Consumerism

The consumption habits of consumers in industrial countries is one of the leading reasons for environmental degradation (Fuchs & Lorek, 2005). In order to minimize these deleterious effects, many governments are focusing on sustainable consumption. Sustainable consumption is the use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of further generations. In order for countries to engage in more sustainable consumption practices, there needs to be a change in overall consumption patterns and a reduction in consumption levels in industrialized countries (Fuchs & Lorek, 2005). While most of the efforts toward sustainable consumption take a more high-level approach by focusing on policy initiatives, changes in individual consumer consumption can also be an interesting classroom discussion. Many students consider themselves experts on consumer shopping and spending because they are themselves consumers. However, students, like many consumers, might not often think of the big picture implications of their shopping and how their purchases send ripples throughout the supply chain. Recent research in the role of CSR in consumer purchase decisions indicates that the consumers’ perceptions of a retailer’s CSR activities are important for developing customer loyalty as well as positively influencing consumer purchases (Schramm-Klein, Zentes, Steinmann, Swoboda, & Morschett, 2016). Yet when polled in the classroom, students are often unaware of the different manufacturing and transportation components of creating products that cause prices to increase. It is the same thing with CSR initiatives. Often, students do not consider the origin and distribution of products and services in the development of a CSR strategy. Students may only consider the CSR initiatives of a particular brand or retailer that they engage with directly, but very rarely do they study the companies that those brands or retailers might partner with. Students, as most consumers, take CSR efforts at face value and believe brands when they tell them of their CSR initiatives. Few actually take the time to investigate the legitimacy of these claims. For example, while one firm might claim that they use only organic materials, their manufacturing partners might violate child labor laws or pay below livable wages. It is important for students to consider as many aspects of CSR in their purchases as possible. In order to encourage real learning, faculty have to offer complex problems that might not always have a clear-cut answer, like how do you compare the impacts of CO2 emissions to that of paying workers a fair and livable wage. Presenting students with complex and realistic problems facilitates problem-based learning (Dochy, Segers, van den Bossche, & Gijbels, 2003). Furthermore, as business educators, we are charged with developing future business leaders. It is important to educate tomorrow’s leaders on the tenets of CSR as well as the actual execution and “costs” associated with CSR. The retail and textile industry provides a unique opportunity for reflection on consumption habits and sustainable consumption, from a CSR perspective. Recently, the public and the media has increased their attention on the textile industry. For example, the collapse of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh in 2013 that killed more than 1,100 garment workers created a worldwide media frenzy that caused increased attention to the working conditions of the textile industry. Furthermore, many environmental experts consider the textile and clothing industry to be one of the most polluting industries in the world (Choudhury, 2014). The textile industry was chosen as the focal point for this project because changes in consumer practices can positively affect changes in this important industry. Additionally, it is an industry that most students have participated in as consumers and understand the transactions associated with purchases in this industry. One of the most powerful way to initiate changes within the textile industry is through changing how consumers shop (Austgulen, 2016).