Sustainable Consumption Institute

Abstract

Consumer participation, the purchase or boycott of goods for political, ethical or environmental reasons, is regularly characterised as an example of ‘new politics’ or ‘new’ political participation. However, such analysis often neglects work from the sociology of consumption and social movements studies. This paper argues that consumers express their identity through consumer participation, in the form of a pledge of allegiance to the goals of certain social movements. Cross-national data from the European Social Survey identifies boycotters and buycotters as being older, more educated, belonging to higher social classes; and they are also more commonly women than men. Analysis of separate countries, however, shows that consumer participation reflects existing patterns of participation more in some places than others. These findings therefore recommend an approach to consumer politics properly contextualised in social structures and socio-economic and cultural norms.

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