Chapter 7 - Consumerism

• consumer


  someone who buys goods and services
• Consumerism


  A preoccupation with the purchasing of material goods.
• sustainable


  Able to meet the current demand for a resource without depleting the future supply
• goods


  merchandise that can be purchased
• services


  work performed by one person for another
• impulse buying


  buying something without having intended to
• fad


  something that is very popular for a short time, then forgotten.
• trend


  something that is currently popular or fashionable
• planned obsolescence


  the designing of products to wear out or to become outdated quickly
• perceived obsolescence


  continually changing consumer concepts of acceptable "style" to encourage more buying
• Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH)


  Improves weight gain and milk production in cattle; banned in Canada
• The Competition Act


  Canadian legislation setting limits on advertising
• Conformity


  Adjusting one's behavior or to coincide with a group standard - "sameness"
• Bias


  prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another
• product labels


  provide information about a product
• Boycott


  A refusal to buy or use goods and services and urge others to do the same
• needs


  basic items a person must have to survive.
• wants


  goods or services that are not necessary but that we desire or wish for.
• Consumer Responsibility


  A duty consumers accept to ensure safe use of chosen consumption
• Marketing


  The process by which companies create value for customers through advertising and branding
• advertisements


  messages used to persuade consumers to buy goods or services
• emotional appeal


  plays on your fears and desires
• scientific appeal


  Statistics or data to persuade
• testimonials


  Celebrities or experts to speak for the product
• Bandwagon Effect


  Everyone has one and I need one to
• Health Canada


  The federal agency responsible for protecting Canadians' health.
• GDP


  Gross Domestic Product
• Slave labour


  Work carried out by the enslaved for the profit of others.
• sweatshop


  A shop or factory where workers work long hours at low wages under unhealthy conditions
• Glittering Generalities


  using words that sound good but don't have a definite meaning
• plain folks appeal


  trying to show that a person or product is good for "ordinary" people because a person is "just like you and understands you"
• income disparity


  the gap in income between rich and poor
• NGO


  non-governmental organization
• identity


  our sense of self
• regulation


  government intervention in a market - rules
• Greenpeace


  an international organization that works for environmental conservation
• Amnesty International


  an NGO that operates globally to monitor and try to end abuses of human rights
• PETA


  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
• Outsourcing


  A decision by a company to move production to a cheaper location
• 1st Step of Consumer Action

  Educate