CONSUMPTION: THE FETISHIZATION OF TIMBER

Looking at Your Own Furniture in a Whole New Way

While the production of timber can have a large environmental impact on the planet, the consumption of timber products is what continues to drive this global flow.

When you look through an Ikea catalog or walk through the show rooms in the store, you are not always buying furniture. You are buying a kind of lifestyle; a lifestyle that is affordable, easy-to-assemble (sometimes), European, and aesthetically pleasing to look at. While Ikea has long been interested in conserving the environment and getting their supplies from sustainable fair trade sources, recently, they have presented to their customers how to be environmentally conscious within their own homes.

They are also pushing to buy items that locally and remotely help others through the purchase of their products. This type of conscious consumerism and philanthropy could be interpreted as commodity fetishism.

Commodity fetishism is a concept discussed in Karl Marx’s book, “Capital: Critique of Political Economy” (Marx 1867). He argues that we fetishize over objects when the origin and the production process of the product is unknown. The further we are from understanding it’s commodity flow, the more value and sentimental meaning it has for consumers. Marx believes this fetishism occurs because of the “magic” associated with the items (Marx 1867). These products have functional values much more than what they were created to do. You do not simply buy an Ikea bed because you need a bed. For example, looking at timber, Marx would state Ikea consumers enjoy looking and buying their products for the sleek design and simplicity it offers for our home or our offices, not for the laborer’s craftsmanship or for the way the commodity was produced. This concept is still very much relevant today. The less we know about the labor conditions of an item, the more valuable it may appear. Commodity fetishism is about creating a culture around the object (Marx 1867). Instead of marketing the bed or the chest of drawers for being good quality with all the different dimensions and features, Ikea advertisements focus on the type of lifestyle Ikea consumers will have. The company is marketed towards middle-income families of all spectrums concerning race, ethnicity, and family structure (single, married, etc.) but they all have a few things in common.

Looking through the Ikea catalogs from the past two years, the focus is lifestyles that consist of families, friends, busy schedules, necessity for practicality and multipurpose, and of course, a stylistic seemingly individualistic touch to a small space (Ikea Catalog 2016, Ikea Catalog 2017). Looking at the two images, it is clear that while they do state the price of one item presented on the cover of the catalog, furniture is not what is being sold here. Values such as time with family, cooking, eating at the table with friends, health, comfort, and above all, happiness are represented in these images. In the 2017 catalog to the right, they go a step further with the caption “designed for people, not consumers” (Ikea Catalog 2017). Ikea wants the audience to feel that they are a part of the Ikea family. By not being consumers, they are no longer the company selling us products but the unanimous companion ensuring us satisfaction and loyalty.

However, something else is also being projected in these advertisements. In these images, the father and his son are in the kitchen participating in activities traditionally associated with women’s roles. This portrays a progressive image of men participating in domestic activities. Diversity is also an important value for Ikea and this is apparent in their 2017 catalog. Ikea is located in almost 50 countries around the world with multiple stores opening in new countries in the future (Ikea Homepage). With that in mind, Ikea understands the importance of representing multiple ethnicities on their websites and catalogs.

Charity at the Cash Register

While commodity fetishism may be a way to sell a certain lifestyle, it can also be used to sell values and certain societal expectations. Ikea uses ethical and sustainable sourcing of their materials as a selling point (Newell and Simone 2014). This ethical consumerism is known as causumerism, a concept explained by Lisa Ann Richey in her book, “ Brand Aid: Shopping Well to Save the World” (Richey 2011). Richey argues consumers have the power to make a difference through the products they choose to buy (Richey 2011). Being a consumer of one percent of the world’s timber, if Ikea implements a sustainable model in manufacturing its wood, it can make a powerful statement and impact on the timber industry (Ikea Corporate News 2015). Ikea also sources a large majority of their timber from Russia, a country with 22% of the world’s forests (Newell and Simone 2014). As a part of the new wave initiative (meaning it began after 1990), FSC-certified wood, certified by the non-governmental organization: the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), has been grown and produced through sustainable procedures (Richey 2011). Newell and Simone argue that a huge multinational company like Ikea setting the standard of only sourcing furniture from FSC-certified forests can persuade countries to change their production procedures (Newell and Simone 2014). Therefore, changes made in Russia can make a large impact on the environment. Ikea sources over half of its wood from FSC-certified wood, making it one of the largest buyers of sustainable timber (Ikea, 2014). While people may not buy Ikea products because they are sustainably sourced, companies promoting these standards can cause them to eventually become the standards all companies must abide by (Richey 2011). By actively being aware of the labeling of products and materials, consumers can encourage a shift towards universal sustainable standards for companies.

Once consumers find a cause that is important to them, through philanthro-capitalism, they have the ability to purchase the products they want instead of participating in charity work. Philosopher Slavoj Zizek discusses how philanthro-capitalism is a response to capitalism (Zizek 2010). He argues that philanthro-capitalism is a way to profit off global poverty and problems and how modern charity is done through what you buy (Zizek 2010). This capitalistic driven model can be dangerous as well as beneficial. Zizek critiques this new type of capitalism because he dislikes the lack of physical human interaction occurring when so-called charity occurs at the cash register (Zizek 2010). As Zizek emphasizes from a Starbucks campaign: “it is not what you are buying but what you are buying into” (Zizek 2010). For Zizek, cultural capitalism allows people to buy into being consumers and humanitarians at the same time. Through this model, consumers do not have the guarantee that their bought philanthropy is benefitting the cause that is being advertised. Zizek believes capitalism is not the solution to poverty but the problem and the reason there is so much inequality that exists around the world (Zizek 2010). While some countries profit off of international trade and business, other are exploited or left out of the commodity chain entirely due to underdevelopment and their own countries governmental policies (Gandenberger 2011). This inequality is seen in the timber trade as well. We will look closer at this issue in “Ikea’s Promise” in regards to neoliberal governmentality

However, many companies, including Ikea, do not see this model of charity as something negative. Newell and Simone believe it is the companies and consumers with high consumption rates that should bear the responsibility of reducing climate change (2014). Advertising themselves as being environmentally and socially aware of the world’s problems allows consumers to continue to blindly buy their products with confidence they are helping the environment and people without properly researching the companies impact on these causes (Richey 2011). Zizek critiques the immediate satisfaction consumers feel while buying these philanthropic items because it results in people believing they have done their part for the cause and they can move on once they leave the store (Richey 2011). The Rainforest Alliance counteracts this notion, explaining labeling helps consumers make decisions that reflect their values as well as steps in as an alternative that is more practical for many people that do care about local and global problems but do not that have time nor effort to directly “fight” for the cause (Rainforest Alliance 2012).

Bibliography:

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Newell, J.P & Simeone, J. “Russia’s forests in a global economy: How consumption drives environmental change.” Eurasian Geography & Economics, no. 55.1 (2014): 37–70.
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