How Personal is the Political? Understanding Socially Responsible Consumption.

Abstract

Why do far fewer people incorporate social and environmental concerns into purchasing decisions—a practice that I term “socially responsible purchasing”—than express an intention to do so? Do the same people “buy local” as purchase products that claim to be environmentally-friendly, fair trade, or sweat-free—and if not, why? In this dissertation, I put forth novel answers to these two questions, which have not been adequately addressed in existing studies.

First, while many researchers have traced the gap between concern and action to consumers’ socioeconomic characteristics or market failures, I argue that the subjective experience of purchasing activities also shapes whether people make everyday shopping a political practice. Drawing on in-depth interviews with a socioeconomically diverse sample of individuals, I show that shopping trips for household needs are often associated with crowded stores, impersonal interactions, and the everpresent possibility of being duped. The frequently unpleasant and even degrading experience of everyday shopping presents significant impediments to reflection on ethical concerns and the emotional rewards of activism. Specifically, to the extent that a person experiences shopping as a tedious chore, that person may be less willing to pay non-monetary costs—in time and energy—associated with socially responsible purchasing. Having developed this hypothesis, I then use a survey of sustainability-related beliefs and behaviors to systematically test the relationship of feelings about food shopping to the purchase of ethical food.

Second, again drawing on in-depth interviews with consumers, I find that many people who practice locally-focused purchasing do not, in fact, engage in other forms of socially responsible purchasing or political activities. But I argue that surprisingly widespread support for locally-focused purchasing across socioeconomic lines does not reflect insular thinking or lack of concern for other people. Rather, locally-focused purchasing, compared to other ways of taking political action, is experienced as uniquely enjoyable, accessible, and—crucially—likely to achieve its desired aims. In a world where much of what goes on in the “political” realm seems frivolous or harmful, locally-focused purchasing appears as a rare opportunity to have a direct and verifiable impact on issues that hit close to home.