Communally Living the Positive Alternative

Downshifting and other ‘resistance’ consumer behaviors have been examined according to varied perspectives, including political consumption (Shaw 2007; Shaw, Newholm and Dickinson 2006; Dickinson and Carsky 2005; Micheletti 2003), consumer activism and movements (Hermann 1970; Hilton 2003; Kozinets and Handelman 2004; Lang and Gabriel 2005) and resistance to consumer culture, the marketplace or marketing more broadly (Kozinets 2002; Giesler and Pohlmann 2003). Indeed, communities of alternative consumption involving radical forms of downshifting and/or ethical consumer behaviour have been largely positioned as anti- consumer culture and anti-marketing (Kozinets 2002; Giesler and Pohlmann 2003; Dobscha and Ozanne 2002; Dobscha 1998). But Juliet Schor (1998:23) suggests that past movements such as the “hippies” were “much more self-consciously anti-consumerist than most of today’s downshifters”; that downshifters today “are not dropping out. They are not back-to-the-land types. They don’t live together. And they don’t share a religion.” In this chapter we examine whether downshifting behaviour is possible within alternative community lifestyles, how it is manifested, and whether it may be considered a form of resistance to consumer culture in such a context. To do so, we review a diverse body of cross-disciplinary literature on the question of resistance to consumer culture, comprising the perspectives mentioned above. We also examine six UK communities of consumers who at a first glance could be seen as current embodiments of the ‘anti-’ and/or ‘resistance’ phenomenon, but which instead have shown communally-held ‘positive alternative’ approaches to discourses and practices encompassing downshifting and ethical consumption. We consider the communities’ relationships with the market and wider society from both the community position and the views of individuals within, presenting the everyday realities of downshifting in a communal context. We (re)present the communities through data from three years of ethnographic research comprising participant-observation, depth interviews, websites, print documents, broadcast material, informal conversations and experience stories with participants in what we have termed New Consumption Communities (Szmigin, Carrigan and Bekin 2007; Szmigin and Carrigan 2003). New Consumption Communities are presented as beneficial in terms of consumer re-enablement; they have been conceptualized as communities providing alternative ways of engaging in consumption and negotiating with the marketplace to an increasingly varied range of individuals (Szmigin, Carrigan and Bekin 2007). New Consumption Communities are formed around a sense of community through consumers’ reconnection to production, and maintained through engagement in boycotts, voicing of concerns and positive choices (Szmigin and Carrigan 2003). The six distinct cases are presented throughout the text in order to diversely illustrate our arguments in this chapter. The first of these is Hockerton Housing Project (HHP), the UK’s first ecologically sound, energy-efficient, earth-sheltered housing complex, launched in 1998. It was built by five resident families who produce 100% of their own wind energy, grow organic food, and manage their own sewage, water collection and filtering systems. Members are committed to a community business that comprises guided tours, educational and specialist workshops. HHP considers itself a best practice example and catalyst for sustainable living. The second community is Fallowfields (pseudonym). Founded in 1950 as an educational trust, Fallowfields had eighteen members at the time of research (2004). Their values comprise learning to live life peacefully and in community. Some members live in shared and others in independent accommodation within the community. During fieldwork, Fallowfields was undergoing an ethos-searching period, with environmental causes gaining prominence. The third community is Spiritual (pseudonym), a pioneering, holistic enterprise whose aim is spiritual (non-religious) education. It comprises an eco-village with several communal buildings for workshops, housing, ethical shops and a hall used for conferences and performances. Spiritual is an inspirational example to other communities. It had around five hundred permanent and volunteer members at the time of research, and thousands of people visit them each year. It is set up as a non-profit charity with a body of trustees, and is holistically devoted to sustainability through its energy windmills, organic sewage system, eco-housing and local exchanges fostered through its own community currency and bank. Stone-Hall (pseudonym) is also committed to holistic education. Its education centre is run by a resident cooperative group and administered by a trust. They are committed to environmental goals, rear livestock, grow vegetables, recycle, have their own water spring, reed-bed sewage, composting system and wood burners. All members work full-time for the community. Sunny-Valley Community (pseudonym) and its eleven members celebrated the community’s 10th anniversary in 2004. It is also a co-housing cooperative based in a shared house on rural land with members sharing maintenance responsibilities. Their ethos has a strong ecological focus and respect for diversity. They have good links with the local village, organize the local composting scheme and take part in the local community currency scheme. Finally, Woodland (pseudonym) is a rural co-housing initiative formed some thirty years ago. It had fifty-eight members at the time of research, and volunteers supplement the community. Spaces were communal with shared kitchen, laundry, library and other social rooms. Common values included self-sufficiency, cooperative living and low environmental impact

Communities and consumption

Editorial for the IJSSP Special Issue on Communities and Consumption

Empowerment, waste and new consumption communities

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the diverse and complementary resistance and waste-reduction practices adopted by UK-based New Consumption Communities, and whether such behaviours empower them to achieve their environmental and social goals. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology can be broadly classified as critical ethnography, which acknowledges the researcher’s own subjectivity, how the informants are treated and represented, and the study’s wider context (Peñaloza, 1994). A participant-observer role is employed and six distinct New Consumption Communities are explored. Findings – It is suggested that through their resistance and empowerment, as well as a reconnection to production, the communities are able to implement alternatives to the wasteful practices of mainstream consumption behaviour, and achieve (partial) autonomy from the hegemonic forces of the market. Originality/value – This paper’s original perspective on waste is not limited to a small group of consumers, and thus should interest marketers and policy makers engaged in the advancement of sustainability and green marketing. Keywords – Consumer Empowerment; Voluntary Simplicity; Waste; Ethnography Paper type – Research pape

Sociological ambivalence and funeral consumption

This article builds on Hillcoat-Nallétamby and Phillips’ (2011) conceptualization of sociological ambivalence within the relational framework to examine a particular consumption practice, the funeral. We develop understanding of social, cultural and relational issues that arise from the experience associated with funeral-arranging. This is not a voluntary behaviour but one engaged with through force of circumstance and which involves commercial and relational decisions. Drawing on data from 10 interviews from a larger UK study, we focus on ambivalence surrounding choice and its impact on relations, showing how sentiments including love, obligation, regret and revenge evolve and transform past and future relationships

Explicit, non-integrated product placement in British television programmes

The rapid increase in the volume and variety of product placement approaches has outpaced research in the field. There is a marked shortage of studies that address particular product placement (pp) techniques in specified situational contexts. This paper reports the category of pp known as explicit, non-integrated product placement in the context of British television programmes. The study used a small convenience sample of young, mixed-nationality TV viewers who were familiar with the British and non-British shows on British commercial TV. Their attitudes to and recognition of pp in this context were explored. The findings are set within a wider-ranging review of previous research, and suggest important implications for promotional practice and future research

Design and feasibility testing of a novel group intervention for young women who binge drink in groups

BackgroundYoung women frequently drink alcohol in groups and binge drinking within these natural drinking groups is common. This study describes the design of a theoretically and empirically based group intervention to reduce binge drinking among young women. It also evaluates their engagement with the intervention and the acceptability of the study methods.MethodsFriendship groups of women aged 18–35 years, who had two or more episodes of binge drinking (>6 UK units on one occasion; 48g of alcohol) in the previous 30 days, were recruited from the community. A face-to-face group intervention, based on the Health Action Process Approach, was delivered over three sessions. Components of the intervention were woven around fun activities, such as making alcohol free cocktails. Women were followed up four months after the intervention was delivered. Results The target of 24 groups (comprising 97 women) was recruited. The common pattern of drinking was infrequent, heavy drinking (mean consumption on the heaviest drinking day was UK 18.1 units). Process evaluation revealed that the intervention was delivered with high fidelity and acceptability of the study methods was high. The women engaged positively with intervention components and made group decisions about cutting down. Twenty two groups set goals to reduce their drinking, and these were translated into action plans. Retention of individuals at follow up was 87%.ConclusionsThis study successfully recruited groups of young women whose patterns of drinking place them at high risk of acute harm. This novel approach to delivering an alcohol intervention has potential to reduce binge drinking among young women. The high levels of engagement with key steps in the behavior change process suggests that the group intervention should be tested in a full randomised controlled trial

Sonification and Music as Support to the Communication of Alcohol-Related Health Risks to Young People : Study design and results

Excessive consumption of alcohol has been recognised as a significant risk factor impacting the health of young people. Effective communication of such risk is considered to be one key step to improve behaviour. We evaluated an innovative multimedia intervention that utilised audio (sonification—using sound to display data—and music) and interactivity to support the visual communication of alcohol health risk data. A 3-arm pilot experiment was undertaken. The trial measures included health knowledge, alcohol risk perception and user experience of the intervention. Ninety-six subjects participated in the experiment. At 1 month follow-up, alcohol knowledge and alcohol risk perception improved significantly in the whole sample. However, there was no difference between the intervention groups that experienced (1) visual presentation with interactivity (VI-Exp group) and, (2) visual presentation with audio (sonification and music) and interactivity (VAI-Exp group), when compared to the control group which experienced a (3) visual only presentation (V-Cont group). Participants reported enjoying the presentations and found them educational. The majority of participants indicated that the audio, music and sonification helped to convey the information well, and, although a larger sample size is needed to fully establish the effectiveness of the different interventions, this study provides a useful model for future similar studies

Postmodernism, Ethnicity, and Celebrity Culture in Women’s Symbolic Consumption

While postmodernism and celebrity culture are closely linked, research attention on this has not been adequately synthesised with ethnic minority groups. Hence, this paper, which is rooted in an interpretive research paradigm, explores the symbolic consumption of Black African women in the UK with specific reference to celebrity culture. Although the study shows some purchase decisions based on products’ functionality, generally, it shows the robust interplay of personal, cultural, social and commercial factors in the symbolic consumption of these women. This is shown to be linked to the prevalent celebrity culture in the society. They consume to enhance their self-esteem and keep up with the societal trend in the host environment. Hence, the notion of acculturation features prominently in their consumption. The paper extends the discourse on the extant ethnic minority studies and augments the current knowledge about symbolic consumption especially with reference to Black African women

Contextualizing students' alcohol use perceptions and practices within French culture: an analysis of gender and drinking among sport-science college students

Although research has examined alcohol consumption and sport in a variety of contexts, there is a paucity of research on gender and gender dynamics among French college students. The present study addresses this gap in the literature by examining alcohol use practices by men and women among a non-probability sample of French sport science students from five different universities in Northern France. We utilized both survey data (N = 534) and in-depth qualitative interviews (n = 16) to provide empirical and theoretical insight into a relatively ubiquitous health concern: the culture of intoxication. Qualitative data were based on students’ perceptions of their own alcohol use; analysis were framed by theoretical conceptions of gender. Survey results indicate gender differences in alcohol consumption wherein men reported a substantially higher frequency and quantity of alcohol use compared to their female peers. Qualitative findings confirm that male privilege and women’s concern for safety, masculine embodiment via alcohol use, gendering of alcohol type, and gender conformity pressures shape gender disparities in alcohol use behavior. Our findings also suggest that health education policy and educational programs focused on alcohol-related health risks need to be designed to take into account gender category and gender orientation