Solidarity Purchase Groups. How the consumer becomes collective

Francesca Forno, Cristina Grasseni, Silvana Signori

University of Bergamo – CORES LAB

Siena, 25 June 2014Feeding the City: Production, Representation and

Engagement

Shifts in social movements tacticts

Political consumerism

Political consumerism refers to the purchase of goods and services based not only on price and product quality, but also on the behavior of producers and production methods (i.e. environmental sustainability, workers’ rights, human rights, etc.). This form of citizen participation stresses the importance of individual responsibility for the common good by recognizing a fundamental part of the production process in the very act of consuming (Micheletti 2009).

Why political consumerism?

. Political consumerism has existed for quite a longtime

The state appears to be in a deep crisis, challengedexternally by global problems and by a sort ofparalysis of its institutions, increasingly incapableof mediating the conflicting interests of its citizens.

Politics has escaped from the state and hasentered the market.

Political consumerism in SCMOs

In Sustainable Community Movement Organizations (SCMOs) alternative provisioning moves beyond ‘political consumerism’ as it brings different collectives together and helps them develop strategies of territorial and economic intervention, often counteracting or substituting inefficient governance in terms of environmental stewardship and labor protection.

From confrontation (protests) to self-organized community organizations

• mutualistic experiences of welfare from below, with the goal of both addressing the immediate needs of a certain population and politicizing it;

• prefigurative politics, therefore attempting to experiment in action the fundamental traits of the future society sought by activists;

• horizontal models of self-management, that challenge traditional hierarchical structures in particular with reference to industrial production, implying a radical critique of the capitalistic system;

What are GAS

GAS are solidarity-based systems of provisioning usually set up by a group of people who cooperate in order to buy food and other commonly used goods directly from producers at a price that is fair to both parties. For GAS groups, the term ‘solidarity’ represents a sort of a guiding principle in the choice of products and producers. This means that unlike other collective purchasing groups, GAS do not simply aim to get the cheapest price, but, rather, they choose their products and producers with an explicit goal to build a viable alternative to the ‘consumer society’, commonly considered a model of society based on the exploitation of human and natural resources.

In depth explorative analysis on Gas (Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale)

Italy’s Solidarity Purchase Groups are a particularly interesting case study to unveil the collective processes through which groups mobilize, not only to exercise ethical or critical consumption but to co-produce common good, intervening in local food provisioning chains and reintroducing issues of social and environmental sustainability in regional economies, sometimes with the explicit ambition to participate in the governance of the territory.

Research Design and Data Collection

Data collection took place via two online questionnaires:• A survey to be completed by the representatives of each individual GAS, aimed at gathering information about the organizational characteristics of these groups, such as their internal organization, logistics and communication.• A questionnaire to be completed by individual participants, of which the main objective was to collect information about the characteristics and motivations of ‘gasistas’, such as their socio-economic profile, educational and professional background, reasons for joining, etc.

In both cases it was a closed-ended structured questionnaire, consisting of about 50 questions each. The research was restricted to the Lombardy region only

‘RES, DES, and GAS Networks in Italy’, Source: Valori, Year 9, n. 67, March

2009, p. 19. www.valori.it

Growth trend of Solidarity Purchase

Groups in Italy, 1994-2013:

From 1 to 1,000 GAS self-registered on www.retegas.org

Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale (GAS) = Solidarity Purchase GroupsDistretti di Economia Solidale (DES) = Districts of Solidarity Economy

429 GAS

mapped in

Lombardy

204 group coordinators

and 1,658gasistas

interviewed (two-tiered

on line survey)

Who are Gasistas?

62% of the survey takerswere women:

- 49,6% aged between 30 and 44

- 42,9% aged between 45 and 60

0 10 20 30 40 50

A couple with children at least one of which…

A couple with children older than 5

A couple without children

Single parent family (with children older than…

Single parent family (with at least one minor…

single (31-64 year old)

single (65 and older)

single (below 30)

24,6

47,2

16,1

2,9

2,1

5,6

0,4

0,9

3,6

37,8

7,9 8,4

37,7

4,32,5

28,3

5,110,5

35

8,1

Ph.D. Masters Bachelor'sDegree

Secondaryschool

admitting toa profession

SecondarySchool

admitting toUniversity

Mandatoryschooling

Survey taker Partner

5,8

60,1

5,6

13,1

4,6

3,5

6,8

3,7

46,6

6,9

15,1

2

7,4

7,7

Housewife

Clerk, teacher, office worker

Entrepreneur/manager

Self employed

Unemployed

Factory worker

Retired

Partner Survey taker

Way to become a «gasista»

8280

64 64

56

48

,00

10,00

20,00

30,00

40,00

50,00

60,00

70,00

80,00

90,00

Health Supportinglocal producers

Builiding newsocial ties

Participationthrough a

concrete action

Environmentalconcern

Save money

Structure and organization of Gas groups

2,1

74,6

23,3

n.a.

No

Sì

Gas registered as an association?

0,5 0,53,1

68,4

13,5

7,84,7

1,6

n.a. Once a week Twice a week Once a month Every 2-3months

Every 3-6montu

Once a year Never

Frequency of Gas plenarymeetings

Horizontal models of self-management

• The majority of the GAS groups analyzed opt for an egalitarian division of the tasks: 72% of the 204 GAS groups analyzed split up responsibilities for the collection and distribution of orders among the members, so that there is a contact person for each product. In only 19.7% of cases is there a group of people within the GAS who organize purchases, and only in 4.7% of cases are the orders managed by an external cooperative.

• Although not all GAS groups have formal rules (i.e., are registered associations), choices regarding purchases, producers and, more generally, the principles that animate the GAS are discussed collegially during plenary meetings.

Beyond shopping

57

49,7

39,4

38,9

36,8

35,8

32,6

29,5

25,9

25,4

17,6

16,6

13

3,1

4,1

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Presentation of Producers

Sustainable Agriculture

Commons

Local issues

Nutritional Education

Alternative Energy

Referendum

Fair Trade

Homenade Produce

Ethical Finance

Anti-Mafia

Degrowth

Labelling Schemas

Car Pooling

Other

The trasformative role of Gas

1,8

7,3

3,8

21,8

29,6

28,6

7,1

0,9

6,1

5,4

5,6

20,1

50,1

11,7

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

n.a.

Lower the cost of quality products

Facilitate networking to influence publicpolicies

Provide opportunties to build social ties

Support local producers

Encourage environmentally responsiblelifestyles

Protect personal and family health

Objectives Results

Main objectives and results of GAS groups (%)

Increased Decreased Introduced No change n.a. Total

Vegetable 50.4 0.4 0.7 47.4 1.2 100

Organic 79.4 0.2 7.7 11.6 1.1 100

Wholemeal 52.9 0.6 10 35.2 1.4 100

Legumes 38.5 0.5 3.7 56.3 1.1 100

Local 80.6 0.2 5.4 12.6 1.1 100

Seasonal 68.1 0.1 2.8 27.8 1.2 100

Cereals 45.1 0.3 12.8 40.5 1.3 100

Meat 3.1 42.5 0.2 52 2.2 100

Fair Trade 39.6 1.4 5.6 51.8 1.5 100

Mafia- Free 44.6 0.6 14.7 38.5 1.5 100

Ecological 41.4 0.6 25 31.9 1.1 100

Changes in consumption habits

Yes No Already did n.a. Total

Decreased purchasing pre-cooked food 24.8 5.1 69.4 0.7 100

Decreased shopping in supermarket 41.4 47.9 9.7 0.9 100

Increased purchases in local shops 27.5 33 37.9 1.6 100

Started producing food at home 38.3 31.9 29 0.9 100

Started growing vegetables 16.2 54.8 27.6 1.4 100

Started to use the car less 17.6 46.9 34.5 1 100

Increased recycling 32.5 6.7 60 0.9 100

More attention to energy consumption 29.3 22.9 46.3 1.4 100

More attention to water consumption 28.6 6.1 64.3 1 100

Changes in

lifestyles

Yes No Already

was

n.a. Total

More interested in

problems concerning my

town of residence

26 30.3 42.5 1.2 100

More interested in

politics in general

7.9 35.8 55 1.3 100

More able to cooperate

with people in general

39.7 16.1 42.9 1.4 100

Feeling more able to

influence public policy

23.9 60.8 13.8 1.6 100

Changes in styles of participation

Some conclusions

In our individualized and fragmented societies, these groups represent an important way to bond people together. As seen, starting from the basic act of shopping, GAS help citizens to start asking questions not only about quality, sustainability and the costs of goods, but also about municipal services, schools and education, pollution and so forth. GAS groups are helping collectives to develop strategies of territorial and economic intervention, which often substitute inefficient governance in terms of environmental stewardship and labor protection. These groups represent important sources of social innovation capable of suggesting well-founded solutions to sustainability problems. Thus GAS are not simply a “new type of consumer organization”, but rather a new form of political participation in an overall context of high levels of distrust of traditional channels of participation, such as that in political parties. As seen, through these groups, people have the opportunity to not only satisfy a series of consumer-related needs in an ethical way, but also to join together to try to make a difference to environmental and social justice issues.

Contacts

• Francesca Forno francesca.forno@unibg.it

• CORES LAB www.unibg.it/cores