D’un étiquetage à l’autre

• Main Author: Pauline Barraud de Lagerie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Presses Universitaires du Mirail 2010-05-01
• Series: Sciences de la Société
• Subjects: political consumption; « judgment devices »; labels; rankings; social quality
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/sds/744

This paper examines the construction of « judgment devices » that not only aim to provide the consumers with information concerning the quality of goods, but are also considered and designed to be a tool for transforming firms’ practices. The author analyses the construction of such tools for « indirect prescription » through the case study of the Collectif De l’Éthique sur l’Étiquette, which campaigns for the improvement of the working conditions in Southern countries. In order to change the supply by acting on the demand, this activist network decided to provide consumers with information concerning the « social quality » of the products they buy. This commensuration process implied many choices. And we see how complicated the use of an evaluation procedure for activist purposes turned out to be. Whereas the Collectif managed to address many constraints and produce an assessment device for social quality, its refusal to administer positive sanctions to firms resulted in the project’s failure.