Civic Consumption

= "In the fall, we’ll be hosting The Civic Consumption Summit to bring this community together and make exciting plans to continue growing Civic Consumption as a new impact-oriented movement within the new economy". [1]

Interview

"IF YOU POOL ENOUGH PEOPLE TOGETHER, THEY GAIN THE LEVERAGE TO MAKE GAINS ON THE SOCIAL ISSUES THEY CARE ABOUT."

Will Byrne, CEO of Groundswell, interviewed by Sara Horowitz:

"Sara: When you say that people can use their power as consumers to advance social change, what exactly do you mean?

Will: It's this idea of Civic Consumption, in which transactions can become collective actions that advance a positive social outcome or benefit for your community.

I think we're arriving at a moment where a lot of people care about making positive change in the world, and want to live their lives intentionally to make that kind of change. There are plenty of one-off examples of this kind of “conscious consumption”: People buying Seventh Generation products or Fair Trade products, for example.

But our belief is that instead of consuming as individuals, we can engage networks and communities to pool our power as consumers in order to push not only for lower costs through economies of scale but for actual changes in how businesses, and whole market sectors, address social needs. With the rapid growth in new enterprises and meaningful alternatives, consumers have more power today than ever before.

If you pool enough people together as consumers, they gain the leverage to make gains on the social issues they care most about, and reward businesses that operate locally, hire local people, operate sustainable supply chains, and so on." (http://www.freelancersunion.org/dispatches/2013/08/29/using-our-power-consume-forces-good/)

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