Overview

Ethical consumption and consumer choice are at the heart of public debates today, but consumer activism has a long history. At the end of the nineteenth century, groups of women activists in different countries weaponised their reputation as consumers to mount campaigns against labour exploitation. By the early twentieth century, they had built an international network of Consumers' Leagues that influenced public opinion and achieved legislative change. Analysing the campaign writing of women activists, including both well-known and recently rediscovered historical figures, Flore Janssen provides new insights into the campaigns that underpinned important developments in the rights of workers and the social position of women. Highlighting the social, economic and political influence of women as activists, this book discusses campaign strategies, but also draws attention to problematic politics within these campaigns. Through its critically contextualised analysis of this specific consumer movement, the book reveals the origins of many consumer campaign strategies that remain familiar today.

Full Product Details

Author:   Flore Janssen (Assistant Professor in Comparative Literature, Utrecht University)
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
ISBN:  

9781474497992

ISBN 10:   1474497993
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   01 August 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Language:   English

Table of Contents

List of FiguresAcknowledgments Series Preface Abbreviations Introduction. Gender, Wealth and the Rhetoric of Ethical Consumption Part I: Establishing the movement, 1885–1900 1. ‘Let the Buyer Beware’: Clementina Black and the Consumers’ League in the UK, 1887–1890 2 ‘An Epoch-Making Movement’: Consumers’ Leagues in the USA and Beyond, 1890–1900 Part II: Strategic developments, 1900–1920 3 Encounters with Sweating: Public Outreach and Political Influence in the UK, 1900–1910 4. ‘The Health and Welfare of the Republic’: The National Consumers’ League and the Question of Gender in US Protective Labour Legislation, 1895–1920 Conclusion. Afterlives: Citizen Consumers and the Continued Influence of Consumers’ League Strategies Bibliography Index

Reviews

Today, when fast fashion and food miles are prominent topics of public concern, Flore Janssen’s book about early campaigns for ethical shopping strikes a timely note. This is a compelling study of turn-of-the-century women’s activism which offers rich material for comparison with the consumer politics of the present time. -- Rachel Bowlby, University College London

Today, when fast fashion and food miles are prominent topics of public concern, Flore Janssen's book about early campaigns for ethical shopping strikes a timely note. This is a compelling study of turn-of-the-century women's activism which offers rich material for comparison with the consumer politics of the present time.--Rachel Bowlby, University College London

Author Information

Flore Janssen is Assistant Professor in Comparative Literature at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. She is co-editor, with Lisa C. Robertson, of the collection Margaret Harkness: Writing Social Engagement 1880–1921 (Manchester University Press, 2019) and editor of Margaret Harkness’s 1921 novel A Curate’s Promise (Shield Books, 2021). Her research interests include marginalisation, activism and archives and she has published widely on these topics.

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