Can CSR and the conscientious consumer save the world?

Proponents of unlimited consumption feel that the prevailing global production system can keep autocorrecting itself. Besides technologically driven efficiency, two other redeeming precepts which can apparently help save us all from consumerist excesses are corporate social responsibility (CSR) and conscientious or conscious consumerism.

Critics of rampant consumerism are not very impressed by the promise of CSR nor the idea of conscientious consumerism, both of which are dismissed because they try to deal with negative impacts of unbridled profit-driven capitalism with more capitalism.

Consider, how, for instance, CSR basically implies that corporations can self-regulate themselves to minimise harm and to promote social benefits. It includes varied practices ranging from adoption of ethnical production practices to supporting philanthropic activities without tampering with the existing business model of profitability.

Many corporations have been criticised for taking a superficial view of CSR so that it does not undermine their bottom line of maximising profits. CSR has also been accused of serving as a distraction where big brand names accused of polluting waterways, or causing obesity can sponsor music events under the banner of CSR to generate goodwill and further expand their market share. A tobacco company sponsoring a local park similarly does little to alleviate the damage it has caused to people’s health.

On the other hand, making people pay extra for organic produce or buy ethically sourced goods for a higher price are typical examples of consumer conscientiousness, which is still a nascent concept in poorer countries, but now a widespread phenomenon in the so-called ‘developed’ world.

It is common to go to any grocery store in the United States or Europe and be confronted with the option of buying a carton of a dozen eggs at significantly varied prices. The cheapest eggs are those produced by caged poultry. Cage-free eggs are slightly more expensive. It is much more expensive to get organic eggs. And organic eggs obtained from certified humanely treated and pasture-raised hens are the most expensive. The same idea applies to many other products ranging from milk to coffee, which is sourced through ‘fair trade’.

Instead of compelling all industries to pay fair wages to all the workers involved in the production process, requiring these industries to treat animals more humanely, and minimise harm to the environment, the cost of ethical production is being passed onto the consumers.

The conscious/conscientious consumerism hype suggests that every purchase an ordinary consumer makes may become a moral act and an opportunity for ordinary people to use the power of their wallet to change the world. Many people now genuinely believe that if all consumers can be given enough information, they’ll be able to make the right choices and compel corporations to act differently.

One wonders if making small, ethical purchasing decisions while ignoring the structural incentives for companies’ unsustainable business models, will be able to accomplish much. Even if the trend of contentious consumerism were to spread around the world, this phenomenon would remain confined to those who not only have the will but also the surplus purchasing power to make ‘ethical’ consumer choices.

Contending with issues such as equal pay, environmentally conscious manufacturing processes, prevention of human bondage in global supply chains, responsible farming practices is not easy. Even the savviest consumers cannot be expected to effectively understand the myriad implications related to the production of every single product they buy each time they go out shopping.

It is thus understandable when self-regulation via corporate social responsibility or consumer consciousness is described as window dressing which cannot by itself compel businesses to adopt more ethical production practices. Unfortunately, powerful business lobbies in industrialised countries, and the vested interests of local elites in poorer countries, continue to resist regulation of big businesses that continue making exorbitant profits by exploiting both people and the environment.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2020.

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