Beyond the “deficit discourse”: Mapping ethical consumption discourses in Chile and Brazil

Abstract

Much of this research, however, has focused mainly on exploring ethical and sustainable consumption discourses and practices in European and North American countries, leaving questions of how ethical consumption is interpreted and practiced in other parts of the world comparatively underexplored. Furthermore, countries in the so-called global South, where they are featured at all, are often seen as "backward" or "catching up" with practices in the global North. Ethical consumption in the global South is often portrayed through what might be described as a "deficit model" 1 : a discourse that defines ethical consumption discourse and practices from the global North (mainly US-UK) as the standard and then seeing how well (or not) people from other contexts measure up to that level (and then often bemoan the deficit in between). This is ironic given that by most measures, current lifestyles in the global North are far less sustainable than the global South. For instance, the per capita Co2 1 Our thanks to Dorothea Kleine for summarising our joint thinking in this term.

Sustainability: Issues of Scale, Care and Consumption

“…Smith, 1998;Spence, Poortinga and Pidgeon, 2012). This idea of caring as a 'nested set of Russian dolls' (Massey, 2004) has been heavily criticized as neglecting the inter-relational and non-hierarchical understandings of scales (Ariztia et al, 2016;Kleine, 2016).…”

Building common cause towards sustainable consumption: A cross-generational perspective

“…The attitude-behaviour-choice or ‘ABC’ approach has been criticised following a ‘practice turn’ in consumer culture studies, with scholars highlighting how consumption is embedded in routines, sites, habits, institutions and infrastructures (Ariztia et al., 2016; Barr et al., 2011; Evans et al., 2017; Pearce et al., 2014; Shove, 2010). Social practice theories suggest that the inconspicuous or mundane nature of everyday consumption is less the result of conscious decision making, more habitual, ingrained and shaped by social norms, meaning that people are to some extent ‘locked in’ to unsustainable lifestyles (Evans, 2011a; Jackson, 2005a; Sanne, 2002; Shove, 2010).…”

“…Indeed, some researchers apply specific definitional parameters to sustainable practice as pro-environmental, resource-conserving activity (Evans et al., 2017; Klocker et al., 2012). However, others employ ‘ethical’, ‘conscious’, ‘political’ and ‘sustainable’ consumption interchangeably, associating sustainable consumption with broader environmental concerns such as biodiversity and animal welfare, as well as economic and social goods such as supporting local businesses, workers’ rights, and health and wellbeing (Ariztia et al., 2016; Carr et al., 2012; Francis and Davis, 2015; Iles, 2006; Michelleti and Stolle, 2012; Pomarici and Vecchio, 2014). There is also a tension between the idea of sustainable consumption as ethical purchasing, and approaches based on a puritan or pro-environmental ethic of non-consumption, restraint and frugality (Cherrier et al., 2010; Evans, 2011b; Kalmus et al., 2009; Neo, 2016; Pepper et al., 2009).…”

“…Simultaneously, there was a prominent narrative around supporting British and especially local businesses. Concerns about sustainable consumption thus encompassed poor labour conditions elsewhere, juxtaposed with the benefits of making consumption choices that support jobs for domestic workers (Ariztia et al., 2016).…”

“…Such assertions present a moral quandary when thinking about sustainable consumption, neglecting how ‘local’ production and consumption draws on resources and knowledge from elsewhere. Both Ariztia et al. (2016) and Neo caution against such a narrow focus.…”