Lush cosmetics, consumo e cosmopolitismo

Abstract

Global brands have become an important site for the articulation and performance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and everyday cosmopolitanism. While CSR takes many forms, for global brands like Lush Cosmetics, it often involves a philosophy of caring for globally dispersed communities and environments involved in processes of production and/or consumption. In this way, CSR closely resembles and can be understood as forwarding a moral and aesthetic cosmopolitanism premised on global awareness, openness to cultural diversity, and a philosophy of world citizenship. This work explores how the cosmetics brand Lush Cosmetics is configured as a cosmopolitan citizen through brand engagement with CSR and will also critically examine the ways in which consumers are encouraged to identify with and build a form of cosmopolitanism through consumer activity. A case study was conducted to understand the brand's involvement with CSR and how it establishes contexts of consumption that support cosmopolitan performances: ways of being, feeling, and acting cosmopolitan with the brand. and it also explored how cosmopolitanism is communicated to consumers. The analysis will consider how brand engagement with its CSR actions translates into/conveys cosmopolitan values, ideas, sensitivities and practices.