green consumerism (notes from lecture on cmn and rhetoric)

• A form of social advocacy - consumer awareness
• Commercial promotion - corporations focus on changing their ethos about consumption for PR purposes
• Consumers are given the responsibility to "make a statement" with their purchases
• One of the greatest marketing opportunities of all time: it not only delineates a moral subtext, but also encourages consumer democracy (so-called "feel-good" consumption)

why is positive change for issues such as global warming so difficult? (as with many other social issues)

• It's a rhetorical problem
• Productivism is the discourse of the modern world...we believe in production and consumption....when someone challenges the fundamental undergirding of your argument, it's easy to just dismiss them
• Our discourse in society (and therefore the working towards a solution) is trapped within the notion of progress...that we must continually live "better" lives through consuming more; that technology is the way of the future, and that innovation always takes precendence over preservation

Green consumerism is a very limited way that people are encouraged to participate in the "fight against global warming"...it gives people a chance to overcome their political paralysis. The marketplace is where we seek out much of our worth and identity - green consumerism is the compromise in which we try to make evident our awareness of serious environmental issues while minimizing the guilt that consumerism perpetuates.

I'm not suggesting that green consumerism is a bad thing...there could be much worse right? If corporations are pushed to create products that are environmentally friendly in order to remain competitive...that really isn't so bad. however, I find it extremely disturbing and interesting that we are so trapped in the discourse of consumerism and progress - that our solutions about the world's problems are also framed within that discourse. What of consuming less? What if living in smaller spaces? Not driving? - well, that would just be too radical for most of us.