Making Political Consumers: The Tactical Action Repertoire of a Campaign for Clean Clothes

Abstract

Several recent studies have shown an increase in political consumerism (boycott and buycott) and a tendency towards a new 'politics in the supermarket'. These developments are usually seen as a transformation of forms of political action towards more individualized participation forms. Little attention has focused on the role of social movement activity in this transformation. In this contribution, which is based on a case study of political consumerism in the clothing sector in Switzerland, I fill this gap by analysing the ways in which political agency and mobilization shape political consumerism. I suggest taking into account the role of campaigningthat is, intentional and coordinated collective action and framing activities -as an incentive, if not a determinant, of individual political consumption. I show how different contentious performances mobilize citizens and consumers and make the consumption and production of clothing a public and political issue. I analyse the mobilizing strategies of a campaign regarding action repertoires and framing activities and ask how they contribute to provide political content to consumer products, creating a venue for political participation in the marketplace.

Consumer organizations and consumer policy as intermediaries of sustainability. An analysis of the institutional and organizational embeddedness of sustainable consumption

“…Solche Konkretisierungen sind bedeutsam, um ein Wissen über Klassifizierungen von Produkten und ihren Nachhaltigkeitscharakter zu generieren, durch das diese Bewertungen kaufrelevant werden können (Thøgersen 2005, S. 152). Zusammen mit sozialen Bewegungsorganisationen (Balsiger 2010;Micheletti und Stolle 2007) sowie wissenschaftlichen Akteuren (Steg 2015) schaffen verbraucherpolitische Akteure damit zentrale Voraussetzungen für die Entstehung sozial-ökologischer Motivationen und Einstellungen. Wie diese Betrachtungen zeigen, sind diese beiden zentralen Faktoren des nachhaltigen Konsums -die Handlungsbereitschaft und das Nachhaltigkeitswissen der Konsumenten -nicht allein auf sozialstrukturelle Eigenschaften zurückzuführen oder einfach als gegeben vorauszusetzen.…”

Coke, Pepsi or Mecca Cola? Why product characteristics affect the likelihood of collective action problems and boycott success

“…That MENA boycotts are too weak to generate concern is not unique to the region. Evidence of boycott effectiveness in other regions is also mixed (Balsiger 2010;Friedman 1999;King 2008King , 2011. Friedman (1999) defines boycott success as gaining participants -"mobilizing success" -rather than effectiveness in changing policy.…”

Everyday consumption practices as a site for activism? Exploring the motivations of grassroots reuse groups

“…These three roles begin to move the focus beyond isolated acts of atomised individuals and draw attention to the continued importance of social movement organisations to political consumerism (Micheletti, 2003;Holzer, 2006;Clarke et al, 2007;Balsiger, 2010). Accounts of individual and 'spontaneous' action tend to neglect the role played by campaigns, defined as 'intentional and coordinated collective action and framing activities' (Balsiger, 2010: 312).…”