—something akin to a rather lucrative niche market that can be targeted for profit-generating purposes. That is to say, being an ethical consumer has essentially come to mean simply buying those products and services that have been appropriately labeled as such. For products that fall into the “ethical” category, each provides testimony of its ethical credentials from the various agencies and organizations that have been established for this purpose. And yet, with evermore products and services seen to be experiencing the process of greenwashing, the role of marketing and advertising in the sphere of ethical consumption is fast becoming both acknowledged and subject to increasing criticism. As such, those well-meaning individual consumers who are sensitive to the ethical message can often find deciding what to buy problematic. And so it is within this somewhat fluid and puzzling conversation that the concept of responsible consumption is being heard.

In raising the possibility that ethical consumption is running the risk of becoming little more than simply another marketing strategy, the notion of responsible consumption implies that there are other ways of making changes to identified patterns of consumption that look beyond the individual and the option to choose this particular ethical product over that particular unethical product at the point of purchase. That is, those practicing responsible consumption seek to move beyond the individualizing process of making personal ethical consumer choices to explore more social, cooperative, and community-based alternatives to the requirement to consume as individuals from private companies. This is, at least in part, motivated by recognition of the fact that consuming ethically is not an option available to everyone. In short, one of the major ideas informing responsible consumption is the possibility of consuming less from the marketplace and becoming far more self-reliant as communities, something that the act of choosing one product over another potentially overlooks. Consuming less is a genuine option for a far wider socioeconomic demographic than the increasingly normative requirement to purchase—often relatively more expensive—organic or fair trade goods and services. This is a persuasive point: it is surely problematic for all those who would heed the message of needing to consume more ethically if they nevertheless lack the necessary resources to be able to afford to make those choices at the point of purchase. This can be represented neatly as a fundamental tension between “values” (principles) and “value” (price) and something that simply consuming less seeks to resolve.

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