Ethical consumption in Brazil and Chile:

Institutional contexts and development trajectories

Tomas Arizta
Escuela de Sociologia, Universidad Diego Portales
Dorothea Kleine
Geography Department, Royal Holloway, University of London
Maria das Graas S.L. Brightwell
Geography Department, Royal Holloway, University of London
Nurjk Agloni
Escuela de Sociologia, Universidad Diego Portales
Rita Afonso
Programa de Engenharia de Produo - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Roberto Bartholo
Programa de Engenharia de Produo - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Abstract:
This paper presents the first findings of an ongoing multi-national research project between universities in
Brazil, Chile and the UK funded by the UK Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC) and the
Department for International Development (DFID). The Choices project seeks to analyse contextual
understandings and practices of ethical consumption in Chile and Brazil. In a further step, it explores how
ethical consumption and public procurement can be associated and used to foster sustainable development.
The paper presents the outcomes of the first stage of the project, an extensive literature review considering the
developing trends towards ethical, sustainable, responsible and conscious consumption in both
countries. Chile and Brazil are former developing countries, and although they both now have growing ethical
consumption movements, we argue that these are shaped by the specificities of each countrys political,
economic and institutional trajectories. In one case, Chile, ethical consumption has arisen from market forces,
with lead actors being companies, consultancies and citizen and consumer organizations. Brazil, on the other
hand, provides also a very interesting case for studying how ethical consumption is embedded in another
Latin American context: it has a larger state sector and a domestic market size to give the state, and thus the
consecutive centre-left governments, great regulatory power, since it can control firms access to this market.
Both cases showed the increasing role of corporate social responsibility discourses and practices interfacing
with concepts of ethical consumption. As a consequence, the paper identifies a risk of firstly, greenwash
and whitewash by large companies and secondly, of having small producers struggling to market their
products.

1. Introduction

In 2012, 20 years after the ground-breaking Earth Summit in Rio shaping the debate on
sustainable development, the search continues for potential levers to turn economic
development into sustainable development. This paper discusses of one such lever: ethical
or sustainable consumption. It presents the first publication of findings from a multicountry, multi-disciplinary project, the ESRC-DFID Choices project1, which brings
together academics and NGO representatives from the UK, Brazil and Chile to analyze the
potential parallel trends of ethical/sustainable consumption and ethical/sustainable
procurement in the two countries
Both Brazil and Chile are middle-income countries with growing economies, but high
Gini indices of 54.7 (CIA, 2012) and 52.1 (CIA, 2012) respectively show that inequality,
and thus poverty, still persists in these countries. However, ongoing economic growth has
helped increase the new middle class. The inclusion of important part of the population into
consumer markets in each country is worth celebrating, but at the same time also poses
further large-scale environmental challenges if consumption levels rise. This is occurring at
a time when both countries are facing the threat of environmental degradation and climate
change
Chile and Brazil were chosen for this research because on the one hand they share key
characteristics such as nascent ethical consumption movements underpinned by economic
growth and increasing numbers of educated middle class consumers. At the same time, both
countries differ immensely in the size of their domestic market (17. 27 million vs. 196.7
million inhabitants, World Bank, 2011), the size of government expenditure (23% vs. 39 %
of GDP IEF 2013) and in their macroeconomic trajectory (degrees of economic liberalism
and social intervention by the state). This allows for a comparison of views and reported
practices of ethical consumption from two different Latin America contexts.
Ethical consumption, i.e. consumption practices, where consumers take into account
effects on the social and natural environment, has been a growing trend in many income1

From Royal Holloway, University of London, Universidad Diego Portales in Chile, and Universidade Federal do Rio de
Janeiro, as well as the NGOs Ethical Consumer Research Association, Instituto Akatu, and Ciudadano Responsable. The
project (2011-13, Grant reference RES-167-25-0714) is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
and the Department for International Development (DFID) More info at http://sustainablechoices.info.

rich countries for over a decade. Although ethical consumption discourses and practices are
also spreading in middle income countries such as Brazil and Chile, what is seen and
practiced as ethical is negotiated differently in different national contexts. Looking at
how ethical consumption is construed in different contexts involves therefore considering
how everyday practices of consumption (Warde 2005), discourses and lifestyles are
influenced by wider institutional settings.
While ethical consumption studies is a burgeoning field (e.g. Adams and Raisborough
2010; Agloni and Arizta 2012; Arizta, Melero and Montero 2010; Barnett 2011; Barnett et
al. 2011; Barnett, Cloke and Clarke 2010; Bartholo, Afonso and Pereira 2012; Beagan,
Ristovski-Slijepcevic and Chapman 2010; Carrigan and De Pelsmacker 2009; Cloke et al.
2010; Devinney, Auger and Eckhardt 2010; Goodman 2010; Hall 2011; Harrison et al.
2005, Jackson, Ward and Russel 2009; Kleine 2008; Lewis and Potter 2010; Lewis and
Potter 2011; Park 2009; Schwartz 2010; Szmigin, Carrigan and McEachern 2009; Varul
2009) much of the research focuses on the ethical choices of (middle class) individuals
from the global North, with strong Anglo-American representation both among research
subjects and among researchers, and thus in both the empirical and theoretical literature. A
comprehensive review of the body of knowledge of socially conscious consumerism
prepared by Cotte and Trudel (2009) points to the fact that 90% of the consumer studies in
this area relate to North American and European consumers.
We argue that ethical consumption expressed and performed as practices and discourses
are deeply embedded in places. At the most basic level discourses and practices are framed
and influenced by local, socially and culturally rooted organizations and institutions.
Therefore the development and characteristics of socially and spatially ethical consumption
discourses may differ.
Against this backdrop, this paper explores how ethical consumption practices and
discourses have followed different paths in the part-globalised, part-nationally specific
institutional settings of Chile and Brazil. We broadly define institutional contexts as the
collection of rules and organized practices that affect and frame social processes (March
and Olsen 2006). Institutions, thus, not only involve organization settings but also the
cultural values and norms they enact through practice and discourse (Djelic 2010). One
central element of different national institutional frames relates to the role of the state.
3

Following the work of Portes and colleagues (2007) which have explored institutions and
development in Latin America, we argue that institutional settings are a central aspect in
terms of understanding how ethical consumption spreads and develops in particular
societies.
In this article we explore in particular the ethical consumption connection between
three institutional settings, namely, a) civil organizations oriented to promote ethical
consumption (ONGs), particular in terms of how they relate to public and private
institutional settings; b) market actors, such as companies and their engagement with
ethical consumption as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility practices and beyond;
and c) the government and its relation to ethical consumption policies. By doing so we
analyze how different institutional settings are related to different development trajectories
of ethical consumption in Chile and Brazil.
Chile was, according to Harvey (2005), the first neoliberal policy experiment, with
privatization, deregulation and export-orientation. With only a small domestic market, often
cited as one of the most open and free market economies in the world it has been argued
that market actors have been central in the recent raise of ethical consumption (Kane,
Holmes and OGrady 2007). Brazil on the other hand, with its large domestic market,
active civil society and successive centre-left governments, has been carving out a different
set of institutional context that favored the development of ethical consumption.
By recognizing and exploring these institutional settings we argue that the focus of
ethical consumption as individual actors making choices in the market needs to be
widened to take into account the historical and geographical context, as well as culturally
and politically specific opportunities and constrains at country and below country level.
More precisely, we argue that ethical consumption decisions are embedded in collective
meaning-making. In some cases, there are institutions such as public procurement (the
states buying of goods and services) which allow collective choices to become ethical
consumption choices.
The ESRC-DFID Choices project is pioneering in that it covers - to our knowledge for
the first time - both ethical/sustainable consumption and ethical/sustainable procurement in
one research project. In presenting this analysis on the role of institutions in the shaping of
the Chilean and Brazilian perspectives of ethical consumption we offer therefore not only
4

offer a perspective of ethical consumption that is embedded within place, discourse, history
and institutions. We also show that beyond a Northern, and strongly Anglo-American
discourse, there is not only one Southern perspective, there are many Southern perspectives.

2. Methods

This paper brings together the first findings from a wider project focused on ethical
consumption and public procurement in Chile and Brazil. The project employs a multimethod qualitative and quantitative approach, which combines reviews of academic, policy
and online literature with focus groups and a nationally representative survey in each
country. In the first phase (Oct 2011-March 2012) the team conducted reviews on both
ethical consumption and ethical procurement in both countries2.
This paper draws on the two reports on ethical consumption to develop the argument
that ethical consumption needs to be understood in its institutional and discursive settings,
which are inevitably socially negotiated and collectively constructed. The reports reviewed
the emergence of ethical/sustainable/conscious consumption3 policies, discourses and
actions in government documents, reports and educational material, academic publications,
NGO reports and briefs, , as well as articles in the general, trade and specialist press. We
also looked for broader existing qualitative and quantitative evidence in surveys by NGOs
and governmental institutions, e.g., the Ministry of Environmental Affairs.
Our analysis for this paper was based on comparing recent developments in ethical
consumption in Chile and Brazil. We do so, with particular attention to the institutional
framework that has affected this development (Morgan et al. 2010). Specifically, we focus
on three institutional contexts: civil society sector (NGOs), private (corporate world,
particularly Corporate Social Responsibility programs) and the public sector (government
rules and organizations).
2

The resulting four reports are available for download on the project blog at www.sustainablechoices.info.
The label responsible, ethical and conscious consumption relates to different national discourses and perspectives
although all of them can be related broadly to the type of consumption practice that takes into account its effects on the
social and natural environment. The label sustainable consumption tends to have a stronger emphasis on environmentally
aware consumption practices. In this project we choose generally to use ethical consumption with allows for easy links
to the Anglo-American academic literature, this term is however not in common use in Chile and Brazil.
3

3. Ethical consumption: beyond the figure of the ethical consumer

A common feature of recent research on ethical consumption is the focus on the figure
of the ethical consumer. Authors have explored his/her motives and rationalities for making
ethical consumption decisions (Cloke et al. 2010; Doran 2009; Freestone and Mitchell
2004; Freestone and McGoldrick 2008; Harrison, Newholm and Shaw 2005), as well as the
relation between motivations and behaviours and the nature of this connection in an
individualized postmodern cultural landscape (Cherrier 2007; Littler 2008). Further,
research has focused on exploring how consumption and consumers have become more
involved with ethical and moral values (Soper 2004).
Some authors argue that moralities and consumption has always been connected,
consumption being a central space of cultural production (Miller 2001). Others explain
ethical consumers as emerging as the consequence of recent changes in global capitalism
and the spread of consumer culture (Sassatelli 2007). On the one hand, increasing
complexity and visibility of global production chains have made the effect of our
consumption more visible and therefore making us more aware of our consumption choices
(Kleine 2005, Littler 2008). On the other hand, consumer culture has made consumption
choices a critical aspect of contemporary self identities, therefore encouraging a
moralization of consumption which is therefore lived as a key space of identity production
(Slater and Ritzer 2001; Trentmannn 2007).
Some authors see consumption choices as a space through which people deploy their
political and environmental duties. From here, consumption, and in particular the act of
shopping, have been politicized and made into the subject of individual moral judgment. As
a result, the focus in public discourse and consumer studies shifted from consumer rights to
consumer duties (Sassatelli 2006: 236) and from seeing consumers as weak, manipulated
marionettes of capitalism in need of protection, to seeing them as potentially sovereign,
morally responsible political actors (Harrison, Newholm and Shaw 2005; Jacobsen and
Dulsrud 2007).
While this literature plays a central role in terms of understanding what forces drive
consumers, it has given rise to some criticism because of its over valorization of the
consumer as the central figure of ethical consumption practices. As Barnett et al. (2011: 116

12) argue: A feature of both academic and popular discussion on the growth of ethical
consumption is the widespread assumption that the consumer is the key agent of this
process. All in all, this sort of framing of ethical consumption reproduces generalizing
narratives in which traditional forms of political participation party membership, voting
are supposed to be in terminal decline, and are being replaced by more individualized
forms of action, for which buying and boycotting as a consumer has become paradigmatic
(Cook, Harrison and Lacey 2006; Stolle, Hooghe and Micheletti 2005). It also downplays
the role of the institutional contexts in which such practices take place and the locally
specific nature of consumption practices.
These criticisms of the focus on the figure of the ethical consumer relate to recent trends
in consumption studies that have tended to play down the relevance of the links between
consumption, subjective identities and choice (Shove 2003; Warde 2001), focusing on how
consumption (ethical consumption included) is embedded in everyday practices as well as
wider cultural and institutional contexts (Warde 2005).
Based on this debate, at least two elements appear to be critical in terms of mapping
ethical consumption`s institutional contexts in countries such as Brazil and Chile. Firstly,
ethical consumption practices appear, in many high-income countries, highly mediated by
institutional frames of organizations, public policies, campaigns and other institutional
contexts which themselves help to produce, shape and mobilize ethical consumption
practices (Barnett et al. 2005). A central role here has been played by international global
movements for ethical consumption such as Fair Trade (Nicholls and Opal 2005) or social
banking (Buttle 2007). As this literature argues, these movements, and powerful lead
organizations within them, have played a major role in mobilizing and focusing consumer
practices. This is an aspect of great interest to our perspective of ethical consumption as
embedded in institutional contexts of norms and organizations.
Secondly, understandings and uses of ethical consumption are located in specific local
institutional context and their historical developments (Miller 1994; Miller 1995). In fact,
research on the ethical consumer has tended to overemphasize the figure of an
individualized, choosing consumer in line with Western liberalisms individualistic bias.
This leaves aside the way in which ethical consumption practices might be locally defined
by historical pathways shaping institutional context.
7

Against this backdrop, in this paper we aim to contribute to the increasing literature on
ethical consumption. We do so by exploring ethical consumption in terms of locally
produced relations and mediated by institutional contexts. Three specific institutional
contexts are described with a specific focus on how ethical consumption revolves around
these spaces: the civil society sectors, more particularly NGOs as actors in an ecosystem
that relates to sustainable and ethical consumption, the role of markets, i.e. corporations and
their corporate social responsibility policies; and finally the role of state, more particularly
the connections between governmental policies and ethical consumption. These three
spaces define the arenas through which ethical consumption discourses and practices have
evolved in Chile and Brazil. In doing so, while focusing on mapping how ethical
consumption is a growing trend in Chile and Brazil, this article understands this trend in the
context of the historical pathway and institutional environment in both countries.

4. Ethical consumption in Chile

It is worth noting the contrasting political and economic trajectory of the two countries.
Chile was arguably the first experiment in the macroeconomic neoliberal reform (Harvey
2005) .After the military coup in 1973, the Pinochet regime - guided by economists from
the Chicago School - deregulated the national economy and sought to integrate the country
into global trade (Cademrtori 2001).The dictatorship banned unions, discouraged cooperatives and policed civic political expression, a history which helps explain the limited
extent of civil society activity in Chile even today.
Faced with a limited domestic market of only 17 million consumers, Chilean companies
were encouraged to find markets overseas, export and compete in international markets.
Around 75% of exports are commodities and Chile today holds free trade agreements with
59 countries (CIA 2012). Chiles main export companies have been thus trained to
respond to new requirements, standards and trends emerging in their overseas markets. For
example, some of the Chilean wineries have gone to great lengths to have their production
certified as FLO-Fairtrade (Kleine 2008) a certification which speaks to consumers in
markets such as the UK.
Alongside its highly deregulated and export-oriented economy, the country is
characterized by high social and regional inequality. Chile has a Gini coefficient of 52.1,
8

making it, by this measure, the fifteenth most unequal society in the world (CIA 2012).
Chile has enjoyed long periods of economic growth, (from 1991 to 1998, from 1999 to
2008, and since 2010) but the high social and regional inequality persists; one example of
this is that 45% of the countrys GDP is generated in Santiago (IBM 2010). Successive
governments of the centre-left, and since 2010 of the centre-right, have continued to pursue
a broadly neoliberal economic policy. In the case of the centre-left governments (19902010) there was also heavy investment in agencies and programs tasked with alleviating
poverty. Chile reached an HDI rank of 44 out of 187 countries in 2011 (UNDP 2011), and
with a GDP of US$ 18,400 per capita, was ranked 72th in the world for GDP (CIA 2012).
As one of the most politically stable and prosperous countries in Latin America, Chile
joined the OECD in 2010. Literacy levels are at 95.7% (UNDP 2006). These changes have
been related to an expansion of the middle class in Chile which has increased by 90% in the
period between 1990-2006 (Franco, Hopenhayn and Len 2011).
Just how social and environmentally responsible are these new consumers? As ever,
actual practice is harder to access than reported attitudes and behavior. A UDP survey of
2009 (UDP 2009) shows that nearly 80% of the consumers interviewed perceive
themselves as highly responsible in social and environmental terms. However, when
consulted for a set of thirteen sustainable practices (such as buying organic food or
turning the lights off when I am not in a room), only around 6% of consumers could be
classified as responsible consumers on an overall aggregate scale4.
The most common practices among Chilean consumers are those that have a direct
effect on the family budget such as Avoiding leaving the lights on in empty rooms (69.
5%) or Waiting for the food to cool down before putting it into the fridge (63. 4%). These
are more practiced by women and adults. At the same time, less commonly reported
practices were recycling (20.3%), reusing paper after printing (22.2%) and buying
organic/natural products (22.7%).
Broadly speaking, it can be noted that the practices and discourses more commonly
explored in the global discourse on ethical consumption such as green and social
certification and labeling, and related consumer awareness, seem to be increasing with
4

For a full methodology of this study see Arizta, T., J.M. Melero, and M.J. Montero. 2010. "Un nuevo
consumidor chileno: de los derechos a las responsabilidades In Reporte de Encuesta Nacional UDP 2009:
Chile 2009 - Actitudes y Percepciones sociales." Santiago, Ediciones UDP.

some momentum. For example, during the last years we have seen the rise of a number of
feature-sized articles and themed issues on these topics in local newspapers and a rise in
seminars and conferences. Not only have research projects and data gathering in this area
multiplied in recent years, we have also seen an increased visibility of projects and public
and private initiatives related to promote more ethical consumption (Agloni and Arizta
2012). The way discourses of sustainable/ethical consumption have been spread in the
country is, nonetheless, strongly related to the previously discussed particular Chilean
development model marked by a strong centrality of the deregulated market (Garate 2012).
It is possible to recognize a particular way in which ethical consumption has grown in
this local version of a consumer society. It relates broadly to two areas: first, ethical
consumption has been developed by multiple non-governmental organizations which have
focused on mediating the production of small producers and using ethical labels. Second,
ethical consumption has been increasingly developed by big size companies, particularly
through Corporate Social Responsibility schemes as we will further discuss. Against this
backdrop, the state has played a minor role; indeed, it has only recently become more
involved on promoting ethical consumption, mainly through an increasing legislative body,
sustainable consumption campaigns, and through the consumer rights service (SERNAC).
In the following paragraphs we will describe these three institutional paths through which
ethical consumption has developed in Chile.

The promotion of ethical consumptions by NGOs

There is an increasing number of NGOs who are involved in promoting ethical
consumption and supporting small producers to get certifications and commercialize their
products. Some of these NGOs have a long tradition, such as the Red de Economa
Solidaria, but have had a limited visibility and are focused on particular sectors and areas
(for example in craftsmanship).
Among the organizations linked to the offer of ethical products in Chile we find
initiatives related to fair trade and ethical commerce (such as Manos del Bo Bo, Espacio
de Economa y Comercio Solidario or Nodo de comercio justo), socially responsible
investment, local social practices, organic production and commercialization, energy

10

efficiency, animal welfare5, sustainable use of natural resources and environmental local
practices, sustainable tourism, responsible jewelry making, donations, among others (for an
overview please see Ariztia, Melero and Montero, 2009). What is particular of this group of
organizations is that they often focused on creating a demand instead to responding to an
existing one, which reveals a strong sense of mission and belief in that the principles behind
ethical consumption are worth being transmitted. As has been shown in the rest of the
world this market has some potential for growth.
There are also a growing number of NGOs and consultancy groups6 committed to
awareness raising and promotion of ethical consumption in Chile. Many of these actors had
previously started working in sustainable development or CSR but have recently
incorporated the role consumption plays in environmental and social development. For
example, a recent review mentioned 12 different programs of environmental education
identified as being carried out by these types of NGOs, half of them promoting sustainable
consumption practices in schools (Valdivieso 2011) Finally, recent years have seen several
collective movements related to different aspects of what could be interpreted as a more
ethical lifestyle, such as cyclist movements (furious cyclist movement) or the farmers
markets association.

Ethical consumption and Social Corporate Responsibility

The incorporation of practices and concepts of sustainable consumption in the corporate
sector has had a particular expression in Chile. Given the export-led orientation of Chilean
economy, exporting companies have been conditioned to respond swiftly to signals and
demands from overseas markets. From the beginning of the 90s, several companies related
to natural resources had to react early to international ethical consumers and certification
schemes. While some years ago environmental and social certifications were relatively
unknown, these have spread among Chilean export industries such as forest production
(FSC label) or the wine industry (FLO label).
Large companies operating in the Chilean internal market have also started to respond to
the nascent trend towards ethical consumption through their CSR programs. Companies are
5
6

For example, organizations such as Polica animal, AnimaNaturalis

This is the case of NGOs such as Accin RSE, Prohumana or Casa de la Paz

11

increasingly investing in sustainable practices and ways of communicating their

commitment with social and environmental actions to consumers. Examples of the spread
of CSR actions among Chilean corporate world are the creation of corporate networks and
foundations such as Accion RSE -that congregates companies that have an active CSR
involvement and provides support to produce CSR reports and rankings- or ProHumana central actors on providing support to CSR implementation- or Casa de la Paz which
connects civil society with the corporate world. Another proof of this growth of the CSR
sector in Chile is the powerful trend towards CSR reporting in the country; in the year 2000
only a couple of companies published CSR reports, while in 2007 this number went up to
36 (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2008). Data from the same source indicates that most of CSR
reports are about the themes of community, human resources (HR) and environment, while
the less cited subjects are economy and corporative governance.
Despite this growth, corporate initiatives in CSR, sustainability or ethical consumption
are still scarce and underdeveloped, considering the huge influence that these actors have in
the context of the Chilean market. One example of the current limitations of engagement
relates to the retail companies. While retail has a huge share of the Chilean consumer goods
market (retail companies sales in Chile are calculated at US$16.000 million per year,
approximately 9% of the countrys GDP, according to Humphreys (2010)), from the total
of CSR initiatives identified by Fundacin Ciudadano Responsable in 2009 (over 300),
only 22 of them (less than 7%) were related to retail companies. Additionally, the few
ethical products that have been incorporated into the offer of supermarkets and retail
chains do not have any special consideration and have to compete in the same terms with
regular products to win a space on the shelf. In the opinion of many small producers (see
Arizta, Melero and Montero 2009a), these big companies have not incorporated the ethical
products, services or actions as a central part of their commercial strategy. Furthermore,
here are still questions about to what extent CSR accounts for a real change in companies
operations towards more sustainable practices or whether it is mainly a communication
strategy, a form of greenwash. In sum, we can see that CSR, and in a complex but
related way ethical consumption is taking off among Chiles private sector corporations,
but this development still has strong limitations. There are some specific characteristics to
this trend. Firstly, most of the actions in this direction are centred on environmentally
12

sustainable consumption more than socially sustainable consumption. Second, the way in
which ethical consumption appears is strongly linked to two particular elements:
certifications in the export industry or CSR practices mostly related to large size
corporations.

The role of the State

The Chilean State has perhaps been the last institutional space to consider ethical
consumption as a subject of public discourse and policies. Indeed, small producers and
NGOs complain about the passive attitude of the government towards ethical consumption
(Arizta, Melero and Montero 2009b); these actors have historically demanded a stronger
effort from government agencies in educating consumers to make ethical choices. They
also believe that the way the Government has neglected ethical consumption has further
increased the atomization of ethical producers, obstructing cooperative actions needed to
survive in a competitive market (Arizta, Melero and Montero 2009b).
Nevertheless the government has gradually included ethical consumption into its sphere
of interest. Although there is not a global plan for promoting ethical consumption (like in
Brazil), we can identify several efforts in that direction. First, there has been an increasing
regulatory role of the State in terms of environmental and social legislation, banning
companies practices with undesired social and environmental effects, updating the
environmental legislation and consolidating the public institutions related to these areas 7.
However, while we note an extensive set of environmental regulation, those norms
referring to consumption practices are limited and vague: only 3.3% of Chilean green
regulations are related somehow to ethical consumption (Valdivieso 2011). Second, we can
note an increasing interest on ethical consumption from the National Service for Consumers
(SERNAC) which has increased its focus on educating the general population about making
responsible purchasing decisions, offering seminars and workshops on consumers right
and ethical consumption in schools, organizations and communities8. The third way in

In fact, recent years have seen the implementation of the environmental courts, which provides a space for fast tracking
environmental legislation. Government have also created an environmental ministry that congregate the environmental
bodies.
8
For example, they recently launched an ethical consumption guide, (http://www.sernac.cl/educacion-para-elconsumo/guia-del-consumidor-responsable)- Accessed 2013-04-23

13

which the Government has taken a more active role in ethical consumption is through the
incorporation of ethical criteria to public purchasing. Chilecompra (the governmental entity
in charge of public purchasing) has been working on a plan for sustainable public
purchasing from 2008, incorporating some recommendations for public institutions to
follow when making purchasing decisions in the name of citizens. In particular, the suggest
recognizing energy efficiency alongside price as a purchasing criterion. However, this is
not a legal obligation and many institutions still prioritize price over other social or
environmental factors.

In summary, we can see that ethical consumption is an increasingly visible issue for
NGOs, the private sector and for government agencies, though each set of institutional
actors is moving at a different pace. Examining the dynamic between these three actors
however shows a more complex picture. While some NGOs are promoting ethical
consumption practices among the population, others have developed connections with the
CSR corporate world. Regarding the private sector, we observe an increasing awareness
about ethical consumption mostly related with an increase of CSR. Nevertheless, tensions
and difficulties are visible. Small producers with ethical claims, often supported by NGOs,
are increasingly trying to put ethical products on retail shelves but they complain that big
retail companies makes them compete with big producers that are able to offer much more
competitive prices (partly because they do not consider ethical criteria in the production
process). This inherent disadvantage is part of the reason why small producers demand
from the State incentives to ethical production, regulation and education to consumers. The
State is starting to echo these demands and to develop an awareness of global ethical
consumption discourses but still is quite behind compared to other countries. It seems
however that there is no way back and big companies should expect in the long term
tougher regulations which will force them to take ethical consumption beyond a
greenwash marketing strategy.

14

5. Ethical consumption in Brazil

Brazil is now considered the 6th largest economy in the world and at the end of 2010 the
country had a GDP U$2.362 trillion (CIA, 2012). It occupies an area of 8,514,876.599
km2 and has a population of 194 million people, three times larger than the UK and eleven
times larger than Chile (World Bank 2012).The Brazilian population is mostly concentrated
in urban centres and only 15.65% Brazilians live in rural areas. Brazil is characterized by
an ambiguous situation which is not unlike Chiles: at the same time that economic growth
and GDP per capita income has increased, high levels of inequality still persist. This
inequality is geographically marked, as the majority of the economic active population live
in the Southeast, Centre West and South. The economic growth in the last ten years has
resulted in a strong domestic market, and according to the National Domicile Survey
carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), between 2003 and
2009, 29 million people moved to class C (those with a gross monthly family income
ranging from R$ 1,126 to R$ 4,854). This represented a growth of 34, 3% (MMA 2011). In
2011, Brazil was ranked 84th place (among 187 countries) in the Human Development
Index showing considerable progress. According to the Human Development Report 2011
between 1980 and 2011, Brazils HDI value increased from 0.549 to 0.718, an increase of
31.0 per cent or average annual increase of about 0.9 per cent(UNDP 2011).
Economic growth generated new jobs, increased income for millions of workers and
helped with social inclusion. Coupled with demographic growth (estimated to be two
million people a year) the inclusion of a great part of Brazilians into consumer markets
represents an enormous growth in consumption. In a context where there is so much
celebration of this growing consumer market - with the ascent of the so-called new middle
class and of access to goods and services for those who have been previously excluded
from

this

space

it

is

worth

asking

whether

there

is

place

for

ethical/sustainable/conscious consumption in Brazil.

The Brazilian scholar Livia Barbosa, who has been studying the theme (2011) argues
that there are a number of points that show a potential politicisation of consumption in
Brazil: (1) the creation of NGOs focused specifically on this issue. (2) the frequent
15

publication of articles on conscious consumption in several vehicles of mass

communication; (3) the establishment of programs of Education for Conscious
Consumption, both in the governmental and the nongovernmental and business spheres;
(4) the explosion of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives; (5) the proliferation of
certification and labelling systems; and (6) the strengthening of so-called new social and
economic movements which presuppose the existence and action of conscious consumers,
such as the solidarity economy, fair trade, and slow food movements (Barbosa et al. 2011:
89).
In terms of consumer attitudes and behaviours, a survey conducted by Instituto Akatu in
2010, identified that 5% of the consumers say they take into consideration the
environmental impacts of their purchases9. Brazilian consumers are more consistent in
expressing values (70% of positive answers) than to exhibit behaviours (58% positive
answers). However, even the less conscious consumers were shown to have incorporated
saving behaviours such as: avoid leaving lights on in unoccupied rooms (98%) or turning
the tap off when brushing the teeth (95%). The adoption of these practices presuppose a
direct benefit to the individual as they consider the economy of resources to bring an
immediate or short term return (Instituto Akatu & Castell, 2006: 10). So it could be argued
that there may be an underlying understanding of the need for change among the mass of
Brazilian consumers in this vast domestic market, however, few actually translate this in
their actions.
As we discuss later, the State in Brazil has played a key role in articulating ethical
consumption in relation with NGOs world as well as in providing a legal framework and
supporting of sustainable consumption. Furthermore, in line with the previously described
Chilean case, the private sector has also increasingly taken up ethical consumption as part
of their CSR schemes. In the next paragraphs we will describe three institutional paths in
relation with the spread of ethical consumption in Brazil.

For a methodology discussion see Akatu, I. & I. Ethos. 2010. O Consumidor Brasileiro e a Sustentabilidade:
Atitudes e Comportamentos frente ao Consumo Consciente, Percepes e Expectativas sobre a RSE. So
Paulo: Instituto Akatu and Instituto Ethos.

16

The promotion of ethical consumption by NGOS

When it comes to Brazil, NGOs have been key actors, not only in raising awareness of a
range of ethical consumption issues but also in understanding and researching ethical
consumers. Instituto Akatu, for example, has carried out bi-annual surveys on ethical
consumption and corporate social responsibility in Brazil since 2000. These NGOs emerge
from a vibrant civil society sphere in Brazil. The Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do
Consumidor IDEC (Brazilian Institute for Consumers Rights - is an independent
organization created in 1987 and associated with Consumers International. It promotes
awareness of consumers rights and ethics in consumer relations through courses,
publications, etc. Furthermore, producers and consumers networks such as Rede Ecolgica
(Rio de Janeiro) and Rede de AgroEcologia Ecovida (South of Brazil) emerged from social
movements fostering ethical, solidarity and ecological consumption. They are formed by
consumer groups who by making collective purchases from producers have access to
organic and agro-ecological products at affordable prices. Another is Instituto Alana their
Child and Consumption Project (Projeto Criana e Consumo) has a number of activities
aiming at promoting critical awareness among the Brazilian population to the consumption
practices and products of teenagers and children. Instituto Kairos has also been working
since 2000 with educational projects, consulting and research in the areas of responsible
consumption and fair trade. At a more local level, we might find also a very rich ecosystem
of community based NGOs that work promoting sustainable consumption10.

10

For example, as we will discuss later, NGOs community projects recently supported by Petrobras, the national
petroleum company

17

Ethical consumption and Social Corporate Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility debates start in Brazil at the end of the 1980s, when
companies start to give attention to social investments and the so-called social marketing,
which gained momentum from a change of paradigm from philanthropy to social
sustainability (Ashley 2002). Some authors link the shrinking role of the state due to
neoliberal reforms and the main causes that led companies to start getting involved in
projects which before had been areas of state intervention. However, it is also important to
note that such actions start with a wide-ranging social movement. According to Afonso
(2012), the campaign against hunger (formally known as Citizens Action Against
Hunger and Poverty and for Life) initiated by the activist Herbert Betinho de Souza from
the NGO IBASE (Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analysis) triggered a myriad
of voluntary actions in public companies such as Furnas and Eletrobras. IBASE was also
active in encouraging companies to make their social actions public through an annual
report (in Brazil known as social balance).
From the 1990 onward, there is a movement towards the professionalization of the social
actions developed by companies. Such actions are institutionalised, systematised and
inserted in the companies business strategies, advertised and considered as a competitive
advantage in their position in markets (Afonso 2012). Contract agreements, protocols,
norms and instruments of management have been developed and adopted by companies in
less than a decade as companies have to deal beyond the economic realm towards the well
being of clients and even society more generally, and gear towards practices of
responsibility and commitment.
Corporate associations related to ethical consumption in Brazil have burgeoned in the last
decade11. The corporate world has set up an increasing system of organizations responsible
for the analysis, diffusion and consolidation of Corporate Social Responsibility, among
them Fundao Abrinq (Childrens Rights); Instituto Brasileiro de Anlises Sociais e
Econmicas (IBASE) and the Institutos Ethos de Responsabilidade Social. Instituto Akatu
created in 2000, as part of the Instituto Ethos, is one of the ethical consumption NGOs at
11

For example, the Instituto de Cidadania Empresarial (ICE), Conselho de Cidadania Empresarial da Federao das
Indstrias do Estado de Minas Gerais (FIEMG), Ncleo de Ao Social da Federao das Indstrias do Estado de So
Paulo (FIESP), Associao Brasileira de Empresrios pela Cidadania (CIVES), Fundao Instituto de
Desenvolvimento Empresarial e Social FIDES

18

national level more clearly linked to Corporate Social Responsibility. A number of awards
and certifications have also been created from the corporate world: the award Top
Socioambiental ADBV, from the Associao dos Dirigentes de Vendas e Marketing do
Brasil; the label Child Friendly Company (Selo Empresa Amiga da Criana), from
Fundao Abrinq; Eco Award (Prmio Eco), from the Cmara Americana de Comrcio
and the label Social Balance Certification (Selo Balano Social) from IBASE/Betinho.
Despite some efforts by SEBRAE (Brazilian Support Service to Small and Micro
Enterprises) an agency working with government and private sectors to promote CSR
awareness, especially through the publication of relevant material, most of the CSR programs in

Brazil are still being carried out by large corporations, while smaller companies still see
themselves as dealing with issues of economic survival paralleling the case of Chile.

The role of the state

The Brazilian state has recently played a more prominent role in promoting ethical
consumption. The last three governments, all centre-left, have featured traditional Brazilian
environmental and social activists in positions of power, and this has certainly contributed
to the institutionalisation of many changes demanded by sectors of Brazilian society in
terms of social and environmental justice12. Activist demands have been turned into state
policies and programmes.
The Brazilian governmental policy that incorporates sustainable consumption more
directly is the Action Plan for Sustainable Production and Consumption (MMA, 2011)
which is linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Environment. The six priorities of the Action
Plan for Sustainable Production and Consumption are of a practical nature and aim at
engaging various sectors of society in implementing its goals in order to: a) increase
recycling, b) incorporate an environmental agenda into public administration, c) sustainable
procurement, d) sustainable buildings, e) sustainable consumption and retailing as well as f)
education for sustainable consumption.

12

For example, Samira Crespo, environmental activist from ISER, Instituto de Estudos da Religio the Institute of
Religious Studies has been an active NGO focusing on both social and environmental issues) moved to the Ministry of
Environment.

19

A number of different actions have taken place, initiated by the Ministry of the
Environment in partnership with other institutions, such as Shared Sustainable Public
Purchasing, awareness campaigns for the reduction in the use of plastic bags, recycling
campaigns etc. However, so far the plan is still focused on the provision of basic guidelines
and the setting up of priorities. The implementation of these plans still has to be achieved.
It is also worth mentioning the considerable steps the Brazilian government has taken
towards incorporating social and environmental criteria into public procurement and the
institutional recognition and state support for social movements such the creation of the
National Secretary for the Solidarity Economy, in 2003. The program Solidarity Economy
in Development started to be implemented in 2004, marking the introduction of specific
public policies for the solidarity economy at national level. At its core is an attempt to
promote the economical and political empowerment of the bottom layers of Brazilian
society (Esteves 2011:1). Another example is the government law recently passed that
determines that 30% of the money spent on public school meals has to be bought directly
from small-scale farmers. Even recognising that organic produce is about 30% more
expensive, the law says that these products should have priority over conventionally grown
products (CEPAGRO, 2011).
All in all, there have been substantial and favourable changes towards the inclusion of
social and environmental criteria in public purchasing. Research confirms that the Brazilian
government has played its part as a catalyst for ethical consumption behaviour through
widely articulated government campaigns, by developing new policies and by passing
legislation. It will be worth exploring whether these governmental actions have resonated
with companies and if they will in the next years change their production logics and
practices to adapt to these new regulations. In summary, we can note that ethical
consumption has become an increasingly important issue in the public sector, NGO and
corporate world. Different from the Chilean case, the Brazilian State has played a central
role here both in terms of promoting ethical consumption policies and supporting other
actors in this area. Regarding the relation between these tree different sectors, a central
element relates to the relation between the Brazilian State and the NGOs. On the one hand,
several NGOs recently have become co-opted by the governmental bodies. For example,
the national program for sustainable production and consumption described was lead by a
20

well-known environmental activist as previously mentioned. On the other hand the state is
also a central source of funding either in direct or indirect ways. In recent years, for
example, state companies - especially the national energy company Petrobras - have
financially supported hundred of social projects undertaken by NGOs, many of which in
turn are also important social and environmental activist actors. The scale of Petrobras
social investments exceeds by far that of local and state governments 13. It is however,
important to note the nuances of the relationship between the NGO, the State and the
private sector. An important distinction should be made between community-based NGOs
and those that work more closely with the corporate world. Community-based NGOs, in
most cases, still have a precarious interface with market forces. This competitive deficiency
is compensated by the presence of a strong (public) collaborative network that links actors
from political parties, state companies, and in specific cases social corporate responsibility
actions by private companies (such as Oi (telecommunication), Vale (minerals and logistic)
and UNIMED (health)). On the other hand, some NGOs have developed strong links with
the private sector, mainstream media and international funding. These types of NGO have
worked with the corporate sector mostly on issues around sustainability, ethical
consumption and corporate social responsibility14.

6. Final discussion
While ethical consumption is generally associated with middle class people in incomerich countries , in this article we have attempted to go beyond that literature by exploring
ethical consumption paths of developments and institutional context in two societies of the
Global South. In doing so, we have attempted to go beyond an analysis centered on the
figure of the ethical consumer by bringing into the picture the institutional context that
have shaped the development of ethical consumption in Chile and Brazil.

13

14

For example, the fund for NGOs in 2010 was in the order of R$ 110 million (U$ 54.5m) and in 2012 R$ 127 million
(U$ 63 m) (PETROBRAS, 2013). In comparison, the fund allocated in 2012 by the state of Rio government for the
slums pacification programme was of around R$ 2,5 million (U$ 1.2 m) (SEPLAG, 2011)
This type of project has been developed by NGOs such the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development
(Conselho Empresarial Brasileiro CEBDS); Akatu Institute of Conscious Consumption for a sustainable future and
Ethos Institute of Business and Social Responsibility

21

On the one hand, as the first neoliberal experiment (Harvey 2005) and as a great
proponent of free market capitalism a la Chicago, Chile works as a case in which ethical
consumption discourses and practices are confined within a neoliberal institutional setting
which has recently started to allow for some environmental considerations. Brazil, on the
other hand, provides different, also very interesting case for studying how ethical
consumption is localized within Latin America: it has the domestic market size to create its
own rules, and is currently run by consecutive centre-left governments. Brazil has
institutional space for light-red experimentation, including social and environmental
consideration, within the capitalist framework.
While in both countries there is a drive toward a green agenda in which ethical
consumption is being increasingly valued, we argue that both countries show different
paths of the ethical consumption trend in terms of their institutional contexts. In this article
we have draw out the differences and similarities from both cases. This involves differences
on how the institutional contexts and rules for ethical consumption are produced, the level
of involvement by the state and the power of civil society.
In one case, Chile, ethical consumption has arisen from market driven forces such as
companies, consultancies and citizen and consumer organizations. They have been, indeed,
the driving forces in mobilizing ethical consumption and putting it on the government
agenda and into public policies. In the case of Brazil, its developments is much more
connected with efforts emanating from the state to actively encourage and incorporate
alternative consumption and economic movements such as Economia Solidaria. The
Brazilian NGO landscape has not only helped shape the current government but has
become part of its efforts to promote and develop different areas of ethical consumption.
These two cases involve, thus, different institutional contexts in terms of civil society-statemarket relationship and the role that ethical consumption might play within it.
Against the backdrop of these differences, some common elements can also be noted.
First, in both cases ethical consumption is only just taking off. This involves also the
interplay and balance of different ways of understanding and mobilizing the connection
between ethical consumption, markets and citizenships -which goes from being understood
mainly as a source of economic value (as in the corporate context), as a key aspect of
citizenship rights (as in the civil society sector) or as a dimension of government policies
22

(as in governmental context). These two cases show the different balances that might exist
between these different institutional contexts. Secondly, both cases show the increasing
centrality of CSR discourses in interfacing with concepts of ethical consumption, with the
consequent risk of whitewash among mainly large companies who publish reports.
In ethical consumption research and academic discourse, there is a strong dominance of
Anglo-American perspectives. The ESRC-DFID Choices project is a truly international
partnership and this paper a joint publication highlighting the Chilean and Brazilian ethical
consumption landscape. Beyond this literature review, we are conducting focus group and
survey research in both countries on ethical consumption and sustainable state procurement.
Further findings will be published in due course.
By looking at Brazil and Chile, we are presenting two of the many Southern
perspectives which need to be heard. Further, by focusing, in our literature review on
historical macroeconomic trajectories and the existing institutional landscapes, which in the
two countries are very different, we draw attention to the importance of the structural
context in which potential ethical consumers operate. This is part of an important shift
away from a focus on the singular, autonomous figure of the ethical consumer, towards a
reading of ethical consumption which is deeply socially embedded in discourses and
institutions.

23

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