Consumer Goods

The production of the goods that we consume is currently almost exclusively dominated by corporations. Some of these goods are necessities, others are things that corporations want to convince us we want or need. To stimulate demand for these products, corporate advertising departments and PR agencies create new consumption desires and new conceptions of 'need', mediated through the corporate media and press, advertising billboards and other communication channels. Corporations attempt to shape our aspirations, our leisure time and our conceptions of beauty in order to sell us their products. New 'markets' are thus opened up and new consumption patterns are established.

The articles and publications on this page provide critical news and analysis of the companies making money out of the goods we consume and explore the connections between corporate interests and various aspects of ordinary people's lives as they go about fulfilling their material and other needs, in the supermarket, organic food shop, at the 'local' bank, low-price department store and so on.