Consumerism

Contemporary life can be scrutinised and defined by the ubiquitous bombardment of advertisements. Every individual is a consumer, and these consumers are differentiated based on their consumption patterns and awareness of the concept of consumerism. Consumerism can be defined as the protection of consumers from organisations where an exchange occurs (Aaker, D.A. and Day, G.S, 1974:xvii). Consumerism embraces an evolving dynamic sphere wherein governments, organisations and independent consumer-oriented groups perform activities that purely functions to protect the rights of consumers. The subsequent discussion will deal with a comprehensive analysis of consumerism in South Africa, as well as on three diverse organisations. These organisations include consumer-oriented groups concerned with increasing consumers' consciousness and providing with information to improve their basis for choice, governments who functions through legislation and regulation, and finally organisations that makes up the consumer movement through competition and self regulation. Moreover, the success, or lack thereof, of consumerism in educating and protecting the rights of consumers in South Africa will be discussed.

The rights of consumers, encompassed by consumerism, include the right to be informed, to be told the truth, and the right to be assured of safety in the process of consumption. In addition to the right of consumers being entitled to have all the necessary information related to a product or service, consumers also have the responsibility of acquiring such information. In terms of safety, consumers have the right to purchase products and services that do not contain any concealed dangers. Moreover, consumers have the right to physical safety when in the act of consumption (http1). These are three out of eight basic rights that are afforded to consumers. It must be noted that with the possession and utilisation of these rights go hand in hand with the responsibility of ensuring that such rights are fulfilled. Consumers have the duty to ensure that they acquire information that will allow them to make knowledgeable decisions when purchasing products and services (http1). Thus far these consumer rights have not been adequately utilised by consumers (http1), a concept which will be dealt with later in this discussion.

Consumer rights are a necessity as it regulates the interactions between consumers and suppliers of products and services. These rights guarantee that the interest of the consumers is taken into consideration. For instance, the right to be assured of safety in the process of consumption delineates that the well being of the consumer is protected. Thus, organisations have to comply with certain rules and regulations that ultimately ensure those consumers' rights are not contravened, that is to say that the safety of consumers are taken into account by organisations. Subsequently, consumers are not exploited by any organisation. Moreover, these consumer rights allow consumers to actively participate in the production and marketing of products and services. This pivotal role permits consumers in advocating their rights. "Consumers must be the watchdogs of the community and be on the lookout for potentially dangerous situations. Consumers must draw the attention of local authorities or the relevant government departments to their problems and unsafe products (http2)." Through this consumer rights can be revised and amended. Consequently, it can be appreciated that consumer rights are a vital necessity as it balances the power between consumers and relevant organisations.

A lack of these rights would mean a destruction of the consumer. Organisations would disregard the integral component that is the consumer, exploiting their opportunity to increase their profits at the consumers' expense. Quality of products would diminish and the consumer would be left to accept the pathetic offering of these organisations. Moreover, governments would find chaos in the marketplace. As markets are comprised of a production or supply side and a demand side, made of the consumers, markets would not "be effective without a well-organised demand side (http3)." This demand side would be deprived of services and commodities that suit their needs or are even deemed as satisfactory. A well organised demand side "...requires the empowerment of consumers with information, legal protection and necessary regulation.... to balance the interests of the providers of goods and services (http4)."

Within the context of South Africa, consumerism is a relatively new concept and has only been implemented with the new South African constitution. The Bill of Rights, the foundation of the Constitution, encompasses the rights of the people of South Africa, which embraces their consumer rights (http1). The constitution provides that the responsibility of the protection of consumer rights falls upon the Department of Trade and Industry, as well as the Provincial Departments of Economic Affairs (http5). All the South African provinces have consumer affairs offices which cater for the purpose of consumerism. Thus it can be appreciated that with the introduction and implementation of the constitution in 1994 came the emergence of active consumerism on the part of the government in affording consumers their rights. It must be noted that the constitution applies both vertically and horizontally. Vertically in that it binds the state to the individual, the state has to ensure that the citizens have their rights. Horizontally the constitution binds individuals to individuals, ensuring that individuals do no impinge on another individual's rights. The issue at hand is whether the government, as well as consumer-oriented groups and organisations, is effective in educating and protecting consumers.

The development of consumer-oriented groups is one illustration of the implementation of active consumerism. A consumer-oriented group can be comprehended as a group of concerned with increasing consumers' consciousness and providing with information to improve their basis for choice "Independent consumer information sources are most significant because they provide an unbiased perspective in stark contrast to most commercial sources (Aaker, D.A. and Day, G.S, 1974:133)." This holds true as these organisations are established for the purpose of information gathering and educating consumers. There are several non-profit organisations that exist for this function, including the South African National Consumer Union and the Port Elizabeth Consumers' Association. The South African National Consumer Union published a pamphlet that details consumer information, regarding their rights and the procedures for lodging complaints, as well as a listing of consumer organisations. These types