Eleftheria J. Lekakis

Coffee Activism and the Politics of Fair Trade and Ethical Consumption in the Global North

In a politically uncertain and distrusted world, citizens appear to be seeking political expression in their everyday lives and quite prominently in their consumption practices. In advanced consumer societies, the politics of consumption have come to the centre stage. This book elaborates on the grounded perceptions, practices and problematizations of the equation of political action and market action. It presents the opportunities and hindrances of alternative forms of partaking in civic life by exploring how coffee activism presents a fruitful opportunity for citizens to participate in political life, how cultural citizenship can offer insights into the operation of everyday politics and how neoliberal narratives are framing discourses of coffee activism. The politics behind products can illuminate global tensions and engage citizens in social justice, but at the same time can confine civic action in the marketplace and anesthetise political action.

Will the fair trade revolution be marketised? Commodification, decommodification and the political intensity of consumer politics

This paper brings to the fore a scrutiny of the politicisation of commodities in an exploration of the political promises and potential of ethical or political consumerism and specifically the case of fair trade. The analysis is informed by interviews with ethically consuming citizens which illuminate their concerns, certainties and confusions. I discuss consumer agency in relation to decommodification and branding as detrimental to the political qualities of the movement where the selling of fair trade is viewed through the prism of brand trust and the symbolised political quality of the commodity. Similarly, there is a corporate ‘veiling’ of consumer politics where the commercial sense which mainstream fair trade commodities enjoy is being manipulated through strategies of co-branding, thus signalling further distance from the older radical character of fair trade political consumerism. Thus, the decommodification of fair trade products is perhaps at the expense of the commodification of fair trade consumer politics.

Economic nationalism and the cultural politics of consumption under austerity: The rise of ethnocentric consumption in Greece

By nuancing the politics of consumption in the context of austerity, this article highlights the rise of economic nationalism and the reconfiguration of consumer cultures at the aftermath of the global financial crisis. As it argues, in the context of Greece, three types of consumer culture have manifested; these are evoking consumption as resilience, resistance or reinforcement. This work focuses on the latter through the phenomenon of ethnocentric consumption, which is part and parcel of economic nationalism. Economic nationalism can be explored through promotion of ethnocentric consumption and is demonstrable both in the inception and constitution of nation states, but also in times of crisis. This article critically appraises ethnocentric consumption as consumption based on ethnocentric criteria (natural resources, ownership, production, manufacturing, distribution and labour force). In the context of the crisis in Greece, economic nationalism has become manifest as a solution to the national economy. The specific case chosen is a citizens’ movement and its campaign for the promotion of ethnocentric consumption. A close examination of the campaign (We Consume What We Produce) reveals the historical alignment of the state’s and citizens’ economic interests, the reverberation of state narrative from the 1980s and exclusionary nationalism which is also used by fascists. Campaigns for ethnocentric consumption limit the creativity of consumer politics. First, this phenomena appears to be an alternative vehicle for political parties. Second, it is tied around a normative narrative of economic recovery, which is particularly mythological. Third, its overall target is to maximise competitiveness on a global scale, and finally, it demonstrates a densely dangerous relationship with economic nationalism. Yet, it is important to situate this phenomenon within the context of consumer cultures under austerity, especially as more creative modalities of social economy initiatives by grassroots groups have been re-socialising the market.

Culture jamming and brandalism for the environment: the logic of appropriation

ABSTRACT This article explores creative activism for environmentalism through an examination of culture jamming. Specifically, it looks to the action of the Brandalism project during COP21. This was the replacement of bus stop advertising with original artworks. This form of creative activism is unique in that it addresses the advertising industry as a key battlefield over cultural meaning and environmental sustainability. Through its use of the logic of appropriation inherent in culture jamming, this case challenges critiques about the incorporation of culture jamming within consumer culture. This work theorizes the case through the new politics of consumption, political consumerism, and culture jamming. It argues for the logic of appropriation, before it introduces the case study and explores the visual narratives of environmentalism: corporate greed, inadequate politicians, consumer saturation, Earth in mourning, and public commitment to the environment. Finally, it evaluates the contribution of Brandalism as a form of creative activism for environmentalism.

Banal Nationalism and Consumer Activism: The Case of #BoycottGermany

The hashtag #BoycottGermany provides an opportunity for the exploration of the relationship between banal nationalism and consumer activism against austerity in the context of the Eurozone crisis. It examines theories of banal nationalism and everyday nationhood and their intersection with consumption. Through an analysis of the hashtag, this chapter illustrates how responses to the crisis by transnational activists often employ national frames to make sense of key issues. Thus, they reproduce banal forms of nationalism, through the taken-for-granted discussion of symbols, people and place defined in national terms. Such a multi-level examination allows for a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between nationalism, politics and consumer activism in times of crisis and a re-examination of the relevance of Billig’s banal nationalism.

Responsible retailing and the Greek crisis? Corporate engagement, CSR communication and social media

In June 2012, in the midst of much uncertainty in the political and business world of austerity-stricken Greece, seven supermarkets decided to embrace the cause of supporting Greek products as foregrounded by the citizen movement ‘We Consume What We Produce’.1 The retailers took to the cause by promoting the movement through posters, banners, and plastic bags — one of the promotional strategies with which corporate entities (retailers) engaged in order to ameliorate consumer confidence. In a shifting terrain of trust and legitimacy, citizens turned to the marketplace for support; in a comment to the Facebook site of a supermarket, a citizen exclaims: ‘Do whatever you can with your offers, because these sold-out politicians plan to exterminate us. Make your offers real offers, in order to provide us with the possibility of survival. Thank you’. As wages, pensions, and employment were continuously slashed, the human fabric of sustenance and economic subsistence became explicitly entwined and torn throughout. The traumatic reconfigurations of the Greek political system and culture directly impacted the market, causing an adaptation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication to the crisis setting. CSR communication is understood here as a type of global communication which defines and describes the ways in which Multinational Corporations (MNCs), but also national and local businesses attempt to communicate their responsibility towards their location and context.

Book review: Branding the nation: The global business of national identity

National governments around the world are turning to branding consultants, public relations advisers and strategic communications experts to help them “brand” their jurisdiction. Using the tools, techniques and expertise of commercial branding is believed to help nations articulate more coherent and cohesive identities, attract foreign capital, and maintain citizen loyalty. Branding the Nation examines case studies in twelve countries and has in-depth interviews with nation branding experts and their national clients. César Jiménez-Martínez believes this book offers an exhaustive critique of the phenomenon of nation branding in regards to national identity, globalisation and neoliberalism.

Digital Media, Space and Politics: Cosmopolitan Citizenship in Coffee Activism

This chapter situates and scrutinises the significance and impact of digital and geographical space in the practice of coffee activist politics; it delves into an exploration of a politics of space and the space of politics. A politics of space is investigated through the exploration of digital media and mobilisation. Here, the spaces of initial contact and the spaces of maintaining contact with information on fair trade are discussed in terms of the significance for spaces of information and spaces of action. Spaces of information concern the physical or media environments where information is sought after or given and this chapter explores how these might impact upon perceptions of what fair trade is and how one should act on it. The analysis centres on the reception of information and communication in coffee activism through and beyond digital media. Collective action has been characterised by patterns of high diversification and personalised individual action through the instigation or employment of digital media over the past decade.1 Bennett (2012) suggests that contemporary politics, a politics of personalisation, is characterised by a high velocity and organisational capacity of digital media for collective action and network activation, an ethos of diversity and inclusiveness and a personalised attachment to causes through rhetorical frames; this conceptualisation of a cosmopolitan politics is best encapsulated in recent collective protests.

A Liquid Politics: Structures and Narratives of Participation in Digital Coffee Activism

This chapter homes in on the relationship between coffee activism and digital media through specific structures and narratives which frame the politics of consumption as articulated in political consumerism. This both decelerates hyper-optimist structural frames of the opportunities offered for mobilisation and deconstructs the rhetorical frames of engagement in the politics of consumption. The overarching consumer culture has resulted in the proliferation of print and virtual media in the form of magazines aimed at supplying the consumer with information on the ethics involved in the process of shopping and by directing them to shops that provide such services. Media (digital and non digital) play a vital role in the promotion of causes by transmitting information, which is crucial for the mobilisation of ethical consumers.1 These commissioned reports, however, often fail to account for the reception of that information, the framing of the meaning-making processes and the self-management of ethical consumers. Through an analysis of the media employed by coffee activists and their rationales and evaluations of these, it becomes apparent that the use of digital media does not further the cause of coffee activism much, and when it does it tends to replicate dominant narratives of mobilisation. In other words, digital media do not offer a panacea to the communication of the cause of coffee activism.

A History of Mainstreaming the Fair Trade Market and Movement

This chapter explores the processes through which the mainstreaming of fair trade has occurred and how this history is understood by coffee activists and ethically consuming citizens. The transformation of the relationship between the fair trade movement and corporate actors has been catalytic to its mainstreaming. During the course of approximately six decades, various political and economic transformations have impacted on the metamorphosis of fair trade from being the ‘business’ of solidarity groups to being part of the world of business. This recent stage in the history of fair trade has not been without turbulence. It has been followed by a change of sails which has seen corporations entering the market one at a time, signifying the presence of the marketopoly in coffee activism. The involvement of supermarkets and businesses which have bought into the fair trade market ranges from minor to major adoption of fair trade standards. I illustrate the changes that fair and solidarity trade initiatives have undergone by accounting for the consequences of mainstreaming coffee activism through an identification of the processes which have pulled coffee activism away from a niche and towards a normalised status. As a result, coffee activism has been directly influenced by processes which are instilled in the market, such as branding, fetishism and commodification, which repackage the politics of the cause into a capitalist-friendly activity.