Downshifting Consumer = Upshifting Citizen? An Examination of a Local Freecycle Community

Abstract

Critics suggest that contemporary consumer culture creates overworked and overshopped consumers who no longer engage in civic life. The authors challenge this conventional criticism against consumption within an individualistic lifestyle and argue instead that consumers who are “downshifting” do engage in civic life. In particular, this research examines downshifting attitudes among members of freecycle.org, a grassroots “gift economy” community. Results of an online survey show that downshifting consumers are indeed less materialistic and brand-conscious. They also tend to practice political consumption (e.g., boycotts, buycotts). Most important, they tend to engage in a digital form, but not a traditional form, of civic and political participation. The authors contend that alternative forms of consumption might be a new form of civic engagement.