Frames of consumer mobilization and modern slavery

Abstract

Using frames theory, this research offers insights into the contradictions of how anti-slavery Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) deploy the frames of responsible buyer and responsible citizen to mobilize consumers against slavery. The study examines the underlying assumptions and contradictions of the frames by drawing on framing theory and Judith Butler’s approach to “framing the frames”. Such an approach helps understand how NGOs obfuscate the responsibility of corporations in contributing to modern slavery. This research contributes to extant interpretation of consumer activism by pointing to how consumer mobilization can be more usefully explained as a contested terrain that is shaped by activist groups whose communication is characterized by contradictions and conflicts. It also broadens the scope of frame theory by foregrounding the ethics of communication frames.