Ethical Consumption: Practices and Identities: A Realist Approach

Description

This book engages with the topic of ethical consumption and applies a critical-realist approach to explore the process of becoming and being an ethical consumer. By integrating Margaret Archer’s theory of identity formation and Christian Coff’s work on food ethics, it develops a theoretical account explicating the generative mechanism that gives rise to ethical consumer practices and identities. The second part of the book presents the findings from a qualitative study with self-perceived ethical food consumers to demonstrate the fit between the proposed theoretical mechanism and the actual experiences of ethically committed consumers. Through integrating agency-focused and socio-centric perspectives on consumer behaviour, the book develops a more comprehensive and balanced approach to conceptualising and studying consumption processes and phenomena. Cover Endorsement Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Page Table of Contents Foreword Preface Introduction Ethical consumption, the identity-building consumer, and critical realism Clarification of terms The scope and structure of the book References Part 1 Theorising the ethical consumer Chapter 1 Analysing consumption: Towards an integrated approach A view on consumption: lessons from the past, directions for the future References Chapter 2 Ethical consumption and critical realism Reflexivity: an emergent subjective power A realist social ontology: towards a stratified reality References Chapter 3 Ethical consumption as a reflexive life project In pursuit of identity: reflexivity and the internal conversation Ethical consumer – unravelling the relationship between commitments and concerns References Part 2 Studying the ethical consumer Chapter 4 Studying consumption: A realist approach Epistemological approach: towards the interpretivist paradigm Detailed research design Data production: the rationale, limitations, and benefits of my chosen research methods Reflexivity in research Data analysis Assessing the validity of research: a realist approach References Chapter 5 Meeting the ethical consumers Vignette 1: Lucy Vignette 2: Jason Vignette 3: David Vignette 4: Darren Vignette 5: Mary Vignette 6: Maggi Vignette 7: Joe Vignette 8: Solveig Vignette 9: Lila Note Reference Chapter 6 Becoming an ethical consumer: Moral concerns, emotional commentaries, and reflexive deliberations On the origins of consumers’ moral concerns Reflexivity and internal conversation in the context of ethical consumption Consumption and the ethical self: on the links between concerns, practices, and identities References Chapter 7 Being an ethical consumer: Exercising moral agency in the contexts of objective reality Contextualising consumer practices Reinstating consumer agency The many concerns of a single (ethical) consumer: striking the balance Reflexivity in ethical consumption: an ongoing imperative Maintaining ethical consumer identities: in pursuit of an authentic self Accommodating ethics, negotiating morality: the unethical practices of an ethical self On values and practices References Chapter 8 The inner self in the outer world: The social life of an ethical consumer References Conclusion Limitations and further research: beyond individual identities References Index