Takin’ It to the Mall: Consumer Activism on Global Warming

Mar 14, 2017 | All Categories, Climate Notes

In our published scientific article: The consumer as climate activist, we found that Americans are more likely to engage in consumer activism than political activism to combat global warming, and it’s on the rise. Yet most Americans don’t realize that consumer activism can influence companies. And even those that do seek to influence companies are more likely to express their concerns via their individual purchasing decisions, rather than by speaking out publicly about the corporate practices they oppose. Other studies have found, however, that bad publicity often has a greater impact on corporate behavior than decreased sales. Together, these results suggest that climate change consumer activists can be most effective by publicly communicating their concerns about corporate behavior as part of boycott or buycott campaigns. We briefly make the case for this conclusion, Download the Climate Note Here.