2009年年會論文 -消費的傳播與消費者的社會實踐:轉型的消費者文化如何可能?
篇名
消費的傳播與消費者的社會實踐:轉型的消費者文化如何可能?
Delineating Consumption Communication and the Consumer ’s Social Practice: An Emerging Transformative Comsumer Culture?
作者
張春炎
Chun-Yen Chang
中文摘要
隨著晚近全球環境危機日漸成為重要社會議題,可見全球各地在媒體傳播與運動者的倡議下,逐漸興起一種具倫理意涵的消費正義論述,呼籲消費者應該反省自身在私領域的消費行為、思考與自然和諧共處之道。
在行動層次上,可見許\多團體嘗試教育、動員具友善環境、社會正義等公共價值信念的消費者,透過具公共關懷的消費力集結來進行社會問題以及集體消費者福祉的改善,顯見藉由新消費運動的推展,逐漸形成小規模的倫理消費文化,進而帶動部分消費市場乃至於生產端的改變,使得消費到生產的過程,更符合永續或者社會正義、集體公共價值。
嘗試歸納這些綠色消費、公平貿易等等消費行動背後,突顯出一個重要的預設,主流消費文化若不轉型,則環境甚至是全球性的社會問題必將繼續蔓延人類世界。
因此,本文以消費文化研究的角度,嘗試藉由台灣的第一個環保/消費者團體-主婦聯盟生活消費者合作社的成功\個案分析,具體化說明轉型的消費文化的雛形與可能性。自2008年月至2009年開始,我們透過一連串活動參與、參與觀察與重要人士的深入訪談研究,發覺該團體在行動策略上以家庭婦女做為社群主體,利用台灣社會之中婦女特殊地位以及關懷下一代的共同特質,成功\掀起一場溫和的台灣消費革命,該團體藉由共同購買的合作模式,成立全台灣最大綠色消費購物合作社(日常生活、飲食用品消費場域),吸引將近30000個家庭加入,成功\推動關懷關懷社會弱勢、小農與抵抗環境污染等議題的消費文化。特別是主婦聯盟的婦女們透過家庭內的身教與言教,將這樣的消費文化擴展到家庭子女之上,使得這轉型消費文化得以不斷在跨代中傳遞與實踐,以此展現出倫理消費行為更為動態性的社會建構概念。而在這樣的動態過程中,不同施為能力的綠色消費者,在其每日消費實踐上都適度反映出公共價值。而這樣的消費文化同時也創造台灣具環保價值的有機、環保的消費生產文化模式,並讓自私為基礎的消費概念,逐步形成翻轉。
英文摘要
The environmental crisis has become not only a global issue that requires cooperative efforts across nations and organizations but a social issue that affects the everyday life of consumers. While initiatives have been brought up by media and social activists, a call for ethics and justice in consumption arises. It appeals for the reflectivity in individual consumption as well as finding ways to coexist with natural environment.
Social activist groups have worked to educate consumers and raise conscience in public values and collective well-being. Consumers learn to do good and be more eco-friendly through consumption decisions and behaviors, for example boycotting merchandise from sweatshops, or supporting green commodity, shopping through fair trades. Such consumer-initiated actions have forced multinational enterprises to reconsider, change their management strategies. With the belief that consumers can take initiative to enhance social well-being through everyday consumption practices, we propose that the movement of transformative consumer culture is a crucial path to easing and remedying the social problems faced globally. Transformative consumer culture may serve the force of transforming consumer behavior into quality of life and social goodness.

Homemaker’s Union Consumers Cooperative is a non-governmental organization initiated by consumers, mainly female homemakers. It is the first consumer-initiated social group that advocates consumer reform and environmental protection in Taiwan. It has successfully promoted consumer movements toward eco-friendly and justice in consumption. The proposed research intends to learn from HUCC’s experience by closely examining how it is operated within the organization, among members and with other social organizations, and how it promotes and educates general consumers with what it believes. The purpose is to conceive a sustainable consumption prototype that exists in Taiwan. We have, since 2007, started a field research by participating in a series of HUCC-COOP activities, closely observing member interactions, and giving out interviews with key members in HUCC.

A preliminary analysis of such observations reveals that housewives are HUCC’s key recruitment and mobilization target for they are mostly responsible and concerned with the well-being of family members. With the important role housewives play in family consumption decision, HUCC seeks for the opportunity to educate and change consumer behavior through their nurturing voice and social relation network. Through mobilizing housewives, HUCC has successfully raised conscience about environmental protection, and educated consumers of being more eco-friendly through practicing ethical consumption behavior.

By doing so, HUCC has since started a non-aggressive consumer revolution in Taiwan, even as early as in the period of Martial Law strained time, at which time the government had strict control over educational systems and ideological propagandas. In addition to educating the public through its members, HUCC expands its green consuming co-op network through a cooperative model of consumer co-purchase and supply chains that include social minority, local farmers and eco- conscientious producers. It builds a new production-consumption relational model that sustains natural environment conservation and local culture development. Nowadays, HUCC has attracted proximately 30,000 families and local green farmers to join in the co-op network, practice ethical consumption, and take part in creating public value that endorses sustainability and social goodness. In summary, the case study of HUCC results in important implications in promoting transformative consumption.
中文關鍵詞
消費文化,日常生活研究,轉型消費者
英文關鍵詞
Consumer Culture, Everyday Life, Transformative Consumer
發表日期
2009.07.06
授權狀況
已授權