A FRAMEWORK TO INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY INTO …unctad.org/Sections/ditc_ccpb/docs/ditc_ccpb_rpp2015d03_Best_en.pdf · A FRAMEWORK TO INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY INTO SOUTH AFRICAN

A FRAMEWORK TO INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY INTO SOUTH AFRICAN

CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY

By

Laura Anne Best

Student number: s187092080

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the

Degree of Doctor of Philosophy: Business Management

in

The Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences

at the

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

Promoter: Prof. Miemie Struwig Co-promoter: Dr Sibongile Muthwa

2017

DECLARATION

i

DECLARATION

NAME: Laura Best

STUDENT NUMBER: s187092080

QUALIFICATION: Doctor of Philosophy: Business Management

TITLE OF PROJECT: A FRAMEWORK TO INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY

INTO SOUTH AFRICAN CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY

In accordance with Rule G4.6.3 I hereby declare that the above-mentioned thesis is

my own work and that it has not been submitted for assessment to another University

or another qualification.

SIGNATURE:

DATE: February 2017

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I offer my gratitude to the following people for each of their significant contributions

that have enabled the completion of this research:

My supervisors, Prof. Miemie Struwig and Dr Sibongile Muthwa, for their

wisdom, guidance, patience, intellectual infusions and gentle persuasion

Student research assistants Mr Tafadzwa Kachara and Ms Nalinda Ndlebe

The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, as my employer, for affording me

this tremendous opportunity and for the concomitant financial support to

present this research to the first session of the Intergovernmental Group of

Experts (IGE) on Consumer Protection Law and Policy at the United Nations

Conference on Trade And Development in Geneva

Professional support from Language Editor, Dr Marcelle Harran, Technical

Editor, Ms Redene Steenberg and Wordsmith Extra-ordinaire, Prof Denver

Webb

Family, friends, colleagues and community for their indefatigable enthusiasm

Et Mon A. F. Roid – merci, le sejour est incroyablement bon

ABSTRACT

iii

ABSTRACT

Consumer protection policy measures can enable consumer behaviour shifts in favour

of more sustainable choices. Whilst government is responsible for developing

consumer protection policy in a particular country, business is central in the

implementation of such policy. In South Africa, there is disassociation in consumer

protection policy and environmental policy where consumer protection policy is the

responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry, whilst sustainability is located

under the Department of Environmental Affairs. As a result, South African consumer

protection policy does not holistically incorporate sustainability.

A six-step qualitative research process was adopted to develop a framework to

implement sustainability into consumer protection policies. First, a theoretical

framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy was

developed to structure the qualitative research. Four dimensions for incorporating

sustainability into consumer protection were then identified. Qualitative data was

collected using an open-ended questionnaire and also content analysis of existing

data. Two sets of experts further reviewed and critiqued the proposed framework.

The results of the qualitative enquiry, in particular, showed that for all the countries

examined, some at least had sustainability consideration elements in their policies,

but this was evident to a lesser extent in African countries, particularly those with less-

developed economies. On the other hand, policy mechanisms that promoted

sustainability were more evident in the policies and laws of developed countries. In the

case of most African countries, basic needs were foregrounded as the primary

concerns of consumers, ahead of sustainability concerns. Further, poverty limited

consumer choices, particularly if more sustainably produced and eco-efficient goods

came at a higher price.

The research also underscored the importance and centrality of consumer education

and stakeholder engagement for achieving sustainability policy intentions. It further

confirmed that the basic needs of poor consumers in South Africa, and the impact of

poverty on sustainability policy intentions must underpin the proposed framework.

Factors that created an enabling environment for the implementation of the framework

were identified as policy harmonisation within government policy domains, joined-up

ABSTRACT

iv

government, good corporate governance and shared value that considered the needs

of future generations and consumer education. These factors would create an

enabling environment for policy implementation.

Consumer policy could play a key role in the choices that consumers make and, if well-

designed and implemented, could direct consumer spending in support of the goal of

sustainability and sustainable consumption. The proposed framework provides a

foundation on which to futher refine and develop consumer protection policy that

incorporates the well-being of consumers and social justice. Using consumer spending

to drive sustainability requires a deliberate intention on the part of policy makers to

move away from the more conventional framing of consumer policy, which has tended

to focus on the economic interests of consumers, such as price, quality, choice and

redress. However, modern business is shifting towards a more holistic

conceptualisation of sustainability, as a value that needs to be deliberately and

consciously built into the design and essence of a business. Doing so is not only good

corporate citizenship, but offers a competitive advantage, which could drive product

demand and attract consumers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION .......................................................................................................... i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... ii

ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii

LIST OF ANNEXURES ............................................................................................. xi

LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................. xii

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... xiv

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1

1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ...................................................................... 2

1.3 LITERATURE OVERVIEW ................................................................................ 4

1.3.1 An Overview of Consumer Protection Policy Development .................. 4

1.3.2 Linking Consumer Protection and Sustainability ................................... 6

1.3.3 Sustainability in the Business Context .................................................. 9

1.3.4 Incorporating Sustainability into Consumer Protection Policy ............. 11

1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT ................................................................................. 16

1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES .............................................................................. 17

1.5.1 Primary Objective ................................................................................ 17

1.5.2 Secondary Research Objectives ......................................................... 17

1.5.3 Research Questions ............................................................................ 18

1.6 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ................................................ 20

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................. 22

1.8 PROPOSED PROPOSITIONS ........................................................................ 22

1.9 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS .................. 22

1.10 CHAPTER OUTLINE ....................................................................................... 24

1.11 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 25

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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CHAPTER TWO

SUSTAINABILITY IN THE GLOBAL AND THE BUSINESS CONTEXT

2.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 26


2.3 GLOBAL CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABILITY ..................................................... 28

2.4 CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ............................................ 32

2.5 CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION ............................................ 35

2.6 CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY ................................................................... 39

2.7 BUSINESS CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABILITY ................................................. 43

2.8 BUSINESS MODELS INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY .......................... 45

2.9 BUSINESS SECTORS’ MODELS INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY ....... 48

2.9.1 Construction Sector Sustainability Model ............................................ 48

2.9.2 South African Wine Industry Sustainability Model ............................... 49

2.10 INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO BUSINESS PRACTICES ........... 52

2.11 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 52

CHAPTER THREE

CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND THE ROLE OF

BUSINESS

3.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 54


3.3 DEFINITION OF POLICY AND PUBLIC POLICY ............................................ 57

3.4 APPROACHES TO PUBLIC POLICY .............................................................. 59

3.5 POLICY-MAKING PROCESS .......................................................................... 62

3.6 MECHANISMS FOR POLICY ADHERENCE AND ENFORCEMENT ............. 65

3.7 CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY DOMAIN .............................................. 67

3.8 CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY TOOLS ................................................ 71

3.9 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION.............. 72

3.10 SOUTH AFRICAN CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY ............................... 76

TABLE OF CONTENTS

vii

3.11 CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY AND HOW IT IS VIEWED BY

BUSINESS ....................................................................................................... 79

3.12 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 83

CHAPTER FOUR

A FRAMEWORK OF CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICIES THAT

INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY

4.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 85


4.3 INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO CONSUMER PROTECTION ..... 87

4.4 PROPOSED THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR INCORPORATING

SUSTAINABILITY INTO CONSUMER PROTECTION .................................... 89

4.5 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 96

CHAPTER FIVE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

5.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 97


5.3 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY AND PARADIGM ................................................ 99

5.4 RESEARCH APPROACH .............................................................................. 102

5.5 RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................... 106

5.6 RESEARCH METHOD .................................................................................. 106

5.7 DATA COLLECTION ..................................................................................... 108

5.8 SAMPLING .................................................................................................... 110

5.9 DATA ANALYSIS ........................................................................................... 112

5.10 OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH DESIGN PROCESS ............................... 121

5.11 RELIABILITY AND IMPLEMENTABILTY ....................................................... 123

5.12 ENSURING TRUSTWORTHINESS OF THE RESEARCH ............................ 123

5.13 RESEARCH ETHICS ..................................................................................... 124

5.14 SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 125

TABLE OF CONTENTS

viii

CHAPTER SIX

RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE QUALITATIVE STUDY

6.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 127

6.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS ................ 127

6.3 RESULTS OF QUESTIONNAIRES USED IN THE QUALITATIVE

ENQUIRY ...................................................................................................... 129

6.4 RESULTS OF EGYPT ................................................................................... 130

6.4.1 Background and Country Policy Context ........................................... 130

6.4.2 Components of the Theoretical Framework ...................................... 131

6.4.3 Novel Policy Innovations ................................................................... 132

6.5 RESULTS OF BOTSWANA .......................................................................... 133




6.6 RESULTS OF ZAMBIA ................................................................................. 136




6.7 RESULTS OF MAURITIUS ........................................................................... 139




6.8 RESULTS OF TANZANIA ............................................................................. 141




6.9 RESULTS OF NEW ZEALAND .................................................................... 143



TABLE OF CONTENTS

ix


6.10 RESULTS OF SWEDEN ................................................................................ 146



6.11 RESULTS OF THE COUNTRY COMPARATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS ...... 149

6.12 RESULTS OF THE CONTENT ANALYSIS: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICY ...... 161



6.13 SUMMARY OF THE QUALITATIVE ENQUIRY RESULTS IN TERMS OF THE

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................................... 166

6.14 SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 169

CHAPTER SEVEN

A FRAMEWORK FOR INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO SOUTH

AFRICAN CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY

7.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 170


7.3 RESULTS OF EXPERT EVALUATIONS OF THE FRAMEWORK ............... 173

7.4 PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR SOUTH AFRICA ...................................... 182

7.5 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FRAMEWORK ................................................ 183

7.6 CHALLENGES OF THE FRAMEWORK ........................................................ 190

7.7 SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 191

CHAPTER EIGHT

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

8.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 193


8.3 SUMMARY OF CHAPTERS .......................................................................... 195

8.3.1 Summary of Chapter One: Introduction and Background to the

Research ........................................................................................... 195

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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8.3.2 Summary of Chapter Two: Sustainability in the Global and Business

Context .............................................................................................. 196

8.3.3 Summary of Chapter Three: Consumer Protection Policy Development

and Role of Business ........................................................................ 197

8.3.4 Summary of Chapter Four: Framework of Consumer Protection Policies

that Incorporate Sustainability ........................................................... 198

8.3.5 Summary of Chapter Five: Research Methodology ........................... 199

8.3.6 Summary of Chapter Six: Results and Interpretation of the Qualitative

Research ........................................................................................... 199

8.3.7 Summary of Chapter Seven: Framework for Incorporating

Sustainability into South African Consumer Protection Policy ........... 201

8.4 ADDRESSING THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS ............ 201

8.4.1 Addressing Research Question 1 ...................................................... 203









8.5 CONFIRMING THE RESEARCH PROPOSITIONS ...................................... 210

8.6 RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 212

8.7 CONTRIBUTION OF THE RESEARCH ......................................................... 213

8.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH AND FUTURE RESEARCH AREAS ... 215

8.9 SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 217

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 219

LIST OF ANNEXURES

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LIST OF ANNEXURES

ANNEXURE A: LETTER TO UNCTAD MEMBER STATE IN THE SAMPLE ......... 234

ANNEXURE B: OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................ 235

ANNEXURE C: COPY OF THE INTERVIEW SCHEDULE .................................... 237

ANNEXURE D: FRAMEWORK TO REVIEW ......................................................... 238

ANNEXURE E: LANGUAGE EDITOR LETTER ..................................................... 239

LIST OF FIGURES

xii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: Conceptual Framework of the Research ................................................ 23

Figure 2.1: Chapter 2 Reflected within the Research Process Conceptual

Framework ............................................................................................ 27

Figure 2.2: Milestones of Conceptualisation of Global Policy on Sustainable

Development and Sustainable Consumption ........................................ 29

Figure 2.3: Sustainable Consumption, Development and Sustainability .................. 40

Figure 2.4: Stages in Business Responses to the Process of Incorporating

Sustainability ......................................................................................... 44

Figure 2.5: Lifecycle Model for Sustainable Consumption and Production ............... 46


Framework ............................................................................................ 56

Figure 3.2: Characteristics of Sound Policy .............................................................. 57

Figure 3.3: Public Policy-Making Process ................................................................ 63

Figure 3.4: Policy Compliance Pyramid .................................................................... 65

Figure 3.5: Multiplicity of Policies Influencing Consumer Policy ............................... 68

Figure 3.6: Consumer Policy Overlaps with Public Policy Domains ......................... 69

Figure 3.7: Demand and Supply Side Consumer Protection Policy Tools ................ 71

Figure 3.8: South African Consumer Policy Framework Map ................................... 76


Framework ............................................................................................ 86

Figure 4.2: Proposed Theoretical Framework for Content Analysis ......................... 95


Framework ............................................................................................ 98

Figure 5.2: Research Process Aspects .................................................................... 99

Figure 5.3: Research Design Process Overview .................................................... 121

Figure 5.4: Overview of the Research Methodology Chapter ................................. 122


Framework .......................................................................................... 128

LIST OF FIGURES

xiii

Figure 6.2: Results Descriptors .............................................................................. 130

Figure 6.3: Proposed Policy Framework to Incorporate Sustainability ................... 168


Framework .......................................................................................... 172

Figure 7.2: Proposed Framework for South Africa ................................................ 183


Framework .......................................................................................... 194

LIST OF TABLES

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Previous Research on Consumer Protection and Sustainability ................ 7

Table 1.2: Phases in the Development of Corporate Sustainability .......................... 10

Table 1.3: Amendments to United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection

to Incorporate Sustainability .................................................................... 12

Table 1.4: Enablers and Inhibitors in Policy Implementation .................................... 16

Table 1.5: Consistency Table between the Research Questions and Objectives .... 19

Table 1.6: Research Process ................................................................................... 21

Table 2.1: Core Definitions Relating to Sustainability used in this Research ........... 41

Table 2.2: Wine Industry Sustainability Model .......................................................... 49

Table 3.1: Approaches to Policy-Making .................................................................. 59

Table 3.2: International Consumer Protection Policy Developments ........................ 73

Table 3.3: Business Responses to Consumer Protection Sustainability Measures .. 82

Table 4.1: Inclusion of Sustainability in Consumer Protection Policy ....................... 88

Table 4.2: Components of a Proposed Theoretical Framework for Incorporating

Sustainability into Consumer Protection .................................................. 92

Table 5.1: Comparison of Positivism and Interpretivism......................................... 100

Table 5.2: Comparative Aspects of Quantitative and Qualitative Research ........... 103

Table 5.3: Contrasts between Qualitative and Quantitative Research ................... 105

Table 5.4: Advantages and Disadvantages of Content Analysis of Documents ..... 107

Table 5.5: Non-probability Sampling Techniques used in this Study ...................... 111

Table 5.6: Framework to Content Analyse Consumer Protection Policies ............. 117

Table 6.1: Country Questionnaire Responses Received ........................................ 129

Table 6.2: Policy Initiatives to Encourage Sustainable Household Consumption ... 148

Table 6.3: Results of the Country Comparative Analysis of Incorporating

Sustainability ......................................................................................... 150

Table 6.4: Guiding Principles for Sustainability Measures in South African Policy . 161

LIST OF TABLES

xv

Table 6.5: Sustainability Provisions in the Consumer Protection Act in

South Africa ........................................................................................... 162

Table 6.6: Interpretive Observations from the Content Analysis ............................ 166

Table 7.1: Review of Framework for Incorporating Sustainability ........................... 174

Table 7.2: Additional Guiding Principles for Sustainability Measures in

South African Policy .............................................................................. 181

Table 7.3: Proposed Policy Propositions and Related Amendments to the

Consumer Protection Act ....................................................................... 185

Table 8.1: Achievement of Research Objectives .................................................... 202

Table 8.2: Addressing the Research Propositions ................................................. 210

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY CHAPTER ONE

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Democratic governments, once elected, set-up and run an administration system

which provides the state machinery to implement delivery on the political intentions as

promised to the electorate. Government then develops policy frameworks to manage

the socio-economic and political realities of the societies they have been elected into

power to govern (Waller, Morris & Simpson 2014; Gumede 2008). Consumer

protection policy is one such domain of public policy. Recognizing “that consumers

often face imbalances in economic terms, educational levels, and bargaining power”

in relation to businesses and corporates when buying goods and services, the United

Nations has issued Guidelines for Consumer Protection (United Nations Guidelines

2003). As a regulatory measure, the United Nations encourages governments to

“develop or maintain a strong consumer protection policy” (United Nations Guidelines

2003) whilst doing this within the context of countries respective socio-economic and

environmental conditions, and taking cognisance of the needs and expectations of the

people living in that country.

Consumer protection policies do not necessarily modify consumer behaviour in terms

of the extent of consumption. By not regulating this dimension, consumers are

unrestricted in how much they consume. This is in contrast to another domain of public

policy, namely, sustainability policy, which encourages reduced consumption owing to

environmental concerns. The United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection

respond to this apparent contradiction by setting the promotion of sustainable

consumption as one of the eight objectives of the Guidelines (United Nations

Guidelines 2003).

This research aims to explore sustainability and sustainable consumption as an

element of public policy in general and consumer protection policy, in particular, in

more depth. The main aim is to examine whether or not the South African consumer

protection policy incorporates the notion of sustainability.


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1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

In South Africa, rights-based consumer protection started to be conceptualised

following the inaugural all-inclusive elections in 1994, when, for the first time in the

country’s history, all citizens were entitled to vote and a democratic state came into

being. Once the under-pinning policy framework had been settled, two pieces of

legislation were enacted as the primary pillars of the statutory framework to regulate

consumer matters, namely, the National Credit Act No. 34 of 2005 (National Credit Act

South Africa 2005) and the Consumer Protection Act No. 68 of 2008 (Consumer

Protection Act South Africa 2008). These Acts jointly institutionalise consumer

protection. The National Credit Act primarily regulates the marketplace for access to

consumer credit, but importantly also establishes the National Consumer Tribunal as

the adjudicatory body for consumer protection matters (National Credit Act South

Africa 2005). The Consumer Protection Act “promotes a fair, accessible and

sustainable marketplace for consumer products and services and for that purpose to

establish national norms and standards relating to consumer protection” (Consumer

Protection Act South Africa 2008:2). Although these Acts have introduced wide-

ranging protection for consumers, they still have limitations in their scope.

Of particular interest is that South African consumer protection policy and legislation

does not holistically incorporate sustainability or sustainable consumption. This

appears analogous, as the legislation is viewed as progressive and as an example of

legislative best practice in Africa, despite being viewed as legally-complex owing to its

ambiguity and uncertainty (Melville 2010). The inherent and novel power of the

Consumer Protection Act (2008) requires that the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT)

or the courts develop the common law in such a way that it enables the realisation and

enjoyment of consumer rights. Specifically, “the Act requires that its provisions be

interpreted in a manner that gives effect to its spirit, or the purposes that it intends to

achieve. In broad terms this includes: - assisting those who are disadvantaged in terms

of income, where they live, age or level of literacy” (Consumer Protection Act South

Africa 2008:2).

Sustainable consumption is not a new concept. It is one of the eight objectives of the

United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection, drawn up in 1999. These

Guidelines (United Nations Guidelines 2003) are quite explicit, stating the rights of


3

consumers up front as “consumers should have the right to promote just, equitable

and sustainable economic and social development and environmental protection”. A

number of other countries have responded to this global benchmark, as articulated in

the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection, and have incorporated

sustainable consumption into consumer protection legislation. A preliminary

examination of South African consumer protection legislation, newly-drafted as it is,

shows that it does not explicitly incorporate sustainability. This is despite the fact that

the South African Consumer Protection Act was drafted in 2008, almost 10 years after

the publication of the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection in 1999

(United Nations Guidelines 2003).

The institutional arrangements of government departments within a public

administration system tend to be organised according to functional pillars, with

separate departments set-up to manage a particular portfolio of service delivery

responsibilities. This vertically-linear departmental configuration often mitigates

against horizontal integration of policy issues. An unintended consequence is that

policy makers working in their respective departments do not seek out the policy

intersect across departments. The result is that policies that impact on and relate to

the mandates of a number of departments are developed in isolation within one

particular department. Tonner (2000) articulates this as “disassociation”. Whilst

regarding consumer and environmental policy as two dissociated fields of public

policy, Tonner (2000) indicates that these policy domains can be harmonised if

environmental and sustainability aspects are infused at the stage of developing the

conceptual foundations of consumer policy.

In South Africa, a good example of disassociation is consumer protection policy and

environmental policy. Consumer protection policy is the responsibility of the

Department of Trade and Industry, whilst sustainability has tended to be framed as

part of the environmental protection remit and is thus located under the Department of

Environmental Affairs. In South Africa then, consumer and environmental policy are

two disassociated fields of public policy, given their location in quite separate ministries

and state departments. This could explain why South African consumer protection

policy does not incorporate sustainability to any significant extent. The South African

public service is structured into clusters on government departments, with a view to


4

enabling co-ordination and fostering an integrated approach to governance to improve

planning, decision-making and service delivery. The Department of Trade and Industry

and the Department of Environmental Affairs are both located within the International

Co-operation, Trade and Security Cluster. Yet this does not seem to have enabled an

integrated approach to consumer protection policy and sustainability.

The lack of intersect between sustainability and consumer protection policy fields is

particularly pertinent given that the premise of these two respective policy fields can

be diametrically opposed, as framed by Tonner (2000) with consumer policy

sometimes enabling a consumer to consume as much as s/he wishes, whilst

sustainability sometimes requires reduced consumption if environmental concerns are

to be taken into account.

1.3 LITERATURE OVERVIEW

The study explores incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy. As a

result, a literature review was undertaken to gain insight into the development of

consumer policy and how this domain of public policy intersects with the concept of

sustainability. Ways in which sustainability has been incorporated into policy

guidelines and policy frameworks were also explored in the literature as well as the

implications for business of incorporating sustainability into consumer protection

policy.

1.3.1 An Overview of Consumer Protection Policy Development

In seeking to understand the basis for incorporating sustainability into consumer

protection policy, it is important to understand how consumer protection policy has

evolved. Howells, Ramsay, Wilhelmsson and Kraft (2010) describe the emergence of

consumer law, and by inference consumer protection policy, as a relatively modern

phenomenon, arising from the confluence of the development of a consumer society,

on the one hand, and the regulatory state, on the other. Round and Sporer (2003) note

that with the globalisation of markets, consumers in different countries have started to

face similar problems This increasing global scale of markets has prompted the search

for common approaches to consumer protection. Whilst laws and policies are

developed in response to the particular circumstances of each country, and evolve


5

according to intra-country dynamics and internal political, social and economic

pressures, Howells, et al (2010) note that domestic public policy is able to be

influenced and shaped by initiatives to develop norms and standards at regional or

international level. These global policy frameworks, in turn, serve as a guide to policy

content in different countries. A good example of an international policy framework is

the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection, which encourages member

states to develop country-specific policy on consumer protection and now form the

basis of consumer protection legislation in many countries around the world

(Consumers International 2013). The European Union has responded positively to this

call and has developed numerous frameworks on consumer policy at regional levels

applicable within the European Union, which member countries must utilise in shaping

country-specific policies (Bulkacz 2009). Sustainability policy is contained in

practically all European Union policies (Bentley 2004). Different European Union

member countries have, in turn, developed country-specific policy initiatives for

consumer protection in general and, more recently, to ensure the incorporation of

sustainability into these policies. For example, Germany has developed a ten year

framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production patterns,

which includes consumer protection aspects (Ten Year Framework 2014).

Given the cross-sectoral nature of sustainability, individual areas of activity have been

entrusted to a range of federal government institutions with a view to promoting

sustainable consumption and production patterns. The European Commission has

also been instrumental in driving member countries to develop consumer policy,

publishing the European Consumer Agenda, which sets out measures to locate

consumers at the centre of all European Union policies in order to achieve the Europe

2020 goals (European Consumer Agenda 2012). The impetus for developing the

Agenda was the view that consumers are able to make informed choices that both

reward competition and promote growth that is resource-efficient and sustainable

whilst also considering the needs of all consumers (European Consumer Agenda

2012).

Consumer protection policy has evolved differently, according to internal political,

social and economic pressures within a country as well as external forces such as

globalisation (Bentley 2004; Fuchs & Lorek 2005). In some countries, such as China,


6

this has happened in an ad hoc manner, reactively rather than pro-actively. In the

territory of Taiwan, on the other hand, consumer protection policies were introduced

as a result of social activism from consumer rights pressure groups (Round & Sporer

2003).

The formalisation of consumer protection has been more rapid in countries with

developed economies with a significant formal sector economy (OECD Good

Practices 2008). The converse is also true, resulting in the provision of comprehensive

consumer protection legislation less able to be prioritised on the policy agenda in

developing economies (Bentley 2004). Round and Sporer (2003) ascribe this to

governments in developing countries needing to focus on more urgent economic and

social goals such as encouraging economic growth and the eradication of poverty and

illiteracy.

Consumer protection is viewed as central to building a fairer, safer world (Consumers

International 2013), and with growing global concern for sustainability (Smith 2014),

the incorporation of sustainability into consumer protection policy is important.

1.3.2 Linking Consumer Protection and Sustainability

Sustainability as a concept emerged out of the global policy debates about

environmental and natural resource deterioration brought to the fore by the Brundtland

Commission Report (1987) and consolidated as a global agenda for sustainable

development at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in

1992 (Encyclopedia of Earth 2014). Achieving sustainable development required a

fundamental shift in the way goods and services are produced and consumed to avoid

worsening development and environmental crises (Paving the Way 2011). Karsten

and Reisch (2008:45) note that “growing awareness of environmental and social

concern and the pressing issue of climate change have forcefully re-established

sustainability policy as a part of consumer policy”.

More sustainable levels of consumption and more sustainable means of production

were identified as a key strategies for containing resource utilisation. Karsten and

Reisch (2008:45) argue that achieving this “would require a change in consumer

behaviour and more responsible lifestyles on the demand-side of the economy” and


7

in-so-doing, challenge conventional concepts of consumer law and policy. Therefore,

the role of consumers becomes central to achieving more sustainable consumption.

Table 1.1 outlines previous research that has been undertaken on sustainability in

relation to consumer protection policy.

Table 1.1: Previous Research on Consumer Protection and Sustainability

Author Country Research Focus

Smith (2000) Australia Presents proposals for how firms or industries can be more pro-active in relation to consumer protection

Connolly and Prothero (2003)

Ireland Identifies factors that encourage less consumption by consumers, finding that consumers view environmental and green opinions from a supply and not a demand perspective. This, in turn, suggests which policy instruments could influence changes in consumer behaviour towards more sustainable consumption

Muller (2005) Germany Argues that institutional reforms are needed to strengthen consumer policy and that effective instruments must be introduced to protect consumer interests and direct consumer demands towards sustainable choices.

Argues further that if policy is aimed at influencing consumer demand towards more sustainable consumption patterns, this will unlock the binary that equates increasing consumer protection with increasing disadvantage for business

Zabel (2005) Germany Proposes a model of human behaviour for sustainability, identifying sustainability-hostile behaviour and sustainability-supporting behaviour

Ghate (2007) India Uses a case study of micro-finance to extract lessons for consumer protection, and sets out the impact of industry self-regulation versus state regulation


8

Author Country Research Focus

Seyfang (2007) United Kingdom (UK)

Explores the notion of ecological citizenship and whether the UK policy model of sustainable consumption can be a tool for ecological citizenship, with consumers putting their environmental and social concerns into practice through their spending choices

Mont and Plepys (2008)

European Union and OECD countries, drawing on Swedish Environmental Protection Agency resources

Assesses different mechanisms for influencing consumption patterns:

using economic and informational policy instruments

shifting from production-side regulation towards consumption-oriented policies

addressing sustainability and sustainable consumption through international collaboration, as national country-level policy and legislation has limited impact, given the global nature of the world economy

Bulkacz (2009) European Union (EU)

Provides a critique of the limited scope of the European Union Commission’s Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production, and the proposal for shaping a sustainable society, not a sustainable consumer; and addressing the public as citizens in society, not simply as consumers

Zeija (2013) Uganda Uses a case study of micro-finance to extract lessons for ensuring greater consumer protection through consumer awareness, obligatory inclusion of fair contract terms and increased monitoring of finance providers

Source: Researcher’s Own Construct

The previous research set out in Table 1.1 shows that sustainable consumption can

be viewed as policy aiming to steer consumer behaviour towards more

environmentally-friendly and socially-equitable consumption choices. As a corollary,

sustainable production requires the sustainable and efficient management of

resources throughout the production process so that products and their production


9

technologies do not impose irreversible risks on society, do not harm norms of other

cultures and are produced under socially-acceptable conditions (Paving the Way

2011).

1.3.3 Sustainability in the Business Context

Businesses are an integral part of society and play an influential role in shaping social

norms and behaviours. As noted by Friedman (1962), since the 1960s, big business

have been adapting production processes and practices to show increasing

responsiveness to growing social preference for sustainability and concern for the

environment. Considering the role of business in sustainable development, initially

concepts like ‘eco-efficiency’, ‘green business’ and ‘cleaner production’, as adopted

by the United Nations Environment Programme, were experimented with by

businesses and governments (Sabapathy 2007). Elkington (1997) proposes an

approach termed the triple-bottom-line according to which business should take into

account the economic, environmental and social implications of business models and

production processes. Wishing to move away from this more compartmentalised

approach, the Chief Executive Officers of forward-thinking companies established the

World Business Council for Sustainable Development. The Council engages the

global business community to explore new thinking to co-create a shared sustainable

future for business, society and the environment. Currently, the Council is exploring

redefining value (WBCSD 2015). In terms of this approach, the vision is to redefine

profit and loss, performance and value-creation to consider longer-term environmental

and social impacts. The intention is to measure business performance and success,

for example, its ‘True Value’, using ‘True Costs’ and ‘True Profits’. Pricing will also be

redefined to reflect all externalities, namely, costs and benefits. This would allow for a

truly-integrated multi-dimensional reflection of business sustainability (Polman 2012).

Persuading businesses to change and adopt sustainable practices is a process. Benn,

Dunphy and Griffiths (2006) defined six phases of organisational change that

businesses transition through as they move towards more sustainable business

practices to develop corporate sustainability (see Table 1.2).


10

Table 1.2: Phases in the Development of Corporate Sustainability

Phase Human Sustainability Ecological Sustainability

Stage One Rejection

Employees and subcontractors exploited.

Community concerns are rejected outright

The environment is regarded as a free good to be exploited.

Stage Two

Non-responsiveness

Financial and technological factors exclude broader social concerns.

Ecological factors are excluded from decision-making.

Stage Three Compliance

The emphasis is on compliance with legal requirements in industrial relations and safety.

Ecological issues inlikely to attrack strong litigation or strong community action are ignored.

Stage Four Efficiency

Technical and supervisory training augmented with interpersonal skills training. Community projects and HR value-adding strategies are pursued only when a cost benefit to the company is obvious.

Environmental issues are ignored if they are not seen as generating avoidable costs or increasing inefficiencies. Sales of by products are encouraged.

Stage Five Strategic Pro-activity

Intellectual and social capital is used to develop strategic advantage through innovation in products/services.

Proactive environmental strategies such as product and process redesign are seen as a source of competitive advantage.

Stage Six

The Sustaining Corporation

Key goals both inside and outside the firm are the pursuit of equity and human welfare and potential.

The firm works with society towards ecological renewal and positive sustainability policies.

Source: Benn et al (2006:157)

Table 1.2 depicts human sustainability factors and ecological sustainability factors that

impact on how a business develops towards achieving corporate sustainability. The

phases provide a useful guideline for tracking how businesses could behave in

response to having to adjust business practices to incorporate sustainability

dimensions. Benn et al (2006) indicate that businesses do not necessarily move

through these phases sequentially, but can miss phases or leave and switch between

phases. It is businesses at Stage Five and Stage Six that pro-actively incorporate

sustainability, as this is seen a source of strategic and competitive advantage. Policy

instruments may need to be designed to move businesses to at least Stage Three,

where sustainability compliance is a requirement. Consumer protection policy can

contain measures to help steer business towards more sustainable business

practices. Particularly, demand side policy measures that impact on the choices

consumers make can promote sustainability through balancing production,

consumption, population and development against the capacity of the earth and its

natural resources to support the needs of all human beings (Karsten & Reisch 2008).

Consumer protection policy measures can enable consumer behaviour shifts in favour


11

of more sustainable choices, such as opting for a more eco-friendly product or

products in bio-degradable packaging. For example, policy can state that business

must provide product content on product labelling, which affords consumers the

opportunity to take this information into account when considering which product to

purchase (Germany Submission 2013). As consumers become more aware of the

impact of their purchasing choices on the environment, this can influence business

practices (Bentley 2004). Consumers could begin to expect businesses to provide

more information about the ingredients from which products and components are

made, to assess the knock-on effect on the natural environment. In the case of food

products, consumers may expect producers to indicate whether or not raw materials

are grown organically; whether or not the country of origin of a product implements fair

working conditions and the impact of the use of a product on the environment.

Consumers will expect businesses to adapt and implement business processes which

take into account the impact on the environment. Consumer demand can thus

influence business to change business management practices so as to operate with

greater concern for the impact of production on the environment.

1.3.4 Incorporating Sustainability into Consumer Protection Policy

Consumer protection policy can influence consumer behaviour as well as how

business operates (Tukker, Cohen, de Zoysa, Hertwich, Hofstetter, Inaba, Lorek & Sto

2006). Consumer protection policies do not necessarily modify consumer behaviour

in terms of the extent of consumption but demand-side policy measures can influence

consumer choices and encourage more sustainable consumption behaviour. Supply-

side policy measures can influence business practices and drive more sustainable

production measures throughout the product life-cycle (Mont & Bleischwitz 2007).

Consumers International (2013) regard the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer

Protection as the key initiative that established the importance of consumer protection

as a global issue. The guidelines were adopted by the General Assembly of the United

Nations (resolution 39/248 of 9 April 1985) (United Nations Guidelines 2003). The aim

of the guidelines was to provide a baseline for countries to begin to implement or

strengthen existing consumer protection policies and laws. In 1995, in response to

increased recognition of the link between consumption patterns and environmental


12

sustainability, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development

recommended that the guidelines for consumer protection be expanded to include

guidelines on sustainability (United Nations Sustainable Consumption 1998). In

response to this recommendation, the Interregional Expert Group Meeting on

Consumer Protection and Sustainable Consumption was convened in São Paulo,

Brazil to produce a framework for the expansion of the guidelines for consumer

protection to include sustainability. In 1999, the guidelines were amended accordingly

as set out in Table 1.3.

Table 1.3: Amendments to United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection to Incorporate Sustainability

Original Guidelines (1985) Amended Guidelines (1999)

Right of access to non-hazardous products

Right to promote just, equitable and sustainable economic and social development

Expanded to include the right to environmental protection

Physical Safety:

Appropriate measures, including legal systems, safety regulations, national or international standards, voluntary standards and the maintenance of safety records to ensure that products are safe for either intended or normally foreseeable use.

Promotion and protection of consumer

economic interests

Governments should promote consumer access to non-misleading information about the environmental impact of products and services through such means as:

Eco-labelling schemes

Product information hotlines

Product profiles

Environmental reports by industry

Information centres for consumers


13


Promote internationally-recognised symbols for environmental labelling

Measures against misleading environmental claims or information in advertising and other marketing activities, including advertising codes and standards for the regulation and verification of environmental claims, backed by legal sanctions

Standards for the safety and quality of

consumer goods and services

Distribution facilities for essential

consumer goods and services

Governments should develop policies, including:

Pricing policies, for public and private utilities to ensure the highest efficiency of service delivery and resource conservation

Measures enabling consumers to obtain

Redress

Education and information programmes This should include information on the environmental impacts of consumption patterns and the benefits of changes in consumption

Consumer groups and other organisations of civil society should be involved in these educational efforts, and programmes in developing countries should be supported by international agencies

Consumer education and information programmes should be expanded to cover:

Pollution and environment

Efficient use of materials, energy and water

Advertising and marketing


14


Of particular importance to this study is defining the role of business, namely:

Business has a particular responsibility for promoting sustainable consumption through the design, production and distribution of goods and services, as well as a responsibility for their recycling and disposal


Table 1.3 lists aspects of the 1985 guidelines that were aimed at encouraging

countries to ensure at least an elementary incorporation of sustainability into

consumer protection policy. Tabulated alongside this are additional aspects that were

included into the 1999 United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection to take into

account sustainable development aspects. This would serve to bring the Consumer

Protection Guidelines in line with the global consensus on sustainable development in

the Rio Declaration of 1992.

In addition to amending and expanding existing clauses, an entire section was

introduced on “Policy Instruments for the Promotion of Sustainable Consumption”

(United Nations Guidelines 2003). New aspects included are:

Promote the design, development and use of products and services that are

energy and resource efficient, non-toxic and safe, taking into account their full

life cycle

Promote innovative efforts by small and medium-sized enterprises to develop

and market innovative products and services that promote sustainable

consumption

Promote conservation of energy and the transition to renewable energy

sources

Promote the development and use of national and international environmental

standards for products and services

Encourage, develop and support independent environmental testing of

products, as well as international cooperation on joint testing


15

Ban or severely restrict environmentally harmful use of substances

Promote awareness of the health-related benefits of sustainable consumption

and production patterns

Encourage the transformation of unsustainable consumption patterns through

the development and use of services and new technologies that can meet

consumer needs while reducing pollution and depletion of natural resources

Create or strengthen effective regulatory agencies addressing various aspects

of sustainable consumption

Governments should consider measures to promote pricing of products and

services that takes account of environmental costs and promotes sustainable

consumption

Use a range of economic instruments for promoting sustainable consumption,

such as taxation systems that both incentivise and disincentivise sustainability

practices

These amendments provided the basis on which countries similarly began to develop

or amend consumer protection policy to incorporate sustainability. These sustainability

dimensions that were incorporated into the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer

Protection serve as a useful benchmark for policy development.

The United Nations considered ways to encourage countries to pursue sustainability

within the context of consumer protection. Specifically, the Department of Economic

and Social Affairs, together with the United Nations Environment Programme

convened the International Expert Meeting on the 10-Year Framework of Programmes

for Sustainable Consumption and Production held in Marrakech, Morocco. The

outcomes of the meeting have become known as the Marrakech Process (Marrakech

Process 2014) and include a set of enablers and challenges that countries could face

when attempting to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy and

when developing a national plan to promote behaviour change among consumers and

production changes in business processes to achieve more sustainable consumption

and production. Table 1.4 sets out the range of factors which can either enable or

inhibit the implementation of policy amendments.


16

Table 1.4: Enablers and Inhibitors in Policy Implementation

Enablers Inhibitors

Having political will and commitment for the implementation of sustainability and sustainable consumption and production strategies

Stakeholder resistance

Developing and agreeing upon a clear definition of sustainability and sustainable consumption

Generic and unfocussed conceptualisation of sustainability and sustainable consumption

Capacitating government

Decision-makers involved in the design and implementation of sustainable consumption and production policies, and the incorporation of sustainability into consumer protection policy

Lack of integration in policy formulation across the three pillars of sustainable development (environmental, social and economic)

Ensuring cooperation between governments, business and civil society

Short-term planning horizon of political decision-makers

Educating and informing consumers Making sustainability and sustainable consumption desirable for consumers


Table 1.4 shows that there are a number of external factors and social aspects that

need to be considered to enable the amendment of policy to incorporate sustainability

into consumer protection policy.

1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Considering the literature discussed, and a 2008 study across the 30 member

countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD

Good Practices 2008) which found that since the inclusion of sustainability into the

United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection in 1999, there has been a marked

global shift, particularly among economically-developed countries to incorporate

sustainability into national policies. It was found that governments were using an array

of tools and varied initiatives to promote sustainable consumption.


17

In 2013, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

convened an Expert Reference Group to review the implementation of the United

Nations Guidelines in Consumer Protection (Expert Meeting 2013) among the

participating member states. The review found that although the objective of

sustainable consumption was supported, this was seldom included in national

consumer protection legislation.

South African consumer protection policy was developed between 2004 and 2008

after the publication of the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection (United

Nations Guidelines 2003). There is thus a need to investigate whether South African

consumer protection policies incorporate the notion of sustainability.

To address the problem, this research first investigated to what extent South African

consumer protection policies incorporated the notion of sustainability. Thereafter, it

was important to identify ways in which South African consumer protection policies

could be adapted and strengthened to incorporate sustainability and how business

could respond to it.

1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1.5.1 Primary Objective

The primary objective of this research was to develop a framework for incorporating

sustainability into South African consumer protection policy.

1.5.2 Secondary Research Objectives

To give effect to the primary objective of this study, the following secondary research

objectives were formulated:

To conduct a literature review to establish how sustainability developed as a

global policy concept and how it has been defined

To conduct a literature review to define consumer protection policy and

determine how it is developed


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To conduct a literature review to examine how sustainability has been

incorporated into consumer protection policies and legislation in a sample of

countries

To examine South African consumer policy to establish how it deals with

sustainability

To develop a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability into

consumer protection policy

To analyse responses to questionnaires sent to a sample of countries to

develop a country comparative of sustainability provisions within consumer

protection policy and propose a policy framework to incorporate sustainability

To develop a framework for incorporating sustainability into South African

consumer protection policy

To propose amendments to the South African consumer protection policy so

as to incorporate sustainability

To recommend how business could respond to the proposed framework for

incorporating sustainability into consumer protection

1.5.3 Research Questions

Using qualitative research methodology, the research aimed to address the following

questions:

What is sustainability and how has this been defined?

What is consumer protection policy and how is this developed?

In what ways have countries incorporated sustainability into their respective

consumer protection policy frameworks?

How does South African consumer policy deal with sustainability, if at all?

What would constitute a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability

into consumer protection?

What would constitute a policy framework for incorporating sustainability into

consumer protection, based on a comparative country content analysis of how

this has been achieved in other parts of the world?

What would constitute a framework for incorporating sustainability into South

African consumer protection policy?


19

What amendments to South African consumer protection policy can be

proposed so that sustainability is incorporated into the policy framework?

What should business do in response to the proposed framework to

incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy?

Table 1.5 outlines a matrix to show the consistency between the research questions

and objectives.

Table 1.5: Consistency Table between the Research Questions and Objectives

Research Question Research Objective


To conduct a literature review to establish how sustainability developed as a global policy concept and how it has been defined

What is consumer protection policy? To conduct a literature review to define consumer protection policy and to determine how it is developed

In what ways have countries incorporated sustainability into their respective consumer protection policy frameworks?

To conduct a literature review to examine how sustainability has been incorporated into consumer protection policies and legislation in a sample of countries


To examine South African consumer policy to establish how it deals with sustainability

What would constitute a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection?

To develop a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy

What would constitute a policy framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection?

To analyse responses to questionnaires sent to a sample of countries to develop a country comparative of sustainability provisions within consumer protection policy and propose a policy framework to incorporate sustainability

What would constitute a framework for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection policy?

To develop a framework for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection policy


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Research Question Research Objective

What amendments to South African consumer protection policy can be proposed so that sustainability is incorporated into the policy framework?

To propose amendments to the South African consumer protection policy so as to incorporate sustainability

What should business do in response to the proposed framework to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy?

To recommend how business could respond to the proposed framework to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy


1.6 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

The primary research objective of this study was to develop a framework for

incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection policy. Qualitative

research methods were utilised to develop this framework. Struwig and Stead

(2013:12) view qualitative research as “any research that uses qualitative data – non-

numerical information”. The qualitative data was collected during a content analysis of

consumer protection policies and legislation of a sample of countries. Responses to

open-ended questions in questionnaires sent to the countries in the sample were also

analysed. The aim was to identify policy measures that had been included in legislation

to incorporate sustainability into the respective consumer protection policy documents.

A country comparative analysis would identify these policy measures which would

provide the basis for determining how South African consumer protection policy

needed to be amended to incorporate sustainability. The data gathered from the

content analysis and the questionnaires was be used to develop the proposed

framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy. The

framework was validated by conducting unstructured interviews with consumer policy

experts and business people.

Table 1.6 sets out the research process to be undertaken to achieve the objectives of

this study which comprises six steps.


21

Table 1.6: Research Process

Research Step Research Method

Step One

To review and study literature to understand sustainability as a global policy concept; to understand the public policy making process and how consumer protection policies developed; and to understand how the need to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy developed as a public policy issue requiring attention

Literature study

Step Two

To develop a proposed framework for consumer protection policy that incorporates sustainability based on the literature study

Interpretive studies

Step Three

To collect information from countries on how their consumer protection policy incorporates sustainability. To content analyse the applicable legislation of the countries. In addition, to content analyse previous studies according to proposed framework to elicit information on what countries do with respect to incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy. To focus particularly on a sample of developed and developing countries, particularly African countries including South Africa to ascertain how sustainability has been incorporated into consumer protection policy

Content analysis and open-ended questionnaires

Step Four

To extract comparable best practice for South Africa and propose a framework for incorporating sustainability into policy


Step Five

To validate the proposed framework by asking members of the National Consumer Tribunal and business people as an expert reference group to critique the framework

Expert reference group

Step Six

Make recommendations on how business can respond to the proposed framework




22

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

International member-state bodies such as the United Nations and the Organization

for Economic Co-operation and Development develop policy guidelines on cross-

cutting policy issues. However, owing to state sovereignty with regard to policy and

legislation, the guidelines are not prescriptive as domestic national policy needs to

take into account the context of each country’s socio-economic and environmental

conditions as well as to take cognisance of the needs and expectations of the people

living in that country. As each country needs to develop its own customised policy and

legislative framework, the research study only developed a framework for

incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection policy.

1.8 PROPOSED PROPOSITIONS

The propositions were developed from the literature study, which were investigated

during the research to be undertaken in this study:

A number of countries have developed consumer protection policies that

incorporate sustainability and have put into place different mechanisms to

encourage and enable business to respond to this (Bentley 2004; OECD

Good Practices 2008; Consumers International 2013)

Business will need to adapt practices and procedures at all stages of the

production life-cycle to respond to the incorporation of sustainability into

consumer protection policies (Mont & Bleischwitz 2007)

1.9 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Figure 1.1 outlines the conceptual framework of the research study in the form of a

flow diagram.


23

Figure 1.1: Conceptual Framework of the Research

RESEARCH PROCESS EXPECTED OUTCOME



24

1.10 CHAPTER OUTLINE

As illustrated in Figure 1.1, this study consists of eight chapters.

Chapter 1

Introduction and Background to the Study

Chapter 2

Sustainability in the Global and the Business Context

Chapter 3

Consumer Protection Policy Development and the Role of Business

Chapter 4

Framework of Consumer Protection Policies that Incorporate Sustainability

Chapter 5

Research Methodology

Chapter 6

Results and Interpretation of the Qualitative Study

Chapter 7

Framework for Incorporating Sustainability into South African Consumer Protection

Policy

Chapter 8

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations


25

1.11 SUMMARY

Chapter 1 introduced the research to be undertaken and provided the background to

the research. An overview of the literature indicated that sustainability has its roots in

the concept of sustainable development and requires that achieving economic growth

needs to be consistent with environmental considerations and social needs, whilst

resource utilisation must take the needs of future generations into account.

Consumption levels are inexorably linked to sustainability and consumer behavior is

key to achieving more sustainable levels of consumption. The literature also provided

an indication of ways in which different countries have been engaging with

sustainability policy development, and how to incorporate this into consumer policy in

general and consumer protection, in particular.

The chapter also described the research problem and the research design and

methodology to be used to achieve the research objective of developing a framework

for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer policy. The chapter

concluded with a conceptual framework for the research process and provided details

of each of the eight chapters that comprise the researcn.

SUSTAINABILITY IN THE GLOBAL AND THE BUSINESS CONTEXT CHAPTER TWO

26

CHAPTER TWO

SUSTAINABILITY IN THE GLOBAL AND THE BUSINESS CONTEXT

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 provided an introduction to the study, setting out the issues that this

research intends to address. The research objectives and the research questions to

be answered during the course of the study were stated. Importantly, the conceptual

framework that underpins the research was set out. This introductory structure is the

touchstone at the beginning of each chapter to keep the research focused. Based on

initial indications from the literature, consumer protection policy can be strengthened

if it is expanded to incorporate sustainability. The outcome of the research was the

development of a framework to incorporate sustainability into South African consumer

protection policy. To identify what should be contained in the framework, it was

important to understand the notion of sustainability as well as the conceptual and

practical development at a global level of sustainability and related concepts such as

sustainable development and sustainable consumption. Thus, Chapter 2 overviews

the global context of sustainability, tracing how sustainable development, sustainable

consumption and sustainability entered the world political agenda. These concepts are

defined and their inter-relatedness described.

In the chapter, sustainability in the business context is also discussed. Specifically,

the rationale to incorporate sustainability into business and production processes are

outlined. The ways in which sustainability has been incorporated into production

processes within certain industry sectors are outlined, using the building and

construction sector as well as the wine production industry in South Africa as

examples. The intention is to extract lessons from these case studies with a view to

identifying ways in which these lessons can be adapted and incorporated into other

business sectors. Understanding how sustainability is defined and how production can

be undertaken in more sustainable ways provides important guidance as to what

should constitute the proposed framework to incorporate sustainability into consumer

protection policy in South Africa.


27


Figure 2.1 is a reproduction of Figure 1.1 and illustrates the positioning of Chapter 2

within the research process.

Figure 2.1: Chapter 2 Reflected within the Research Process Conceptual Framework




28

2.3 GLOBAL CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABILITY

To identify ways in which sustainability can be incorporated into consumer protection

policy, it is necessary to consider how sustainability entered the international policy

arena. There have been intensive global processes facilitated primarily by the United

Nations, firstly, to engage Governments around the world to recognise the importance

of sustainability and to participate in global processes to define this. Secondly, to

remain active in these global processes by continuously refining and developing a

deeper and broader understanding of sustainability. Thirdly, and most importantly, to

use the international definitions as the basis for domestic policy.

Debate about sustainable development and sustainability was placed formally on the

global agenda with the passing of Resolution 38/161 by the United Nations General

Assembly in 1983 (Resolution 38/161 1983), which recognised the ever-increasing

deterioration of the global human environment and the concomitant strain on the

availability of natural resources. The Resolution, for the first time, made explicit the

perspective that for economic development initiatives to have a lasting and sustainable

impact, they needed to “take account of the interrelationships between people,

resources, the environment and development” (Resolution 38/161 1983:1). Flowing

from Resolution 38/161, the United Nations set-up the World Commission on

Environment and Development (WCED), under the chairpersonship of Gro Harlem

Brundtland, the former Prime Minister of Norway. The Commission released a report,

Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Commission Report, in October

1987 (Brundtland Commission Report 1987). The proposals made by the Commission

are regarded as a cornerstone in a global definition of the term sustainability and

sustainable development. The Brundtland Commission Report (1987) also triggered

global policy development initiatives, facilitated by the United Nations and its various

agencies. The time-line in Figure 2.2 sets out key milestones in the conceptualisation

of the concepts of sustainable development, sustainable consumption and production

as well as the development of consequent policy frameworks and implementation

plans. The time-line also indicates when sustainable consumption within the policy

rubric of consumer protection appeared in global policy development trajectories.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_General_Assembly

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_General_Assembly

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro_Harlem_Brundtland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro_Harlem_Brundtland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Norway

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Common_Future

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Common_Future

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development


29

Figure 2.2: Milestones of Conceptualisation of Global Policy on Sustainable Development and Sustainable Consumption

1987 Brundtland Report

World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), releases the Brundtland Commission Report (1987). The proposals made by the Commission are regarded as a cornerstone in a global definition of sustainability and sustainable development, the pre-cursor to sustainable consumption

1992 Rio Summit

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED): Adoption of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development setting out rights and responsibilities of states in achieving sustainability through sustainable development

1992 Agenda 21

178 states commit to Agenda 21, the comprehensive action plan for sustainable development at global, national and local levels. The concept of sustainable consumption is incorporated as a component of Agenda 21, with a marked shift to an emphasis on consumption patterns, as opposed to production patterns only

1994 UN CSD

2nd Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) agrees on a process to prepare elements for an international work programme on sustainable production and consumption

1994 Oslo Roundtable

Sustainable Consumption Ministerial Roundtable in Oslo, as mandated by the UN CSD, proposes a working definition of sustainable consumption

1995 UN CSD

UN CSD endorses the Oslo Round-Table definition of sustainable consumption.

In a parallel development,

UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) requests incorporation of sustainable consumption into the UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection


30


Figure 2.2 tracks the significant strides that have been made in the 25 years since

1987 to achieve global policy consensus on the importance of placing sustainability

and the sustainable development agenda as the cornerstone of achieving a more

socially-equitable world order. The global policy imperatives introduced by the

Brundtland Commission Report (1987) initially regarded sustainable development as

the key means for achieving a more sustainable world. As policy debates progressed,

sustainable consumption began to be recognised as an important behaviour change

mechanism that could additionally contribute to the achievement of sustainability. A

key impetus for this was the Oslo Symposium on Sustainable Consumption convened

by the Norwegian Ministry of Environment in 1994 (Tukker et al 2006). The outcome

1997 UNGA & OECD

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) reaffirms commitment to sustainable development and sustainable consumption by means of the Programme for Further Implementation of Agenda 21

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publishes a report on Sustainable Consumption

1998 UNEP & UNDP

United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) launches a Sustainable Consumption Programme and Sustainable Consumption features in the Human Development Report of the UN Development Program (UNDP)

1999

United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection amended to include sustainable consumption

2002 Rio+10 and JPOI

World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, termed Rio+10, recognises that changing consumption and production patterns are essential requirements for sustainable development. This is reflected in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI), a ten-year plan on implementing sustainable consumption

2003 Marrakech Process

UNEP and UNDESA convene the “Marrakech Process” as a mechanism to support world-wide implementation of sustainable consumption and production

*UNDESA: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

2012 Rio+20 and 10YFP

Rio+20 or Earth Summit 2012, the 3rd International Conference on Sustainable Development agrees on the vision, objectives and goals that should underpin 10-year framework of programmes (10YFP) on sustainable consumption and production patterns covering the period 2012-2022 and that countries and geo-regions should adopt 10YFPs


31

of the symposium was a definition of sustainable consumption, which was adopted by

the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, and is still widely-used

to this date.

Figure 2.2 also depicts key global events that brought together world political leaders

and civil society sustainability advocates to engage around sustainability. The first was

the 1992 Rio Summit, which is dealt with in more detail in Section 2.3. This was

followed by the United Nations-convened World Summit on Sustainable Development

(WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002 (also called Rio+10), which presented a global

platform for a ten-year reflective review of the implementation of Agenda 21 as agreed

at the Rio Summit in 1992. This was followed ten years later in 2012 with the Rio+20

or Earth Summit 2012 3rd International Conference on Sustainable Development

which saw agreement on the vision, objectives and goals that should underpin the ten-

year framework of programmes (10YFP) on sustainable consumption and production

patterns covering the period 2012-2022. These regular global platforms have been

important for ensuring an on-going focus on promoting sustainability through pursuing

sustainable development initiatives and setting global frameworks within which to

locate sustainable consumption and development programmes. The implementation

frameworks set-out ways in which governments could develop country-specific plans

and programmes to promote sustainability.

The milestones also depict how key global events and processes have resulted in

broad global consensus on the conceptualisation and definition of sustainable

development and sustainable consumption and production. These concepts, as

discussed in more detail in the chapter, form the backbone of the umbrella concept of

sustainability, which is a central element of the current research study. It is necessary

to understand the definition components of sustainability, as a basis for developing

the framework for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection

policy.

Importantly for the purposes of this research, Figure 2.2 shows that the link between

sustainable consumption and consumer protection policy, which was first proposed on

a global level in 1995 when the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

requested the incorporation of sustainable consumption into the UN Guidelines on


32

Consumer Protection. This came into effect in 1999, when the guidelines were

amended accordingly (United Nations Guidelines 2003).

2.4 CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable development as a notion emerged out of what was initially a concern for

the environment, arising from the fact that economic development and wealth creation

were often pursued in ways which impacted negatively on the environment. This

negative impact on the environment initiated a debate on how economic development

could continue, but be undertaken more sustainably to ensure and preserve human

existence and attain more socially-equitable outcomes. The Brundtland Commission

Report (1987) foregrounded the sustainability challenges facing the world, calling for

economic growth to be pursued in ways which would be both socially and

environmentally sustainable. The Commission coined the phrase sustainable

development, continuing to define sustainable development as “development which

meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations

to meet their own needs” (Brundtland Commission Report 1987:30). The Commission

acknowledged that “sustainable development is not a fixed state of harmony, but

rather a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of

investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change

are made consistent with future as well as present needs” (Brundtland Commission

Report 1987:30). It further identified that sustainable development would be complex

to achieve and would be dependent on political will, accompanied by changes in

behaviour, attitudes and social values. The Commission urged that sustainable

development be pursued as a common endeavour in the collective interest of all

people. The work of the Commission placed sustainable development at the centre of

the global agenda for change so as to meet the needs of the present in ways that

would not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Karsten and Reisch (2008) are of the view that this definition of sustainable

development is too cumbersome and non-specific and that there is a need for

simplification of and greater precision in the definition. There is a counterview that at

the time of the Brundtland Commission Report (1987), it was tactically more

advantageous, as a first step, to achieve consensus on the fundamental global


33

significance of sustainability and sustainable development as a common goal for

countries to strive to achieve. Thus, Daly (1996) contends that not having a precise

definition may be beneficial and could enable an evolving consensus around the broad

concept of sustainable development rather than contradictory views on the definition

thereof. Hence Connolly and Prothero (2003), although concerned about the

vagueness of the definition, acknowledge that this very vagueness enabled a greater

number of governments to express support for sustainability as an ideal. Prior to this,

there had been uneasiness and reticence among countries to indicate the commitment

to commencing action to change the way in which economic development had been

taking place. Concern for the environment and acknowledgement of the need to

extract and utilise resources taking cognisance of the needs of future generations had

not been universally accepted and respected.

On the back of this “softer” and less-prescriptive approach to sustainability as put

forward by the Brundtland Commission Report (1987), various countries started to

take the initiative and use this broad consensual definition as the basis to start

exploring ways to introduce a national policy to pursue sustainability and sustainable

development initiatives. This received more impetus when, in 1992, five years after

the publication of the Brundtland Comission Report (1987), the United Nations

convened the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development also

known as the Rio Summit or Earth Summit (Rio Summit 1992). Much of the business

of the Rio Summit was to define sustainability in more specific terms. In so doing, the

concern noted by Johnson, Everard, Santillo and Robert (2007) would be addressed,

namely, that the concept of sustainability had suffered from a proliferation of

definitions, being interpreted differently by different people. After intense discussion,

debate and negotiation, the centre-piece of the Rio Conference Resolutions was

general acceptance by the world leaders present at the summit that sustainable

development calls for a convergence between three different phenomena, namely,

economic development, social equity and environmental protection (Drexhage &

Murphy 2010). Sustainable development is thus framed as the nexus between strong

economic and social development, in particular for less-resourced people, whilst

underlining the importance of protecting the natural resource base and the

environment. At the centre is the imperative that economic and social well-being


34

should not be improved in ways that destroy the environment (Dresner 2002; Lehtonen

2004; Robinson 2004; Thiele 2013). This need for the confluence of these three pillars

makes sustainability a complex issue, with Smith (2014:5) postulating that “the

distinction between the three pillars of sustainability is conceptually fuzzy”. Bärland

(2005) regards this complexity as presenting a “constructive ambiguity” and argues

that sustainability as a concept remains sufficiently inclusive and operational enough

to make meaningful policy action possible.

Despite this seeming consensus on the need for inter-linkages between economic,

social and environmental considerations in pursuit of sustainability, Matthews and

Hammill (2009:1119) concur with Drexhage and Murphy (2010) and note that

sustainability remains an elusive concept and as a result there have been difficulties

“in designing the move from theory to practice” owing to multi-facetted issues such as

technological, political and other constraints as well as the complex interplay across

and between these factors. Thus, although governments and organisations have

moved to take-up sustainable development as a desirable goal, and have set-up

processes to integrate this into national policy frameworks alongside developing

metrics to track progress, the achievement of sustainability goals has proved difficult

and complex. For example, having assessed urban sustainable development in Asia-

Pacific cities, Hobson (2004) described the concept of sustainability at policy level as

“vague in practice and piecemeal in implementation”. Drexhage and Murphy (2010)

contend further that unsustainable practices and trends have continued, and, as a

result, sustainability has been whittled down and re-compartmentalised as an

environmental issue. This, in large part, is due to developed countries using positive

economic growth as a proxy measurement for development. Economic development

does not necessarily incorporate and counter-balance the social equity and

environmental dimensions of sustainability. This creates a tension between economic

growth and sustainability. Drexhage and Murphy (2010:2) thus observe that “a huge

constituency around the world cares deeply and talks about sustainability and

sustainable development, but has not taken serious on-the-ground action. Deep

structural changes are needed in the ways that societies manage their economic,

social, and environmental affairs; and hard choices are needed to move from talk to

action”. At the core is that economic growth must be decoupled from negative


35

environmental impacts and must be achieved within the carrying capacity of

ecosystems.

Debates about the concept of sustainable development have taken place at global

platforms such as the Rio+10 and Rio+20 Summits, as shown in Figure 2.2 The

Rio+10 Summit developed the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI), which

called for joint action and responsibility at multiple levels, from local to global, to

strengthen the three pillars of sustainable development (Johannesburg Declaration

2002). Importantly, the plan re-affirmed the centrality of the inextricable linkages

between economic development, social equity and environmental protection,

recognising that “poverty eradication, changing consumption and production patterns

and protecting and managing the natural resource base for economic and social

development are overarching objectives of and essential requirements for sustainable

development” (Johannesburg Declaration 2002:4). The Rio+20 Summit, similarly, re-

affirmed the centrality of the economic, social and environmental linkages on which

sustainability is premised.

Thus, in the face of the definition complexities, what is common across the literature

sources is that there are two main elements of the concept of sustainable

development. Firstly, that sustainable development rests on the nexus between

economic, social and environmental considerations, supporting strong economic and

social development in ways that protect the natural resource base and the

environment. Secondly, that sustainable development incorporates inter-generational

solidarity, such that development meets the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. These two

elements are core to the umbrella notion of sustainability.

2.5 CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION

During the processes facilitated by the United Nations to develop global consensus

on the definition of sustainable development and the need to pursue this collectively,

understanding started to be forged that the level of consumer consumption is a critical

dimension of sustainable development. Sustainable consumption rests on the premise

that patterns of consumption impact on the natural resource baseline. By adjusting

consumption behaviour in favour of more sustainable choices, consumers can make


36

a contribution towards a better natural and social environment (Karsten & Reisch

2009: 48). From these conceptual roots within sustainable development, sustainable

consumption started to come into its own and take its place on the international policy

agenda in the early 1990s (Berg 2011). Prior to this, only the environmental impact of

the production cycle had been considered in relation to sustainability. The impact of

consumption choices had not been brought into the sustainability equation. Yet, as

argued by Berg (2011), sustainable production and consumption as co-joined and

inter-linked, are essentially two sides of the same coin.

In 1994, the Norwegian Ministry of Environment convened the Oslo Symposium on

Sustainable Consumption which proposed a working definition of sustainable

consumption and production as “the use of services and related products, which

respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of

natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants

over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future

generations” (Oslo Symposium 1994:1) This definition remains widely-accepted

internationally and speaks to both the production and consumption or the supply and

demand aspects of services and products. Heiskanen and Pantzar (1997:409-442)

suggest that sustainable consumption can be regarded as a situation whereby

“consumption meets the needs of present generations without compromising the

needs of the future ones”. They do caution, however, that this over-simplifies the

notion and also suggest that there is little realistic likelihood of achieving sustainable

consumption at global level. Pascoe (2009) sets out the view that sustainable

consumption is about changing consumption patterns using a three-pronged

approach, firstly, by consuming less, secondly, by becoming more resource-

conscientious and thus making better consumption choices, and, lastly, by consuming

more efficiently.

Sustainable consumption requires consumers to pursue changes proactively in their

consumption patterns, with the over-arching aim being that current and future

generations consume within the socio-economic and environmental constraints of the

earth’s finite resources. Mont and Plepys (2008:532) refer to sustainable consumption

as “an umbrella term for issues related to human needs, equity, quality of life, resource

efficiency, waste minimisation, life cycle thinking, consumer health and safety,


37

consumer sovereignty, etc”. Connolly and Prothero (2003:275) remark that “there are

approximately two dozen definitions of sustainable consumption within the literature

which has led to it being labelled as a “fuzzy concept”, because issues such as scale,

scope, point of reference and time horizon remain unclear.” These are similar

concerns that have been raised in relation to defining the concept of sustainable

development.

Although the global processes described in Figure 2.2 facilitated progress towards

arriving at a consensus definition of sustainable consumption, Faber, Jorna and Van

Engelen (2005) point to the complexities of sustainable consumption conceptually,

and particularly in relation to implementation. Hezri and Dovers (2009:303) believe

that the difficulties in operationalising sustainable consumption arise because “the

concept is ambiguous and fraught with contradictions”. Further, the idea itself remains

generalised and vague, particularly given that sustainable consumption is a relatively

new, complex and contested policy arena.

The global Rio+10 and Rio+20 Summits, as shown in Figure 2.2, were important

markers in the refinement of the conceptualisation of sustainable consumption policy

and the development of frameworks to guide implementation of sustainable

consumption initiatives in practice in different countries. Participants at the Rio+10

Summit agreed that making better progress towards a more sustainable world would

require a heightened focus on sustainable consumption and production, to promote

social and economic development within the carrying capacity of eco-systems. The

summit concluded with a call for a 10 Year Framework (10YFP) for an implementation

plan of programmes on sustainable consumption. In response to this, a small group of

people from governments working together with the United Nations Environment

Programme, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and a

number of non-government organizations convened what became known as the

Marrakech Process in 2003. One of the main objectives of the Marrakech Process was

to set-up “a global multi-stakeholder process to support the implementation of

sustainable consumption and production and the elaboration of a 10-Year Framework

of Programmes, in order to support regional and national initiatives to accelerate the

shift towards sustainable consumption and production patterns, thus de-linking


38

economic growth from environmental degradation” (Marrakech Process 2014:1). The

aims of the Marrakech Process were three-fold:

to assist countries in their efforts to green their economies

to help corporations develop greener business models

to encourage consumers to adopt more sustainable lifestyles

This multi-layered approach was premised on the understanding that more

sustainable consumption and production patterns are key practical interventions that

can generate concrete outcomes to achieve global sustainability. Specifically,

sustainable consumption and production programmes offer ways to achieve more

equitable access to resources between wealthier and poorer countries and

communities. Sustainable consumption is now recognised as a critical lever to achieve

sustainable development and meet the needs of poor people by shifting to more

sustainable production and consumption patterns (Marrakech Process 2014).

As a contribution to the Marrakech Process, the Organization for Economic Co-

operation and Development published a report in 2008 on good practices in OECD

countries to promote sustainable consumption (OECD Good Practices 2008). The aim

of the report was to encourage the 30 OECD member countries to compare

experiences in the policy domain, share good practice and lessons learnt through

initiatives to promote and implement sustainable consumption. Its basic premise is

that consumers are key drivers of sustainability through their consumer choices.

Consumers thus need to be persuaded to change their behaviour and adopt more

sustainable patterns of consumption The report provides an overview of a range of

policy tools and regulatory mechanisms to promote sustainable consumption. These

are discussed further in Chapter 3, which explores consumer protection policy in more

detail.

Thus, despite the definition complexities, a key element of the concept of sustainable

consumption and production is inter-generationality, such that current consumption

patterns are tailored to meet the needs of present generations without compromising

the needs of the future ones. In addition, sustainable consumption incorporates social

considerations, responding to basic needs and quality of life, doing so in ways that are


39

resource-efficient, minimising the use of natural resources. This suggests that

sustainable consumption also requires consideration of economic, social and

environmental aspects.

An additional element of the definition of sustainable consumption and production is

to consider the life cycle of the service or product. This suggests that initiatives towards

more sustainable consumption need to be systems-wide and encompass the full

spectrum of and each component within the value-chain of production and

consumption. This was confirmed during the Oslo Symposium on Sustainable

Consumption in 1994 where it was agreed that sustainable consumption and

production requires “a holistic approach to minimizing negative environmental impacts

from the production-consumption systems of the society” (EIONET 2015:1). Adopting

a holistic approach implies that by its very nature, sustainable consumption and

production will have multi-facetted dimensions at each stage of the product life cycle.

Stern, Dietz, Ruttan, Socolow and Sweeney (1997) recognise this, noting that

academic disciplines have developed and applied different meanings to the concept

of consumption and are of the view that a more holistic concept of meanings within

consumption practices is needed. The multi-facetted nature of sustainable

consumption and production and the need to consider sustainability implications at

every stage of the production process, have implications for business, when

considering sustainability in the business context.

2.6 CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY

The debates about the respective definitions of sustainable development and

sustainable consumption and production lay the basis for the broader and more

inclusive concept of sustainability. Global sustainability discussions first centred on

the concept of sustainable development. As world leaders grappled with sustainable

development, the notion of sustain consumption arose, as a component of sustainable

development to advance towards the achievement of a more sustainable world. More

recently, the umbrella term of sustainability has been used to encapsulate and traverse

the concepts of sustainable development and sustainable consumption as well as

production more holistically. The inter-relationship between sustainable consumption,

sustainable development and sustainability is depicted in Figure 2.3.


40

Figure 2.3: Sustainable Consumption, Development and Sustainability


Figure 2.3 shows that sustainable consumption and sustainable development are

embedded within the over-arching concept of sustainability, and are the processes

that underpin and lead to the achievement of sustainablity. The definitions of each of

these two foundational concepts interlink to generate the essence of a definition of

sustainability. However, owing to the extensiveness and multi-facetted nature of

sustainability, arriving at a single definition of sustainability is a challenge. A wide

range of definitions exist in literature, as many disciplines have provided a definition,

including ecologists, economists, sociologists, environmentalists and, more recently,

business management scholars (Faber et al 2005). Definitions of sustainability began

to be segmented into concepts such as environmental sustainability, economic

sustainability, social sustainability, political sustainability, financial sustainability and

cultural sustainability. Daly (1996) views this proliferation of these sub-definitions as

having rendered the concept of sustainability as innocuous owing to including

everything and excluding nothing. However, the concept of sustainability remains of

global interest and a number of sources provide lists of definitions of sustainability

(Global Footprints 2016; Sustainable Society Foundation 2016). Definitions included

in the lists range from the philosophical, “sustainability is a journey not a destination”,

the rational, “sustainability is the restorative economy” to explanatory, “Sustainability

Sustainable Consumption and Production

Sustainable Development

Sustainability


41

creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in

productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements

of present and future generations”. The literature also suggests that most definitions

include a recognition of the connection between economic systems operating within

environmental resource contraints, taking cogniscance of the quality of life of present

and future generations (Smith 2014). In addition, sustainability affects society as a

whole, and is linked to human survival, with sustainability thus defined as the ability to

continue a defined environmental, economic and social activity indefinitely

(Sustainability Root Cause 2016). Strong (2001) argues that the goal of sustainability

must be to improve the lives and prospects of people environmentally and socially as

well as economically, which is achieveable only when all three elements have

achieved the sustainability level.

Strong (2001) also explains that sustainability can lead to tensions between

developing and developed countries if sustainability is pursued by developed countries

using measures that would impose new constraints on the development of poorer

countries, as well as divert attention and resources from the principal concerns of

underdevelopment and poverty in developing countries.

As the basis for arriving at a definition of sustainability for the purposes of this

research, Table 2.1 provides a summary of the definitions relating to sustainable

consumption and production, sustainable development and sustainability used in this

research.

Table 2.1: Core Definitions Relating to Sustainability used in this Research

Concept Definition

Sustainable development Development which meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and which achieves economic and social development in integrated ways that do not exhaust the earth’s natural resources

(Brundtland Commission Report 1987:30)

Sustainable consumption and production

Use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while


42

Concept Definition

minimising the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product, so as not to jeopardise the needs of future generations

(Oslo Symposium 1994:1)

Sustainability Process by which sound economic systems operate well within the biophysical constraints of the ecosystem to provide a good quality of life that is socially-appropriate for current and future generations

(Smith 2014:3)


Drawing on the definitions of sustainable development and sustainable consumption

and production in Table 2.1, and the ways in which sustainability has been defined in

the literature, core dimensions of sustainability can be distilled. To provide a definition

of sustainability, the first important dimension to note is the confluence and inter-linked

connectivity of economic, social and environmental considerations. The second

dimension to note is the usage of global resources in ways which meet basic needs

and with due concern for the needs of future generations. The third dimension of

sustainability is that it is multi-facetted and needs to be considered at all stages of the

goods and services production as well as the consumption cycle. Considering these

three fundamental dimensions, for the purposes of this research, sustainability is

defined as “an integrated and holistic approach to production and consumption which

inter-links economic, social and environmental considerations and is mindful of the

impact on global resources; takes future generations needs into consideration; and is

multi-facetted, straddling all dimensions of the goods and services production and

consumption life-cycle”.

As the definition suggests, sustainability is a complex concept. Implementing it in

practice will require careful and deliberate consideration, particularly, as both Bansal

(2005) and Sharma and Starik (2002) indicate, the operationalising of sustainability

models within business is weak. A useful starting point from a policy perspective is to

foreground a definition of sustainability. From a business perspective, the starting


43

point is to consider sustainability at each phase of the production and consumption

life-cycle.

2.7 BUSINESS CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABILITY

In terms of the definition of sustainability used in this study, introducing more

sustainable production methods and more sustainable consumption patterns requires

both business, as the producers of goods and services, and consumers, to modify and

change behaviours. The early 1990s saw business start to take an interest in the

business case for sustainability. Elkington (1997) introduced the concept of the triple-

bottom-line, proposing that businesses need to consider the economic, social as well

environmental aspects of doing business, and coined the term 3P approach, namely,

that business models should be concerned with Profit, People and the Planet. By doing

so, Elkington (1997) further argued, was not only good corporate citizenship, but could

also offer competitive advantage and attract consumers.

Smith (2014) is of the view that for their economic survival and competitiveness,

businesses need to move beyond superficial greening of business practices and once-

off initiatives, and adopt a clear sustainability vision and plan. This plan should then

be the blue-print against which organisational success to incorporate sustainability

needs to be measured. However, for Benn et al (2006), it can take time for businesses

to move towards adopting and implementing more sustainable business practices.

Table 1.2, in Chapter 1, set-out different ways in which businesses could respond

when faced with beginning to consider incorporating sustainability into production

processes and business process design. These stages are summarised in Figure 2.4.


44

Figure 2.4: Stages in Business Responses to the Process of Incorporating Sustainability

Source: Researcher’s Own Construct adapted from Benn et al (2006)

Figure 2.4 summarises the six ways in which a business may respond when faced

with needing to adapt to incorporate sustainability into business practices and

processes. The model is based on the premise that, initially, business was conducted

without taking environmental concerns into account. When it became necessary for

business to begin considering the environmental impact of production processes,

either when compelled to do so through regulatory compliance, or to remain

competitive, a business may initially resist or reject the need to adapt business

processes to incorporate more sustainable production methods or not be responsive

to the need for change. Thereafter, it may adapt business practises only because it

has to do so to comply with regulatory frameworks that compel the shift towards more

sustainable production. An alternative impetus for change to incorporate sustainability

into the business model is the realisation that there are efficiency gains to be realised.

It is only from Stage 5 that sustainability-conscious business strategies are adopted

as a form of competitive advantage. At this level, sustainability strategies are actively

pursued as an integral component of the overall business model. Specifically, Benn et

al (2006) describe a business that is at Stage 5 as using intellectual and social capital

to drive innovation and gain strategic advantage through proactive environmentally-

conscious business strategies such as greening product (re)design. Thus, in terms of

Elkington’s (1997) triple-bottom line model, a business that is at Stage 5, would be


45

taking at least 2Ps, namely, Profit and Planet into account. When a business is at

Stage 6, people are also factored into the bottom line. A business structured as a

sustaining corporation acts with societal roleplayers in pursuit of corporate goals

underpinned by sustainability policies, which collectively contribute to a more

sustainable future. Key goals within and beyond the business are for social equity and

the well-being of people. The business model is often people-centred, with the

involvement of staff, community and social stakeholders in determining business

strategy. The sustaining corporation then practices the triple-bottom-line, showing a

concern for Profit, Planet and People as a business imperative. Benn et al (2006)

acknowledge that each business will respond differently to the need to incorporate

sustainability, and not all businesses will necessarily move sequentially through all the

stages. Some businesses quickly realise the benefit of embracing sustainability or do

so with strategic intent from the start-up of the business.

Business is starting to realise the value of integrating sustainability as a business

operating principle. Polman (2012) refers to the need to develop business models that

decouple corporate growth from its environmental footprint whilst simultaneously

increasing positive social impacts. Polman (2012) frames this within the need for a

new code of ethics for business that is long-term focused, views business as an

integral part of society, with companies following business approaches that seek to

address bigger social and environmental issues that confront humanity and in which

community needs carry equal weight as the demands of shareholders.

Thus, the modern business context is shifting towards a more holistic

conceptualisation of sustainability, as a value that needs to be deliberately and

consciously built into the design and essence of a business.

2.8 BUSINESS MODELS INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY

There are different ways in which business models can incorporate sustainability.

Mont and Bleischwitz (2007) are of the view that business strategies to incorporate

and demonstrate greater concern for sustainability have tendered to focus more on

eco-efficient means of production and better product design. Mont and Bleischwitz

(2007) suggest that many opportunities to develop more sustainable business

practices open up when the entire product life cycle is taken into account. This they


46

frame as life-cycle thinking, in which the entire production process is mapped, from

conceptual design to raw material sourcing, production energy consumption

implications, taking product to market to the point of product disposal, even if this latter

act is the responsibility of the consumer (Mont & Bleischwitz 2007). At each step,

innovation opportunities are sought to introduce more sustainable practices.

The Marrakech Process, which was a United Nations initiative to encourage countries

to develop ten year plans for sustainable consumption and production (Marrakech

Process 2010), also advocates strongly for a life-cycle perspective if there is to be

world progress in containing worsening environmental conditions and moving towards

more sustainable ways of living. Figure 2.5 is a model that outlines a product life-cycle

perspective that should inform and underpin initiatives to produce goods and services

more sustainably.

Figure 2.5: Lifecycle Model for Sustainable Consumption and Production

Source: Marrakech Process (2010:9)

Figure 2.5 shows how the life-cycle perspective enables an integrated approach,

whilst focussing on both production and consumption. In so doing, the economic,


47

social and environmental impacts of goods and services are examined at each stage

of the production process, from product design through to product disposal.

Sustainability implications, such as raw material choice, resource use, energy

consumption, efficiency, emissions, bio-degradability, to name a few, need to be

considered at each stage. The model also includes the external factors that impact on

the production and consumption of goods and services. Firstly, production and

consumption choices are dependent on and guided by policy and regulatory

frameworks that underpin the wider economic system. Conducive policy frameworks

can promote sustainability, using a variety of instruments, incentives and measures.

Values and lifestyles also influence consumption choices and, together with

technological and social innovation, shape decisions at each stage of the production

life-cycle. Again, these choices can either promote or inhibit sustainability. The model

points to the fact that as stakeholders, governments, business, labour and consumers

all have a role to play in the shift towards more sustainable production and

consumption patterns and practices.

Mont and Bleischwitz (2007) extend life-cycle thinking to “beyond the factory gate”. In

the context of increased global trade, such a holistic life-cycle approach would extend

to a consideration of issues such as the economic, social and environmental impact

of pre-production processes. For example, raw material extraction methods and

working conditions in countries of origin as well as energy use and emissions during

transportation of the raw materials to the site of production. Similarly, with post-

production processes, the economic, social and environmental impact must be

considered if products are exported or if products are sent to a different country for

disposal. In this way, business incorporates social sustainability, equity, community

voice and environmental sustainability considerations into business and production

models. This is premised on the notion that business must view itself as an integral

part of society, with businesses following approaches to their operations that seek to

address the bigger social and environmental issues that confront humanity. The

sustainability implications of all these “beyond the factory gate” processes must also

be factored into the product life-cycle model.

Arising from the Marrakech Process, the development of sustainability indicators is

another method proposed to encourage business to introduce more sustainable


48

practices. Indicators are also needed that track progress with the implementation of

sustainable production and consumption. Alongside the life‐cycle analysis, different

methods and tools can be used such as measuring “footprints” of goods and services

on the environment as well as their impacts on communities and workers (Marrakech

Process 2010). In addition to Smith’s (2014) proposition that businesses adopt a clear

sustainability vision and plan, businesses can develop sustainability indices to

measure progress with the implementation of more sustainable business practices.

Doing so, will generate valuable information as the basis for further improvement and

to stimulate innovation.

Thus, examining each stage of the production life-cycle to identify opportunities to

adapt business practices presents a useful model for how to introduce more

sustainable methods. By tracking progress in this regard, sustainability indicators can

further assist businesses to incorporate sustainability, which can be used as a

business differentiator to drive competitiveness and attract consumers.

2.9 BUSINESS SECTORS’ MODELS INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY

A further avenue for arriving at a framework to incorporate sustainability into business

practices, would be to consider examples of how different business sectors have been

experimenting with implementing more sustainable business models.

2.9.1 Construction Sector Sustainability Model

One such sector in which businesses have begun to apply life-cycle thinking as an

approach to incorporating sustainability into business strategies, is the building and

construction sector. The application of the principles of sustainability has resulted in

what is termed green building, green construction or sustainable design. Examining

what constitutes green construction provides useful concepts that can be adapted

when developing guidelines for what would constitute sustainability in the business

context. Farahat and Emad Bakry (2012) set out the constitutive elements of green

consumption, the most important being an awareness that how and what is built now,

impacts on the future. In this regard, the entire building and construction process must

intentionally seek to balance inputs and outputs. Sustainability must be considered at

every step throughout a building’s life-cycle, from location-seeking to design, material


49

selection, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, spending and

construction. Green building deliberately expands and complements what Farahat and

Emad Bakry (2012:1) describe as “the classical building design concerns of economy,

utility, durability, and comfort,” which incorporates energy efficiencies for lighting,

power, water and reticulation. Other business sectors can learn from the green

building model and, similarly, consider the possible impact on the future, both

environmentally and on resource consumption. This should be done at each step of

the production life-cycle, and adaptions should be made to introduce more sustainable

production methods, which, in turn, would encourage sustainable consumption.

2.9.2 South African Wine Industry Sustainability Model

A segment of the South African wine producing industry has organised themselves as

Sustainable Wine South Africa, which drives the industry’s commitment to production

that is sustainable and eco-friendly (SWSA 2015). Table 2.2 sets out the eight pillars

of the industry’s business model to fulfil this commitment.

Table 2.2: Wine Industry Sustainability Model

Business Model Dimension

Aim of the Initiative

Hannuwa Producers Values-Charter

To promote an awareness campaign among producers (farmers) to commit to values-based ways of working that promote living in sustainable harmony with each other and the natural environment, and to sign a pledge to demonstrate this commitment

Bio-diversity To promote changes in farming practices that enhance the suitability of vineyards as habitat for biodiversity, and the setting aside of land for conservation so that the wine industry's conservation footprint is well in excess of its current vineyard footprint (Bio-diversity Wine Initiative)

Integrity To guarantee the trustworthiness of all information relating to origin, cultivar and vintage as stated on the label (Wine of Origin certification system)


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Business Model Dimension

Aim of the Initiative

Sustainability To comply with the Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) scheme, which provides buyers with a guarantee that grape production was undertaken with due consideration of the environment, and that the wine was produced in an environmentally-responsible manner and is safe for the consumer

The IPW scheme is an industry-wide, technical certification and labelling system of sustainable wine production.The IPW also provides guidelines specifying good agricultural, production and manufacturing practices, as well as an independently-audited, self-evaluation mechanism to assess compliance

Traceability To institute a designator system to trace product back to source and to enable any operator in the supply chain (from wine grape grower, to wine producer, to supplier of substances intended to be incorporated into wine, to distributor, to exporter, to retailer) to identify any person or business from whom they have been supplied with wine. For example, a new information-seal on the wine bottle to link the vineyard to the growing practices in that vineyard

Climate Change To develop resources including an information portal on climate change and agriculture issues, a carbon calculator tool for South African fruit and wine producers, exporters and supply chain, and a data-capturing resource able to provide valuable benchmarking statistics and trends for the industry

Ethical Trading To promote ethical trade in the sector. The Wine Industry Ethical Trade Association (WIETA) is a not-for-profit, voluntary association of different wine industry stakeholders, who are committed to ethical trade. Stakeholders include producers, retailers, trade unions, non-governmental organisations and government. WIETA's works collaboratively with stakeholders to improve the working conditions of workers in the wine value chain. Tools include codes of good practice and certification labelling on product labels

Organic and Bio-dynamic

To recognise the sustainability contribution of organic wine production and bio-dynamic production

Source: Adapted from SWSA (2015)


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Table 2.2 describes a number of initiatives that the South African wine industry has

developed to encourage the introduction of more sustainable wine production

methods. The various initiatives incorporate both environmental and social

sustainability. The advocacy initiatives such as Hannuwa commitment pledge, and

Bio-diversity Wine aim to change mind-sets and, through this, to introduce more

sustainable business practices, both in terms of production processes as well as

human resource practices. These changes are then embedded by industry

participants committing to codes of good practice and value charters as well as

complying with industry good practice guidelines. The development of tools such as

the carbon calculator enables bench-marking, monitoring and measuring progress

towards sustainability. The industry has also demonstrated a keen awareness of

consumer protection issues, such as ensuring product safety through-out the supply

chain by implementing a comprehensive product traceability system. Labelling and

product information systems have also been set-up to offer consumers the opportunity

to make more informed consumption choices, as well as to have information available

in the event that they wish to seek re-dress, for example, if product quality is poor. The

sustainability and ethical trading certification labelling also enables consumers to

differentiate between products, exercise choice and influence their spend to purchase

products that contribute to social and environmental sustainability. This should this be

important to the individual consumer.

The wine industry is applying strategic pro-activity and become a “sustaining

corporation” as set out in the Benn et al (2006) pyramid whilst following the tenets of

Elkington’s (1997) triple bottom line model. In so doing, the South African wine industry

has taken visible steps to incorporate sustainability into the production of wine. As a

result, the industry is implementing all dimensions set out in the definition of

sustainability that has been crafted for the purposes of this study, namely, developing

and promoting an industry-wide business model that adopts an integrated and holistic

approach to production and consumption that is mindful of the impact on global

resources; takes future needs into consideration; and is multi-facetted, straddling all

dimensions of the production and consumption life-cycle. The wine industry case study

also offers best practices that can be considered by other sectors wishing to

incorporate sustainability into business production and consumption models.


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2.10 INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO BUSINESS PRACTICES

The issues discussed in this chapter provide the basis for a framework for

incorporating sustainability into business strategically and pro-actively, rather than

being compelled to do so by legislation. Introducing and advancing sustainability can

be enabled by the business doing the following:

Adopting an integrated business model that clearly-defines sustainability and

that decouples corporate growth from its environmental footprint whilst

simultaneously increasing positive social impacts, and reflects this in the triple

bottom line, namely, concern for profit, people and the planet

Using the life-cycle approach, to examine the economic, social and

environmental impacts of goods and services at each stage of the production

process, namely, from product design, through to disposal, and then pro-

actively adapting, innovating and (re)designing production processes to be

more sustainable

Developing a sector-based self-regulatory sustainability model foregrounded

by a sustainability vision and with a clear plan as a blue-print against which to

track and measure success, and which integrates consumer protection

measures related to sustainability

2.11 SUMMARY

This chapter defined sustainability, firstly, within the broader global context, and then

moving to locate sustainability in the business context. The processes that have

underpinned the emergence of a globally-acceptable definition of sustainability were

tracked, showing how the concept of sustainability emerged from the notion of

sustainable development and sustainable consumption and production. The global

debates around sustainability triggered similar debates and initiatives to incorporate

sustainability into consumer protection. These dual developments underpinned the

rationale for business explore ways to adapt business practices to incorporate

sustainability into business and production processes and into their consumer

protection strategies and activities.


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Chapter 2 also set how adopting a life-cycle approach to production and service

delivery can enable businesses to begin to adapt production processes to incorporate

more sustainable approaches. This model takes pre- and post-production

sustainability impact issues into account. The chapter also provided examples of ways

in which sustainability has been incorporated into production processes within certain

industry sectors such as the building and construction sector and the South African

wine production industry. In Chapter 3, consumer protection policy and the role of

business are outlined.

CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND THE ROLE OF BUSINESS CHAPTER THREE

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CHAPTER THREE

CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND THE ROLE OF

BUSINESS

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Chapter 2 outlined the development of global thinking concerning the need for an

awareness of sustainability implications when considering consumption and

production choices. In arriving at a definition of sustainability, for the purposes of this

study, key elements of the definition are the importance of considering the needs of

future generations when making consumption-related decisions as well as examining

the inter-relatedness of economic, social and environmental issues and how these

intersect and impact when considering sustainability. Sustainability was considered

within the business context, looking specifically at the rationale for business to shift

towards incorporating sustainability into business practices and production processes.

Chapter 3 builds on these theoretical constructs and focuses on the interface

between sustainability and consumer protection policy. The premise is that consumer

protection policy is located within the rubric of public policy. Thus, Chapter 3 begins

with an exposition of public policy, what it entails, how is it defined, what different

approaches could underlie it, and the architecture of the policy-making process.

Thereafter, the framing of public policy within broader social and economic policy

arguments, and public policy positions that relate to sustainability and consumer

protection are explored, both globally and within the South African context.

Specifically, in view of the focus of the study, ways in which sustainability has been

incorporated into consumer protection policy are foregrounded.

Public policy must, by its nature, be implemented. Chapter 3, therefore, also

discusses mechanisms for encouraging and enabling policy adherence and

enforcement, with a view to distilling options for ensuring a willingness by business to

introduce voluntary mechanisms for incorporating sustainability into consumer

protection-related practices, or if need be, measures to compel business to comply

with sustainability imperatives within consumer protection policy. These policy

measures and mechanisms that can enable and promote sustainability in the realm of

consumer protection inform the framework that is being developed to incorporate this


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into South African policy. The chapter concludes with an overview of how business

views consumer protection.


In Chapter 1, a number of secondary objectives were identified to give effect to the

primary objective of the study. These objectives were incorporated into the conceptual

framework of the research process. Figure 3.1 illustrates where Chapter 3 fits into the

research process.


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3.3 DEFINITION OF POLICY AND PUBLIC POLICY

To develop consumer protection policy that supports sustainability, there is a need to

understand the policy arena and how, firstly, policy, and, secondly, public policy is

defined and developed.

Moran, Rein and Goodin (2006:205) trace the origins of policy from the late 1800s,

with a view to identifying sources of policy impetus, noting that “policies may reflect a

variety of intentions and ideas: some vague, some specific, some conflicting and some

unarticulated”. Intentions and ideas need to be advocated for by “policy activists” who

work with the broader prevailing political decision-making system to influence thinking

and convince decision-makers of the need to develop policy on an identified issue

prevailing in society. Moran et al (2006:208) further argue that policies can either

reflect intentions or actions, but, in most instances, are a mixture of both.

Althaus, Bridgman and Davis (2012) point to a wide body of scholarship in the field of

policy studies and the resulting numerous definitions of policy. These definitions speak

to the function and purpose of policy, and what would constitute the characteristics or

elements of sound policy (see Figure 3.2).

Figure 3.2: Characteristics of Sound Policy


Serves as a statement of intent to achieve specified goals

Applies to a particular problem or set of circumstances

Reflects a choice made from among alternative options

Provides guidelines, sets standards to be followed

Codifies a set of goals and determines a course of action

Informs resource allocation


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Figure 3.2 shows that policy determines what can or cannot be done under particular

circumstances and guides how related actions should or should not happen. Policy is

specific in nature and is developed to solve a particular problem or manage a particular

situation. Policy provides a framework to guide decision-making and resource

allocation, and determines the course of action/s to be taken. When policy is made by

Government, at any level, and including by state entities and agencies, this is termed

public policy. Geurts (2010:6) defines public policy as “a choice that government

makes in response to a political issue or a public problem” and “refers to the decisions

and actions of government and the intentions that determine those decisions and

actions”. Young and Quinn (2002:6) move beyond a definition of public policy to

highlight core elements that are included in a wide range of definitions, namely, that

public policy is:

authoritative government action

reaction to real world needs or problems

goal-oriented: seeking to achieve particular objectives to solve or address a

particular need

course of action: a strategy rather than a single decision

decision to do something or a decision to do nothing

carried out by a single actor or a set of actors

justification for action: outlining a statement of the reasoning behind the policy

decision made: not an intention or promise

Thus, public policy is the domain of government and reflects choices government has

or has not made about a specific area of public administration responsibility. Page (in

Moran et al 2006) indicates that public policy can either constitute a basket of related

measures, constructed in unison to constitute policy. Alternatively, policy can be more

narrowly-defined as a particular law, measure or “soft-law” instrument such as a

government circular. For the purposes of this study, public policy is defined as the

blue-print for what government has committed to do and which actions will be taken in

order to implement service delivery by government.

Public policy spans the wide array of administrative functions under the auspices of

government, for example, social policy, economic policy, financial policy,


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environmental policy as well as all the policy sub-sets within each of these policy

domains. Considering the context of the current study, consumer protection policy is

a sub-set within the domain of public policy and establishes the parameters within

which the economy and private sector business role-players must operate in relation

to consumers. For the purposes of this study, it was important to reflect on how

business views incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy as well as

possible choices about which mechanisms would be preferable to include in policy to

help achieve more sustainable production mechanisms and more sustainable

consumption behaviour. This helped to develop what should constitute a framework

for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy that business would be

obliged to implement.

3.4 APPROACHES TO PUBLIC POLICY

Policy-making is subject to the organisational context, the political context and the

wider public. The central aspects of policy-making are politics, power and people In

the sense of people, those who either advocate for policy on a particular issue, or

people, such as consumers, whose lives and behaviours are impacted upon by a

prevailing policy (Peters & Pierre 2006). The relative influence of these three central

aspects determines the dominant impetus that triggers the policy process and has

resulted in a number of different approaches to policy-making and the policy process,

as illustrated in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1: Approaches to Policy-Making

Approach Impetus for Policy

Institutional approach Government institutions trigger policy development

Process approach Policy decisions are made at pre-identified stages

Group theory approach Policy is the equilibrium determined by the relative influence of interest groups

Elite theory approach Policy is determined by the interests and values of elite groups, and policy will change contingent on elites re-defining their own values


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Approach Impetus for Policy

Rational theory approach Policy maximises values: social, political and economic

Game theory approach Policy is determined by the effects of participants’ decisions on each other

Incremental theory approach Policy is a continuation of past government practices with only minor modifications

Public choice theory approach Policy is driven by political actors seeking to maximise their personal benefits in politics as well as in the market-place

Systems theory approach Policy is a response of a political system to forces brought to bear upon it from other systems

Interactive approach Policy formulation is an inter-active process, with conflict arising from different interests and influences as the impetus

Complexity approach Recognises that government does not know best, and that all policymaking takes place in conditions of uncertainty and flux

Evidence-based approach Policy is developed, amended and evaluated for effectivity using research-based evidence and evaluation

Source: Researcher’s Own Construct, adapted from Fitzgerald, McLennan and

Munslow (1995:504)

Table 3.1 shows that policy formulation can be initiated from a variety of sources,

either within government itself or by pressure groups that have an interest in a

particular public policy issue. If interest groups are oppositional, either to existing

government policy positions or to other interest groups active in a particular public

policy domain, policy formulation will be characterised by vigorous debate and

negotiation, with contenders defending and advancing their respective interests. Thus,

Orkin et al (in Fitzgerald, McLennan, & Munslow 1995:504) note that public policy

formulation is complicated, and is a dynamic social process, as opposed to a once-off

single act. Further, that final policy positions arrived at are an aggregation of many

smaller decisions taken over the course of the policy development process. Parsons


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(2002) refers to this as the “complexity perspective” which recognises that all policy-

making takes place in conditions of uncertainty and flux.

Mthethwa (2012:41) indicates that the approach to policy-making will differ, depending

on prevailing circumstances. When there is political stability and government is

functioning normally, institutional or incremental approaches to public policy are more

likely. However, times of conflict, changes in political administration and mass-based

interest group campaigning, can precipitate rapid policy changes. Two key factors that

need to be taken into account irrespective of the policy approach adopted are, firstly,

the need to consider social, political and contextual factors, and, secondly, the need

to engage and involve stakeholders who will implement or benefit from the intended

policy. Failing to do so, will often impact on the eventual successful implementation of

the policy and achieving intended policy outcomes (Brynard 2009; Fox & Ferreira

2006; Kay 2006; Mthethwa 2012; Fitzgerald et al 1995).

The approach to the development of current consumer protection policy in South Africa

is unique, in that the ushering in of a democratic state in 1994 following the first

inclusive democratic elections triggered rapid policy change (Woker 2010). As with all

prevailing legislation at the time, the change in the political administration saw public

policy domains, including consumer protection policy, being radically-overhauled and

re-shaped. Thus, whilst government triggered this policy development, it cannot be

said to have followed a classical institutional approach, as described by Orkin et al (in

Fitzgerald et al 1995:417) in that the real policy-making trigger was the total change

of government, rather than an existing government fulfilling its responsibility to initiate

policy review and re-development, as is the more usual case when following an

institutional approach to policy development.

In the case of the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection (United Nations

Guidelines 2003), a more incrementalist approach to policy development was

adopted, incorporating an element of the complexity approach. This is largely as a

result of the fact that with each review of the guidelines, in the interest of achieving

broad consensus among all member-countries and interest groups present during

review sessions, new policy proposals were added to the guidelines incrementally

without refining and removing any existing policy provisions in the guidelines. This


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approach is reflective of having to adopt an approach to policy-making that balances

a wide range of interests advanced and put forward by different countries (IIED 2016).

This blended and less-definitive approach is workable at global levels because the

guidelines are non-prescriptive. Their purpose is not about enforceability and ensuring

compliance, but rather about sketching broad policy intentions, proposing guidelines

and attempting to influence the behaviour of governments in different countries to

develop and implement country-specific consumer protection policy instruments,

which are enforceable in law.

Approaches to policy-making are thus not absolute, and there can be overlaps and an

interplay between more than one approach, depending on the prevailing

circumstances. In reality, approaches to policy are not a linear enterprise, but rather

are discursive and iterative.

3.5 POLICY-MAKING PROCESS

Extrapolating from the definition, purpose and function of public policy described in

section 3.3, public policy is a means to transform political imperatives into guidelines

and laws according to which governments must act in response to various issues of

public interest. Public policy formulation is initiated in response to a problem that has

been identified, either pro-actively or re-actively. In the latter instance, the impetus for

developing public policy can be in response to ideas, proposals and problems raised

with government by stakeholders and interest groups. The stimulus for pro-actively

developing public policy is from within government itself, for example, implementing

manifesto commitments made to voters during elections, or responding to real-life

situations that have arisen, for example, in a community, within a municipal area or at

national level (Gumede 2008; Waller et al 2014). Public policy making follows a

sequence of steps as depicted in Figure 3.3.


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Figure 3.3: Public Policy-Making Process

Source: This Nation Textbook (2015 NP)

Figure 3.3 sets out five phases in the public policy-making process and the resultant

implementation thereof. Public policy is made by government on behalf of the public.

Once a problem has been identified and placed onto the public policy agenda, work

starts on analysing policy options and crafting a draft policy proposal. Government

officials lead in this process, and in democratic countries, public participation in the

policy-making process is usually invited. In the policy formulation, process factors such

as the impact of the policy on other policy objectives, administrative and budgetary

considerations, international best practice and public submissions need to be factored

in. Upon completion of the policy, it would follow the formal governmental decision-

making processes for its adoption. Public policy is implemented in dynamic socio-

political circumstances and in an environment of ever-shifting resource availability.

Regular evaluation is good practice, to assess the impact of the policy, the extent to

which it is meeting its stated intentions and the currency and relevance of the policy.

Policy evaluation can be evidence-based, drawing on actual tracking of real

circumstances as the basis for considering policy amendments.

Figure 3.3 portrays the policy-making process as a neat set of sequential actions,

suggesting that if these rational steps are followed, the desired policy outcomes will

be achieved. Brynard (2009:565) asserts that, on the contrary, in reality, policy-making

and implementation evolve in a dynamic socio-political context and are, as a result,


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an amorphous process, constantly shifting in content and emphasis. Mthethwa

(2012:39) refers to this as policy redefinition and adaptation as shaped by

implementation realities that manifest on the ground. Young and Quinn (2002:13)

suggest that the policy-making process needs to be regarded as “inherently iterative”

because each stage in the process in the cycle is able to inform previous and following

steps. Thus policy-making does not necessarily move sequentially through each step

of the cycle as set out in Figure 3.3, but rather the elements of each of the steps are

re-visited until an appropriate and acceptable outcome is arrived at.

Brynard (2006:258) further argues that accurate diagnosis of the policy problem is at

the core of successful policy implementation. Correctly determining the problem

critically informs the decision about whether or not policy intervention is necessary,

and, if so, what should be the nature of the intervention. However, social problems are

complex, unstructured and ambiguous, and the root causes are not easily identifiable.

This requires discernment on the part of the policy-maker to determine what the

correct policy solution may be. This is compounded in the present day and age where

several complex linkages among inter-woven policy problems exist. Brynard

(2006:259) thus advocates spending time on problem identification and analysis,

posing a series of probing questions to more accurately determine the nature of the

problem and, thus, the most appropriate policy response. Incisive problem diagnosis

also enables policy-makers to prioritise which areas to select for policy intervention

from multiple socio-economic challenges prevailing in communities.

Notwithstanding these complexities that confront policy-making and implementation,

the steps set out in Figure 3.3 provide a useful tool that policy makers can utilise to

decide whether or not to initiate a policy intervention to address, for example, a

consumer-related problem that has arisen in the market, and to determine which policy

instrument would be best-suited to address the identified problem. Table 1.4 in

Chapter 1 set out factors which can either enable or inhibit effective policy

implementation. Each of these factors needs to be taken into consideration when

developing a policy-implementation strategy.


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3.6 MECHANISMS FOR POLICY ADHERENCE AND ENFORCEMENT

Public policies are most often encapsulated into legislation to enable and ensure

implementation of the policy objectives. Policy can also take the form of guidelines,

and recommended courses of action, such as self-regulatory measures that

businesses and industry develop and adhere to voluntarily. Regulation can thus either

be self-regulatory, with the applicable industry or business sector taking on this

responsibility; or co-regulatory, with the regulatory government entity working in

partnership with industry to ensure compliance; or regulatory, in the instance where

the state is responsible for adherence to policy by the role-players to whom the policy

is applicable (Australian Review 2008).

As a rule, legislation enacting public policy contains mechanisms to ensure adherence

to policy, and a suite of enforcement tools in the event that policy is not adhered to.

Brown (in Australian Review 2012:117) constructed a “compliance pyramid” to

illustrate the escalating severity of sanctions when there is breach of the law, as

illustrated in Figure 3.4.

Figure 3.4: Policy Compliance Pyramid

Source: Australian Review (2008:117)

Criminal penalties/disqualification

Civil penalties

Administrative instruments: compliance or infringement notices; warnings; out-of-court

settlements

Industry self-regulation or co-regulation

Consumer education & information; industry/business compliance programmes


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Figure 3.4 illustrates that public policy incorporates tools to encourage and ensure

compliance with the policy. At the base of the pyramid is the pro-active dimension of

educating consumers and businesses about the content of the policy. The logic is that

an informed consumer is able to draw attention to instances of lack of adherence to

policy, with a view to corrective action being taken, either voluntarily by the business

concerned or by activating regulatory redress mechanisms. Businesses can also

initiate in-house or sector-wide compliance programmes as a form of voluntary

compliance. These initiatives demonstrate willingness to pro-actively align business

practices with policy intentions, and, in-so-doing, lessen the chances of punitive

enforcement for lack of compliance. Sector self-regulation initiatives can also set

compliance standards that are more exacting and progressive than the legislative

requirements or that introduce policy innovations, as described in the case study of

the South African wine industry in Chapter 2 (see Section 2.9.2). Tools at the two base

layers of the pyramid are persuasive in nature, motivating citizens and businesses to

mediate their own behavior and voluntarily comply with policy measures.

Within the compliance pyramid, as non-compliance with policy escalates, either owing

to repeated acts and behaviours which are in violation of the policy prescripts or owing

to the seriousness of the breach and its broader impact on society, more severe

sanctions become applicable. A first-level compliance mechanism could be an

administrative settlement instrument. These are enforceable compliance undertakings

that will be acted upon should the non-compliance persist or the infringement be

repeated. These instruments give the violator the opportunity to self-correct to

become compliant. Civil remedies are used for restorative purposes, whilst

disqualifications such as cancellation of a license or permit, or criminal penalties

address non-compliance by preventing a business from continuing to operate and

ceasing to trade (Australian Review 2008).

Brown (in Australian Review 2012) notes that the effectiveness of the regulatory

regime is dependent on the upper levels of the pyramid and, specifically, the apex of

the pyramid being acted upon by regulatory agencies when there is non-compliance.

In this way the enforcement is real, and seen to be real by stakeholders. This in itself

serves to dissuade others from non-compliance.


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The aim of a regulatory framework is to achieve fairness in outcomes and consistency

in application and implementation of the policy. Poorly-designed regulatory

frameworks result in excessive compliance costs and are burdensome to implement,

which, in turn, may become the cause of non-compliance. The appropriateness of

compliance measures and sanctions for non-compliance thus need to be carefully

thought through, preferably in consultation with those affected by the policy as well as

those who will be responsible for complying with implementing policy imperatives.

Business and industry role players are at the center of implementing consumer

protection policy. When introducing new policy measures, doing so in a manner which

requires incremental compliance may serve to reduce resistance to compliance, as

depicted in Figure 3.4. In the context of seeking ways in which to incorporate

sustainability into consumer protection, an example may be requiring a minimum

commitment to incorporating sustainability and thereafter allowing business sectors to

develop self-regulatory models to implement accordingly. This would then be a co-

regulatory policy implementation model which should be considered within the

proposed framework to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy.

3.7 CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY DOMAIN

Having provided an overview of the public policy-making process, and how public

policy enables service delivery, this section considers consumer protection policy as

the specific domain of public policy applicable to the study. This provides the context

within which to frame the incorporation of sustainability into consumer protection

policy. Starting from an economic perspective, consumer expenditure makes an

important contribution to the gross domestic product of an economy, an example being

that in 2012, it accounted for 56% of the European Union GDP (European Consumer

Agenda 2012) and 60% of the GDP of OECD countries (OECD Consumer Policy

Toolkit 2010:9). As such, consumer expenditure is a driver of economic growth.

Traditionally, economic policy frameworks have been regarded as the primary factor

influencing consumer policy. Anderson (2010) asserts that the policy environment

needs to take cognisance of the broader prevailing contextual socio-economic and

political factors, as these influence which policy decisions are ultimately taken. Given

the wide-ranging scope of consumer protection policy, as depicted in Figure 3.5 there


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are a multiplicity of policies, such as health, which need to be taken into account when

considering consumer policy.

Figure 3.5: Multiplicity of Policies Influencing Consumer Policy


Figure 3.5 shows that consumer policy cuts across a number of policy domains.

Consumer policy regulates the intersect between consumers, business and the

market. Macro-economic policy determines market behavior whilst micro-economic

policy impacts more directly on businesses. Both macro- and micro-economic policy

impact directly on the economic interests of consumers, which can be described as

price, quality, choice and redress (OECD Good Practices 2008:53). These aspects

have historically formed the core elements of consumer policy. Social policies such as

health, safety and environmental policies also intersect with consumer policy.


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Brown (in Australian Review 2012:126) argues that whilst public policy domains

generally overlap, consumer policy has more overlaps than other areas, as depicted

in Figure 3.6.

Figure 3.6: Consumer Policy Overlaps with Public Policy Domains


Figure 3.6 shows that consumer policy incorporates consumer empowerment and

consumer protection. Clearly evident is the inter-relationship between government and

business in relation to the development and implementation of consumer policy. The

inter-connectedness of consumer policy with other public policy domains such as

environment, health, social and transport policy is also depicted. This suggests that

government joined-up-ness, in the sense of inter-departmental co-ordination, is critical

to ensure sound policy development as well as effective implementation of consumer

policy. Mechanisms to enable this need to be established either through inter-

departmental protocols or in legislation. A possibility could be a cluster system in which

multiple departments work collaboratively as a group on cross-cutting policy issues to

achieve integrated policy development, design and implementation. This is critical to

achieve. The Consumer Protection Act of South Africa (2008) spells out the need for

harmonisation in a number of ways including:


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harmonised system of redress for consumers (section 3.1(h))

harmonization between national government and provincial governments

(section 83.1(a))

harmonization across regulatory authorities in the exercise of jurisdiction over

consumer matters (Section 97.1(b)(i))

Consumer policy has two primary dimensions, these being consumer protection and

consumer empowerment. Although interlinked, consumer protection is more pertinent

to this study. Consumer protection policy deals with economic issues such as

combating market irregularities and ensuring consumer access to goods and services,

whilst also incorporating social dimensions such as protecting the health and safety of

consumers (OECD Good Practices 2008). Round and Sporer (2003) propose that

consumer protection legislation can regulate seller behaviour and can specifically

prohibit behaviour that serves to disadvantage consumers. Fischer (2014) argues that

owing to the relative weak position of the individual consumer when transacting with a

business that is inherently more powerful, consumer protection is needed to

compensate for the consumer’s lack of bargaining power. Fischer (2014) further

argues that consumer protection measures stimulate economic activity because

consumers have more confidence to make purchases knowing that consumer

protection policy offers them recourse should there be problems in the course of the

transaction.

Traditional consumer protection policy has focused on consumer protection and

safety, and aimed to provide protection from unsafe and unfair business practices

(Kuneva 2009) Consumer protection policy began to be recognised as contributing to

sustainable development through measures to advocate for sustainable consumption

and production (Consumers International 2013). In this way, consumer protection

policy can provide consumers with information not only about the safety of products

and services, but also allow consumers to make consumption choices that do not

jeopardise the livelihoods of future generations.

Consumer protection policy can play a key role in the choices that consumers make

and, if well-designed and implemented, can direct consumer spend in support of the

goal of sustainability and sustainable consumption, or what has come to be termed as


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green growth. This demands a much broader policy outlook, basing consumer

protection intentions on concepts of well-being and social justice. Using consumer

spend to drive sustainability requires a deliberate intention on the part of policy makers

to move away from the more conventional framing of consumer policy, which has

tended to focus on the economic interests of consumers, such as price, quality, choice

and redress. The remit of consumer policy should be extended to include measures

that examine and make explicit the environmental and social consequences and

impact of consumer choices and in-so-doing influence consumers towards more

sustainable lifestyles.

3.8 CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY TOOLS

Consumer protection policy comprises a range of tools to regulate consumer-business

transactional relationships, from both a demand and a supply side perspective as set

out in Figure 3.7.

Figure 3.7: Demand and Supply Side Consumer Protection Policy Tools

Source: OECD Consumer Policy Toolkit (2010:119)


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Figure 3.7 illustrates a range of consumer protection policy options that can be put into

place. Demand-side options relate to consumer empowerment and base-line

consumer rights. Supply-side measures focus on modifying business and industry

behaviour. There are also policy provisions that have elements of both supply and

demand options such as financial instruments. Karsten and Reich (2008:45) argue

that demand-side policy tools, such as information and awareness initiatives are “light

touch”, and that whilst a useful starting point for introducing new policy measures, they

are not sufficient on their own to ensure consumer protection. They need to

complemented by supply-side instruments, which prevent or sanction unlawful

behavior. This aligns well with the approach underpinning the compliance pyramid

model set out in Figure 3.4, in which compliance tools which start with consumer

education measures to mediate business behaviour, and escalate to sanctions and

penalties as enforcement strategies.

When considering the proposed framework to incorporate sustainability into consumer

protection policy in South Africa, it was necessary to consider both demand- and

supply-side policy measures.

3.9 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION

Having considered the theoretical underpinnings of consumer protection policy, this

section provides an international perspective on policy options that have been

included into the policy and legislative framework in a number of countries. Table 3.2

outlines developments in consumer protection across a number of countries.


73

Table 3.2: International Consumer Protection Policy Developments

Country Consumer Protection Developments Author

Australia Tracked the evolution of consumer protection, from the “buyer beware” approach of the 1950-60s to the 1970-80s mode of conferring rights on consumers with concomitant regulatory provisions to enforce these; to now relying more on industry self-regulation or co-regulation with government. Locating the responsibility for consumer protection with businesses themselves is proving to be more efficient, more responsive to consumer needs, and sparking the introduction of innovations such as consumer charters and on-site complaints resolution through hot-lines and in-house consumer affairs departments. This spins off into competitive advantage in the market.

Smith (2000)

Expanded on the benefits of self-regulation and co-regulation, with examples cited as ensuring consistency and good practice, raising standards, and providing incentives that encourage addressing short-comings.

Howell (2015)

Critiqued the effectiveness of the regulatory authority, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), identifying ways in which its interpretation of its mandate had sparked a negative reaction from business. Confidence in the capability of the ACCC is low, owing to the perception that it misunderstands commercial realities and has a poor grasp of the market, which it is meant to regulate. An over-focus on competition issues also squeezes out consumer protection issues, placing these on the back-burner, and thus questioning the efficacy of housing competition and consumer protection responsibilities within one regulatory authority.

Kates (2002)


74


Costa Rica Analysed consumer protection policy, which similar to many Central American countries has been slow in its development but now encompasses consumer rights as set out in the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection. Described the consumer protection model as a mixed-model inclusive of a mix of private and public components. Private sector self-regulation is encouraged owing to state resource constraints and a national focus on prioritising social programmes such as health care, education, housing, education, and transportation. Effective self-regulation is the adoption of quality measures and a Manual of Good Practices of Consumer Protection which encourages a culture of voluntary compliance by traders.

Delgadillo (2013)

Germany Demonstrated that sustainability reporting is an important mechanism for entities, particularly public entities, to account to consumers as users of services, in line with quality standards and ensuring consumer protection. Citizen accountability is a key form of public accountability which makes provision for systematic consultation with consumer representatives to give consumers a voice in decision-making. A core component of sustainability reporting is demonstrating that services are delivered in an effective and efficient way including both environmental and social compatibility and impact dimensions.

Greiling and Grüb (2014)

Japan Explained the policy shifts in consumer protection as a result of rapid economic growth which simultaneously increased the number and type of consumer problems. The policy premise is that there is a discrepancy in quality and quantity of information and the negotiating power between consumers and business operators, hence the need for consumer protection legislation. Policy sets the onus business enterprises to secure the safety of consumers, provide fairness in contracts with consumers, and provide necessary information to consumers in a clear and plain manner.

Tani (2009)


75


Jordan Examined attitudes towards and the perceived status of the protection of consumer rights. Similar to other developing countries, limited attention has been afforded to the development of consumer protection within public policy, with the role of government generally weak and consumers not aware of their rights nor active in advocating for better protection.

Alsmadi and Khizindar (2013)

Saudi Arabia Investigated satisfaction of consumers with consumer protection agencies. The situation with regard to consumerism in Saudi Arabia was beginning to change and would require businesses to adapt to new consumer protection requirements. Consumer protection agencies are now more organised and there is a higher degree of consumer consciousness.

Salem, Sohail and Al-Khaldi (2007)

United States of America

Noted consumer protection mechanisms in the USA have strengthened in recent years, with businesses on the other hand arguing for limiting consumer protection regulations to ensure global competitiveness. In a comparative analysis of consumer protection in the USA and the European Union (EU), found that consumers enjoy better judicial protections in the USA but had to depend on litigation through the court system for redress. Consumers in the EU had access to an affordable and accessible alternative dispute resolution system to address grievances, and thus better access to justice. The EU has stronger regulations about the provision of information to consumers before they make choices in an attempt to prevent consumer issues from arising in the first place

Fischer (2014)


Table 3.2 illustrates consumer protection developments and how these have been

embedded in policy in a range of countries. Noticeably absent, is information on

perspectives on consumer protection within African countries. The research study

attempted to address this short-coming by focusing on consumer protection policy

initiatives in African countries, and specifically ways in which sustainability is being

incorporated.


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3.10 SOUTH AFRICAN CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY

The international perspectives set out in Section 3.9 provided a useful background

against which to examine South African consumer protection policy. The consumer

protection policy that was analysed in this study is the policy and legislation that which

was developed after the installation of the first democratic government in 2004. The

ushering in of a new representative political democracy and public management

system saw rapid policy overhaul in all public policy domains, including consumer

protection. South Africa thus followed an institutional approach to policy making which

saw government, through the Department of Trade and Industry, initiate consumer

protection policy development (DTI 2010). Figure 3.8 maps the South African resultant

policy framework that was developed.

Figure 3.8: South African Consumer Policy Framework Map


Figure 3.8 shows that in South Africa, policy-making is initiated by the responsible line

function government department, which develops a policy position paper, termed a

White Paper. In the case of consumer protection policy, the responsible department is

Trade and Industry. Following invitations for public comment, the policy is formulated


77

as draft legislation, which is then considered by Parliament as the legislative arm of

the state.

The outcome of the South African consumer protection policy development process

was the promulgation of two statutes, namely, the National Credit Act No. 34 (National

Credit Act South African 2005) and the Consumer Protection Act No. 68 (Consumer

Protection Act South Africa 2008) which came into effect in October 2010. The

Consumer Protection Act (2008) is of particular relevance to the current research

study. The policy intention is clearly-stated as “to promote a fair, accessible and

sustainable marketplace for consumer products and services and for that purpose to

establish national norms and standards relating to consumer protection” (Consumer

Protection Act South Africa 2008:1). The applicability and coverage of the Act extends

to most transactions by individual members of the general public for goods and

services. This Act provides for the protection of consumers whenever they purchase

goods and services, and as such regulates consumer-supplier interaction. The

National Credit Act (2005) is noteworthy for the purposes of this study to the extent

that it establishes the National Consumer Tribunal, which offers redress, though to a

limited extent, in the event of non-compliance with aspects of the two Acts. More

extensive redress falls within the ambit of the judicial courts such as the Magistrate

and Appeal courts.

Figure 3.8 further indicates that the South African consumer protection framework has

been designed to incorporate the full suite of compliance tools and measures set out

in the Policy Compliance Pyramid in Figure 3.4. It has criminal sanctions and

administrative penalties and fines for non-compliance; compliance is enforceable

through the regulators, the courts and the National Consumer Tribunal, whilst

voluntary self-regulation is undertaken by industry bodies. Consumer education is also

promoted.

The issues that the Consumer Protection Act (2008) seeks to address are set out in a

pre-amble to the Act. Developed against the back-drop of the social and economic

inequality that prevailed at the time, the Act reflects a deliberately pro-poor stance to

fulfil the rights of previously-disadvantaged people in their role as consumers. Also it

is deliberate in its intention to provide redress against abuse and exploitation in the


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marketplace and to foreground a rights-based approach in favour of consumers. As

the centre-piece of South African consumer protection policy, the Act is very deliberate

in its intention to promote the rights of consumers, particularly previously

disadvantaged and vulnerable consumers, and to protect the economic interests of

consumers. To this effect, the legislation is rights-based in its formulation, enumerating

and establishing eight consumer rights, namely:

Right of equality in the consumer market

Right to privacy

Right to choose

Right to disclosure and information

Right to fair and responsible marketing

Right to fair and honest dealing

Right to fair, just and reasonable terms and conditions

Right to fair value, good quality and safety

This right-based approach offers consumers a broad base to leverage protection when

transacting in the South African economy. The rights need to be examined to

determine if any of these rights deal with sustainability and sustainable consumption

and production. Certain of the rights do this to some extent, such as the right to safety,

but this is in an elementary fashion, relating to a consumer’s right to safe good quality

goods. This right does not, for example, extend to the right to goods that have been

produced in ways that protect the safety of consumers from environmental

degradation. Other rights, such as the right to disclosure and information, offer

consumers access to environmental information through product labelling and country

of origin information. These mechanisms provide consumers with some information to

assess the “sustainability footprint impact” of goods, but does not compel business to

provide this information for each stage of the product life-cycle. Thus, South African

consumer protection legislation incorporates certain elements relating to sustainability

but this is not comprehensive, and has not been clearly set-out in relation to each of

the eight consumer rights encompassed in law. During the course of the study, ways

in which other countries have incorporated sustainability were examined, with a view

to developing a framework to achieve this, and then recommending legislative

amendments to reflect this accordingly.


79

Consumer protection measures may be found in other pieces of South African

legislation such as the Standards Act No. 8 (Standards Act South Africa 2008), which

provides for the development, promotion and maintenance of standardisation and

quality in connection with commodities and the rendering of related conformity

assessment services, and the Competition Act No 89 (Competition Act South Africa

1998), which ensures the competitiveness of the marketplace, which, in turn, ensures

more favourable pricing for consumers. The National Environmental Management Act

No. 107 (National Environmental Management Act South Africa 1998) is concerned

with environmental governance and the social, economic and environmental impact of

activities. It sets sustainable development as an imperative, in the interests of the

needs of future generations. Further, it identifies that pollution and waste should be

avoided where possible, alternately, minimised and remedied, whilst encouraging re-

use and recycling. Although the Act does not specifically address consumer

protection, it does make reference to responsibility for the environmental health and

safety consequences of a policy, product or service (amongst others) through-out its

life-cycle (see Section 2.4 (e)). There is scope to harmonise environmental

management policy more closely with consumer protection policy and to lift out

deliberate areas of cross-over in the interest of strengthening consumer rights. Whilst

the National Environmental Management Act (1998) does not deal specifically with

sustainability and consumer protection, the approach of setting-out broad principles

within legislation is a model that would be worth considering when looking for

mechanisms to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy.

3.11 CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY AND HOW IT IS VIEWED BY

BUSINESS

Business has a central role to play in implementing consumer protection legislation by

ensuring that business processes are compliant. It is important to consider how

business views consumer protection policy generally, and also how business may

respond to amendments to consumer protection policy to incorporate sustainability.

Jacobs, Stoop and van Niekerk (2010) and Woker (2010) share the view that given

the strong rights-based orientation and that the Consumer Protection Act (2008) is

written in favour of the consumer, compliance by businesses is onerous, with

significant implementation costs, to the point of being economically burdensome and


80

costly to those who supply products and services. Both respectively conclude that

despite the high-compliance burden placed on business, the legislation is, however,

necessary to protect the rights of consumers, to prevent their exploitation in the

marketplace and to eradicate unethical and improper business practices. Business

may thus resist policy amendments to incorporate sustainability if these further

increase the burden of compliance. It may thus be important to consider a more

incremental approach to the introduction of sustainability measures other than through

detailed legislative compliance requirements.

One way in which this could be achieved outside of legislation, is to effect consumer

protection sustainability measures through industry self-regulation. One such measure

is voluntary self-regulatory industry codes of conduct, which are more enforceable

than best-practice guidelines. Woker (2010) argues that whilst industry codes have

had limited success in South Africa, under certain conditions, these remain a useful

consumer protection tool. Central to impactful self-regulation is an effective and

capacitated industry body, which has monitoring capability and the where-with-all to

implement sanctions against transgressors. Sanctions must also be sufficiently severe

to deter errant business behaviour. On the other hand, the standards of behaviour set

out in the code must be framed in a manner that encourages wilful and pro-active

compliance, whilst not impairing the overall functionality of the industry. There is

clearly room to make better and more expanded use of industry self- and non-

regulatory approaches as a useful starting point for incorporating sustainability and

stimulating business innovation to best achieve this. When looking to amend

consumer protection policy to incorporate sustainability, the following policy approach

is advocated to encourage business willingness to accept, implement and adhere to

it:

Policy that has buy-in of business, and is not burden-some

Policy that leverages self-regulation as an implementation mechanism

The success of these propositions might further have to depend on:

Educated, informed, discerning consumers

Consumers responding positively and making pro-sustainability choices

Set of industry driven incentives for compliance


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The business community is likely to accept measures to incorporate sustainability into

consumer protection policy if this delivers balanced outcomes for both consumers and

businesses themselves. Well-targeted policy provisions would need to “…ensure that

consumers and businesses are not burdened by unnecessary regulation or

complexity, while recognizing the benefits, including the contribution to consumer well-

being, market efficiency and productivity” (Australian Consumer Policy 2008:iv).

Policy instruments would also need to improve the functioning of consumer markets.

This would require making explicit the linkages between better informed and more

sustainability-oriented consumers driving improvements in productivity and innovation

by demanding products and services that demonstrate concern for the effect on the

environment through-out the product life-cycle. This could be expected to invigorate

competition, and thus deliver better prices for consumers and productivity benefits for

businesses responsive to this consumer demand. Businesses that pro-actively adapt

and incorporate more sustainable business practices could, on the other hand,

promote this to consumers as a market-differentiator and use this to attract new clients

and increase consumer demand, particularly as consumers needs change as they

become more educated and aware of sustainability and the need to adjust

consumption habits in pursuit of more sustainable consumption patterns. It would also

be important to make explicit to business how providing consumers with product

information develops consumer confidence and willingness to participate in new

markets and/or deal with as yet unfamiliar suppliers. Mechanisms to enable this

include disclosure of information, eco-labelling and consumer education campaigns.

Once business understands these linkages, this should lower possible resistance to

taking on board amendments to consumer protection policy to incorporate

sustainability.

Another avenue to consider is to use sustainability reporting, which more and more

businesses are adopting to either showcase their performance to stakeholders in this

regard (Glass 2012), or to avoid suffering reputational risk in the face of competitors

who have adopted sustainability reporting to enhance brand value and legitimacy

(Hahn & Kuhnen 2013; Maubane, Prinsloo and Van Rooyen 2014:). Integrating

consumer protection initiatives into sustainability reporting may be embraced by


82

businesses more readily than expecting businesses to report separately on this as an

“add on” to already burdensome compliance requirements.

In a comprehensive overview of sustainability reporting in South Africa, Janse Van

Rensburg (2016) notes that there has been varied success with the uptake of this by

business. Kolk (2010) identified reasons why some businesses report on sustainability

issues and other do not. The same reasons would be likely to carry over into why a

business may or may not be willing to voluntarily adjust their business practices to

incorporate sustainability measures. The business reasons advanced by Kolk (2010)

have been adapted in Table 3.3 as applicable to consumer protection and

sustainability.

Table 3.3: Business Responses to Consumer Protection Sustainability Measures

Reasons for Adopting Reasons for Not Adopting

Enhancing ability to track progress against specific targets

Having doubts about the advantages it would bring to the organisation

Facilitating the implementation of the consumer protection sustainability strategy

No adopting consumer protection sustainability measures by competitiors

Ensuring greater awareness of broad consumer protection issues

Lacking interest by customers (and the general public) so will not increase sales

Having the ability to clearly convey the corporate message internally and externally

Having a good reputation for its consumer protection performance already

Improving all-round credibility from greater transparency

Using other ways of communicating about consumer protection initiatives

Having the ability to communicate efforts and standards

Implementing is too expensive

Having a licence to operate and campaign

Gathering consistent data from all operations and to select correct indicators is difficult

Ensuring reputational benefits, cost-savings identification, increased efficiency enhance business development opportunities and enhanced staff morale

Damaging the reputation of the business, legal implications or waking up ‘sleeping dogs’ (such as consumer rights organisations)

Source: Adapted from Kolk (2010:368)


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As set out in Table 3.3, business should be engaged with the positive reasons for

adjusting business practices to incorporating sustainability into consumer protection

measures. There may also be greater willingness to implement incremental changes

to business practices rather than expecting a full range of compliance measures to be

adopted simultaneously. An additional persuasive approach may be for this to be

undertaken voluntarily rather than through punitive enforcement actions. A starting

point may then be for legislation to require a minimum commitment from business to

begin to implementation sustainability measures, and to allow sectors to work out ways

in which to begin to implement this within the sector itself. Business willingness is key

to the successful implementation of measures to incorporate sustainability into

consumer protection.

3.12 SUMMARY

This chapter examined consumer protection policy as a sub-set of public policy. Public

policy codifies government’s intentions and sets a course of action to implement these.

The impetus for the development of policy can be from within government itself or as

a result of lobbying and advocacy by pressure groups and interest-driven

stakeholders. This, in turn, determines the approach that is adopted towards policy-

making and the policy process. Policy content evolves in response to a problem or a

series of problems that manifest in society, and is shaped by political, social and

economic circumstances. It was noted that it is important for policy-makers to correctly

identify the problem and underlying causes, to develop targeted policy measures that

will address and ameliorate the identified problem, given the direct inter-relationship

of cause-and-effect. Public participation in the policy-making process and regular

evaluation of the impact of the implementation of policy, including evidence-based

monitoring and evaluation were identified as important for sharpening policy tools and

honing implementation measures.

Public policy that incorporates tools to encourage and ensure compliance were also

discussed, encompassing voluntary and mandatory measures. Demand-side

(consumer-based) and supply-side (business actions and imperatives) consumer

policy tools that can offer consumer protection, and establish redress mechanisms

that consumers can access and activate were also considered.


84

Chapter 3 also considered how business views consumer protection, finding that the

burden of regulation is always a matter of concern. Business is more likely to embrace

well-targeted policy provisions that deliver balanced outcomes for both consumers and

businesses themselves, and impact positively on stakeholder satisfaction, market

positioning and brand reputation. In addition, business may be more willing to accept

the introduction of measures to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection if

this takes place incrementally. Finally, exploring ways to embed this as a component

of an existing reporting framework such as sustainability reporting, may be a more

effective and efficient approach, as opposed to a separate compliance reporting being

required.

Chapter 4 draws together the policy proponents discussed in Chapters 2 and 3, and

sets these out in a framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection

policy.

A FRAMEWORK OF CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICIES THAT INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY CHAPTER FOUR

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CHAPTER FOUR

A FRAMEWORK OF CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICIES THAT

INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Chapter 3 described public policy-making, with a view to locating consumer protection

policy as a sub-set of public policy, and setting-out policy instruments that enable its

implementation. International perspectives on consumer protection provided a

backdrop against which to examine South African consumer protection policy. Chapter

4 sets out perspectives concerning the inclusion of sustainability into consumer

protection policy and highlights policy measures that have been developed to achieve

this. Building on the exposition of sustainability in Chapter 2, including lessons from

industry-specific examples of incorporating sustainability into product life-cycles and

business models, on the one hand, and the policy tenets set out in Chapter 3, on the

other, a theoretical framework is proposed. Against this, the United Nations Guidelines

on Consumer Protection (2003) is analysed to identify sustainability-related policy

provisions. These served as the framework to content analyse the consumer

protection policies of countries in the research study sample.


Figure 4.1 re-asserts the location of Chapter 4 within the overall research process (see

Figure 1.1).


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4.3 INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO CONSUMER PROTECTION

This section examines the link between consumer protection policy and sustainability

and explores how consumer protection policy can be framed to support sustainability

and motivate consumers and business towards more sustainable production methods

and consumption patterns. This provides the background against which to position the

content analysis framework.

Smith (2000:409), in tracing the development of consumer protection policy in

Australia, notes that legislative provisions in the 1970s were “a set of procedural rights

designated to protect the individual in their engagement with the market”. However,

the early 2000s saw a policy shift towards encouraging both producers and consumers

to take more responsibility for the impact of their choices. This has been extended to

the environmental impact of these choices.

Karsten and Reich (2008) contend that the strongest impetus for establishing

sustainability as integral to consumer policy has been heightened awareness of global

social concerns and environmental issues, particularly climate change. This new

consciousness, coupled with the realisation that changes in consumer choices

supportive of more sustainability-responsive lifestyles can and do impact on demand-

side economic levers, and have been key drivers challenging conventional concepts

of consumer law and policy. This, in turn, has led to increased linking of sustainability

with consumer protection. Guest (2002:148), who actively advocates for strong

consumer movements, is of the view that consumers can be “global stewards of the

earth's resources” by curbing wasteful consumption owing to the environmental

impact thereof. Guest (2002) concurs that demand-side activities such as making

consumption choices that are mindful of future generations needs, contribute to

sustainability. In his view, consumer protection policy needs to encourage the design

of products that are more durable, economical and "sustainable", so that they can be

disposed of sustainably (Guest 2002). Policy should also establish both regulatory

mechanisms as well as incentives to steer manufacturers and consumers towards

more sustainable practices.

Consumers International (2015) considers consumer policy an important tool for

advancing sustainability. Consumers International is an independent civil society


88

federation of member organisations that lobby individual governments as well as

international structures such as the United Nations on consumer rights. They believe

that these rights are central to achieving sustainability, given how consumer rights

contribute to a fairer, safer and healthier society and a more equitable and efficient

economy (Consumers International 2015). This on-going lobbying from Consumers

International follows from their lobby during the 1990s to protect consumers globally

by providing more environmental information in relation to products, goods and

services (Smith 1997). The outcome of advocacy such as that of Consumers

International and the growing global awareness of sustainability issues, as detailed in

Chapter 2 (see Section 2.3), has seen a number of international agencies and inter-

country bodies such as the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Co-

operation and Development and the European Union develop guidelines for

incorporating sustainability within consumer policies. Despite this, a review by the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development of the United Nations

Guidelines on Consumer Protection (Implementation Report 2013) found that of the

58 responses to the calls for contributions and comments, only three countries

included sustainable consumption and sustainability within the core mandate of

consumer protection agencies. Rather, in the majority of respondent countries,

sustainability and sustainable consumption policy was located within environmental

ministries or spread across a number of state entities. Even within the three countries

that reported positively, namely, El Salvador, Mexico and the United States of

America, sustainability was included to a limited extent, as set out in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1: Inclusion of Sustainability in Consumer Protection Policy

Country Sustainability Policy Provisions

El Salvador Health-related benefits of sustainable consumption

Mexico Educational programmes

United States of America Commercial Practices Guide covering, inter alia, automotive fuel rating, labelling for biodiesel fuel and energy efficiency of various products



89

Thus, although still relatively unexplored, there is a demonstrable global shift towards

accepting the intersect between sustainability and consumer protection, and

developing ways to translate this into policy objectives.

4.4 PROPOSED THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR INCORPORATING

SUSTAINABILITY INTO CONSUMER PROTECTION

In the light of increased global awareness of and concern for sustainability, and the

greater availability of good practice, information that has been made available by

international agencies and bodies, the current research proposes a theoretical

framework to assist countries in the development of policy measures for incorporating

sustainability into consumer protection. The framework draws on the different

theoretical aspects related to sustainability and consumer protection as discussed in

Chapters 2 and 3 respectively, and integrates these as a matrix of possible policy

options that would serve to include sustainability measures into consumer protection

policy.

The first dimension of the framework would be to incorporate a policy intention to

pursue sustainability aims, either in its entirety or as broken down into the definitive

constitutive elements identified in Chapter 2 as the three pillars of economic, social

and environmental aspects. Policy intentions could also reflect the inter-

connectedness of these three pillars and their overlap, which Ranganathan (1998:5)

describes as the environmental-economic link, socio-economic link and socio-

environmental link and an integrated sustainability link encompassing all three

dimensions. Policy intentions that reflect concern for the impact on finite global

resources and the needs of future generations will also demonstrate the integration of

sustainability into consumer protection policy.

The framework also reflects the business context of sustainability, identifying ways in

which business practices and production methods have been adapted to demonstrate

greater concern for sustainability. The life-cycle model, as depicted in Figure 2.5 in

Chapter 2, is a useful blue-print for examining the sustainability implications at every

stage of production, from product design to eventual disposal of the product. Policy

measures can be developed for each stage to protect and promote consumer

sustainability interests. Examples would include incentives for eco- and energy-


90

efficient production and service delivery; regulatory standards for emission, effluent

and pollution levels; consumer information on raw material origin and consumption

and total product eco-footprint; 3R initiatives (re-cycle, reduce, re-use) and social

impacts, including wages and working conditions of employees as well as social

responsibility and concern for and engagement with community needs (Polman 2012).

It would also be useful to retain policy mechanisms such as consumer rights to safe

and non-hazardous products, with a view to re-interpreting these through a

sustainability lens and lobbying to extend the definition of protection from hazardous

products to those that are harmful to the environment.

A third set of policy issues incorporated into the framework are those where an industry

sector pro-actively develops sustainability measures and standards. The example in

Table 4.2 of the South African wine industry is used to show-case one such initiative

and show ways in which this may be done in other sectors, customised according to

the specific business needs and production circumstances of each sector. The

sustainability model designed by the industry is a product life-cycle model. Given that

the industry produces its own raw materials by growing the grapes, the model

incorporates sustainability related to farming methods, land conservation and bio-

diversity and introduces sustainability measures throughout the product beneficiation

process. Most powerful for consumers is the provision of detailed sustainability

information, through industry-developed certification, labelling and traceability seals.

Consumer rights to information is a cornerstone underpinning consumer protection,

and is enshrined in legislation in many countries, as diverse as Costa Rica, the United

States and South Africa (Delgadillo 2013; Woker 2010). Access to information in

general and sustainability information, in particular, enables consumers to claim their

rights, levels the bargaining field between consumers and business, builds consumer

trust in a producer and loyalty to a brand, and can influence consumer choice. The

wine industry has underpinned their product sustainability information with a digital

platform to enable quick access by consumers as well as a means to offer consumers

statistics and trends about the industry’s sustainability implementation and evaluation

thereof. Another noteworthy dimension is the voluntary means to encourage

businesses in the sector to voluntarily commit to sustainability initiatives by signing of

pledges, adopting codes of good practice and providing best practice guidelines.


91

These are all dimensions which may not necessarily need to be encapsulated into

public policy, but which government can encourage business to introduce voluntarily,

and thus offer consumers greater choices to pursue more sustainable consumption

choices. As such, these are included in the theoretical framework.

The final elements of the theoretical framework are the building blocks of public policy.

Sound and effective consumer protection policy needs to establish consumer rights,

offer consumers redress when these rights are not met, put into place demand-side

and supply-side mechanisms to empower consumers and regulate business practices

and set out compliance and enforcement measures, as described in Chapter 3 (see

Section 3.6). Policy may also require businesses to report on implementation of

consumer protection measures and, where this relates to sustainability-related

consumer protection measures, this may be incorporated into existing reporting

frameworks, such as sustainability reporting to reduce the burden on business and

industry. Consumer protection policy content may also be influenced by international

guidelines such as the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection (2003).

The proposed theoretical framework is set out in Table 4.2.


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Table 4.2: Components of a Proposed Theoretical Framework for Incorporating Sustainability into Consumer Protection

Four Components of the Theoretical Framework

Sustainability Definition Elements

Product Life-cycle Model Sector Self-Regulation:Sustainability

(South African Wine Industry)

Policy Instruments

Economic considerations Product design:

Safety, efficiency, durability and “green innovation”

Producers Values Charter

Awareness campaigns

Values-based sustainability initiatives

Policy Tools

Demand-side Supply-side

Combined options

Social considerations Natural resources:

Raw material choice, usage, and extraction methods

So

cia

l Imp

licatio

ns

: Wa

ge

Le

ve

ls, C

om

mu

nity

nee

ds W

ork

ing C

ond

ition

s, S

ocia

l Ju

stic

e, E

qua

lity

Bio-diversity

Changes to production practices

Industry conservation footprint

Compliance & Enforcement

Voluntary Mandatory

Self-regulatory

State regulation

Environmental considerations Manufacturing process:

Eco-efficient, clean and economical production methods, pollution and emissions containment

Integrity

Certification system guarantees trustworthiness of information

Consumer Rights

Impact on global resources Distribution and Marketing:

Consumer information on total product eco-footprint

Sustainability

Product-labelling and certification

Producer compliance framework

Good practice guidelines

Independently audited evaluation

Consumer Redress

Needs of future generations Consumption/Use:

Water and energy consumption

Traceability

Consumer information to trace product back to source

Supply-chain transparency

Sustainability Reporting


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Four Components of the Theoretical Framework

Sustainability Definition Elements

Product Life-cycle Model Sector Self-Regulation:Sustainability

(South African Wine Industry)

Policy Instruments

Meets basic needs Reduce, re-use, re-cycle Climate change

Carbon calculator tool

Digital information portal

Benchmarking and tracking trends

International guidelines

Product and by-product disposal:

Sustainability technologies and bio-degradability

Ethical Trading

Improving working conditions

Codes of good practice

Multi-stakeholder engagement forum for inclusion on community voice

Organic and bio-dynamic

Sustainability contribution of organic and bio-dynamic production



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As shown in Table 4.2, there are a wide range of measures that can be used to

incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy. The content analysis

identified which of the measures the different countries have built into their respective

consumer protection frameworks, as an indication of how sustainability has been

incorporated into policy. The research might reveal novel policy innovations that

countries have developed to incorporate sustainability. These new policy ideas

weretaken into consideration when distilling the elements from the theoretical

framework that constituted the proposed framework for incorporating sustainability

into South African consumer protection policy. The proposed theoretical framework is

depicted in Figure 4.2.


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Figure 4.2: Proposed Theoretical Framework for Content Analysis


Figure 4.2 shows that with due consideration for the needs of business and

consumers, a policy framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer

http://www.qualitative-research.net/


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protection could span four distinct components, namely, definition elements,

sustainability considerations at each stage of the product life cycle, industry and

sectoral self-regulation in pursuit of sustainability and voluntary and mandatory policy

measures to enable the implementation of a consumer protection framework that

incorporates sustainability. Novel policy innovations should also be taken into

consideration.

4.5 SUMMARY

The aim of Chapter 4 was, firstly, the development of a theoretical framework for

incorporating sustainability into consumer protection. The components of the

framework were identified from Chapters 2 and 3, which dealt with sustainability in

the business context and the development of consumer protection policy respectively.

The elements of a framework were set out and was used to content-analyse consumer

protection policy and legislation in countries. This was done in two parts, firstly, from

a desk-top literature view of country legislation able to be accessed on the internet.

Secondly, using the data from questionnaires received from countries that participated

in the research survey.

Chapter 5 explains the research methodology and design for this study, including the

research approach, research design and data gathering and analysis.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY CHAPTER FIVE

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CHAPTER FIVE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

5.1 INTRODUCTION

Chapter 4 examined policy measures and tools that were developed to be included in

consumer protection policies. Informed by these, a framework to content analyse how

sustainability was incorporated into consumer protection policies in different countries

was devised.

Chapter 5 describes the methodology used when the research was to be conducted.

Specifically, this chapter sets out the approach, the paradigm and the design of the

research, indicating how these enabled the primary and secondary research

objectives to be achieved. An explanation is provided as to why a qualitative approach

was chosen as well as the rationale for using an interpretive paradigm. The research

design shows how document content analysis is the primary tool for comparative

analysis of consumer protection policies and laws of different countries, examining

how sustainability has been incorporated into these documents. This data was then

used to develop a framework for incorporating sustainability into South African

consumer protection policy. Members of the South African National Consumer

Tribunal, as consumer policy experts, and business people were requested to provide

a critique of the proposed framework, from their respective perspectives of the

practical implementation of consumer protection policy.

The rationale for choosing an interpretivist research paradigm for the purposes of this

study as well as the choices regarding methodology, sampling, data collection

techniques and data analysis methods are also explained in the chapter.


Figure 5.1 indicates where Chapter 5 is located within the overall research process.


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5.3 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY AND PARADIGM

Before any research is embarked upon, careful consideration must be given to how

the research will be conceptualised and designed. Figure 5.2 illustrates the different

aspects that need to be considered in the research process.

Figure 5.2: Research Process Aspects

Source: Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009:108)

Figure 5.2 illustrates that choices need to be made about the research philosophy or

paradigm including the research approach, the strategies, the methodologies and

techniques that will inform and form the research design. Creswell (2003:21) suggests

that there needs to be a match between the research problem and approach, and that

the final choices must be those which are best suited to solving the identified research

problem. The research philosophy underpins the eventual research design. Figure 5.2

shows the four predominant research philosophies, namely, positivism, realism,

interpretivism and pragmatism. Positivism and interpretivism are the two paradigms

that are used most frequently, and are quite distinct from each other, whereas realism


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and pragmatism combine and integrate principles of both positivism and interpretivism

(Blumberg, Cooper & Schindler 2011). Positivism has its origins in natural sciences,

whereas interpretivism emerged through the social sciences, with sociologists such

as Weber (in Roth & Wittich 1978) and Durkheim (1938) advocating that people’s

perceptions need to be taken into account when undertaking research to discover what

exists in the world and why. Positivism and interpretivsm are predicated on different

basic principles and assumptions and usually lean towards using different research

methodology and techniques as set out in Table 5.1.

Table 5.1: Comparison of Positivism and Interpretivism

Aspect Positivism Interpretivism

Basic Principles

View of the world

World is external and objective

Reality is factual and precise

TWorld is socially-constructed and subjective

Reality is complex, emergent and in constant flow

Researcher’s involvement Researcher is independent

Researcher is part of what is observed and sometimes actively collaborates

Researcher’ s influence Research is value-free

Researcher discovers what exists in the world

Research is driven by human interest

Researcher helps to create social reality

Assumptions

What is observed?

Objective, often quantitatively derived, facts

Subjective interpretations of meanings


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Aspect Positivism Interpretivism

How is knowledge developed?

Reduce phenomena to simple elements representing general laws

Provide understanding through abstract explanation

Take a broad and total view of phenomena to detect explanations beyond the current knowledge

Provide understanding through empathetic/ personal perspective

Methodology and Techniques

Research methodology

More quantitative

More qualitative

Data collection techniques

Highly-structured, large samples, measurement

Small samples, in-depth investigations, immersion

Findings and results Deductive explanations

Predictability, producing systematic and repeatable research results

Inductive explanations

Interpretation of meaning, sense-making, generalisability of findings less important

Source: Adaptation from Blumberg et al (2011:19)

Table 5.1 shows that positivist and interpretivist research philosophies differ from each

other in a number of important aspects. The starting point is the basic principles that

underpin how the world is viewed, with the positivist philosophy resting on the notion

that the social world exists in and of its own, functioning according to natural laws,

which are the source of causality. The interpretivist philosophy rests on the belief that

human beings construct and give meaning to social reality. As a result, positivism is

regarded as objective in its orientation whilst interpretivism is seen as more subjective,

inclusive of the researcher’s influence on research. This carries through to the choice

of methodologies and research techniques with positivist research using quantitative

methodologies, whilst interpretivist research is more likely to utilise qualitative

methods. Sullivan (2001) cautions, however, not to oversimplify the choice of research

methodology as inextricably linked to the research philosophy, because qualitative and

quantitative methodologies can be used in both positivist and interpretivist

approaches. Similarly, deductive and inductive approaches can straddle both


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paradigms. As explained by Saunders et al (2009:124), using a deductive approach

moves from theory to data, developing a hypothesis and then conducting research to

test this, whereas an inductive approach would develop theory based on an analysis

of the data collected during the research process. Deduction focuses on explaining

causal relationships, which necessitates a highly-structured approach to research,

whereas an inductive approach constructs theory as the research progresses, allowing

for flexibility to adjust the research structure whilst the research is being conducted.

The research to be undertaken during the course of this study was located in

interpretivist research paradigm. Specifically, the research examined consumer

protection policies and legislative frameworks in a number of identified countries. The

research identified ways in which policy-makers had included mechanisms that would

advance sustainability and ensure more sustainable consumption patterns among

both producers and consumers. Policy-makers in the respective countries would have

developed these policies based on the prevailing local context. During this process,

policy makers would make a substantial contribution to creating, shaping and

constructing social reality. Public policy-making is also a dynamic process, with

policies and laws needing to be adjusted based on regular reviews, taking into account

changing national socio-economic circumstances. During the analysis of policies and

laws, the researcher was “sense-making” when analysing and comparing different

countries. As the content of consumer protection policies of various countries was

analysed, ways in which sustainability had been incorporated therein was identified.

The research findings and results were arrived at inductively.

5.4 RESEARCH APPROACH


sustainability into South African consumer protection policy. Research was

undertaken in the quest for new knowledge and because of the belief that there were

phenomena in the world to discover (Druckman 2005). In going about research, a

researcher needs to decide which approach would be the most suitable and applicable

to gather and interpret data, so as to discover new facts or confirm existing facts, to

make findings and reach conclusions. Struwig and Stead (2013:2) indicate that there

are many different methods that researchers can use to gain new knowledge, and in

doing so can choose to acquire information using either quantitative research


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methodology or qualitative approaches. A researcher need not, however, be limited to

this “either-or” binary but can also combine elements of both approaches in what is

known as a mixed methods approach (Creswell 2003; de Villiers 2005; Yin 2014).

Bryman and Bell (2011) point to the ambiguous status of the distinction between

quantitative and qualitative research, further noting that there are differing schools of

thought between writers who view the difference as fundamental, whilst others believe

the distinction is artificial and has become defunct. Usefully, Bryman and Bell

(2011:413) point to the similarities between the two approaches, and emphasise that

both quantitative and qualitative researchers seek to ensure that “research methods

should be appropriate to the research questions”, and as amplified by Zikmund, Babin,

Carr and Griffin (2010:135), “to match the right approach to the right research context”.

This principle informed the choice of research methodology used in the study.

There are philosophical differences between quantitative and qualitative research, as

set out in Table 5.2.

Table 5.2: Comparative Aspects of Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Comparative Aspect Quantitative Research Qualitative Research

Research paradigm Positivism Interpretivism and constructivsm

Ontological position

There is only one truth.

An objective reality exists independent of human perception

There are multiple realities or multiple truths based on one’s construction of reality. Reality is socially-constructed

Epistemological

Investigator and investigated are independent entities. The investigator is capable of studying a phenomenon without influencing it or being influenced by it

Investigator and the object of study are interactively linked so that findings are mutually-created within the context of the situation which shapes the inquiry


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Comparative Aspect Quantitative Research Qualitative Research

Methodological approach Use statistical methods to measure and analyse causal relationships between variables within a value-free framework

Focus on process and meanings, to describe and understand, based on researcher’s interpretation

Source: Researcher’s Own Construct: adapted from Sale, Lohfeld and Brazil

(2002)

Table 5.2 shows that quantitative and qualitative research differ ontologically, with a

qualitative research approach allowing for subjectivity, with the social construction of

reality, whilst a quantitative approach adopts an objective view of reality, uninfluenced

by human perception. Epistemologically, a quantitative approach places the

researcher at a distance from that which is being researched, whereas a researcher

interacts directly with the object of study in a qualitative approach, which Bryman and

Bell (2011:410) phrase as researcher distant versus researcher close.

Creswell (2003) explains that quantitative approaches employ strategies of inquiry

such as experiments and surveys and rely on calculations and statistical data from

measurements from predetermined instruments, to generate cause and effect

explanations. On the other hand, qualitative approaches seek answers to questions

about how social experience is created and given meaning. This is informed by the

premise that there is a socially-constructed nature of reality. Knowledge claims are

based on what Galt (2008:12) describes as “processes and meanings that are not

experimentally examined or measured in terms of quantity, amount, intensity or

frequency”. Rather, open-ended, emerging data is collected and themes are

developed and an interpretation of events and processes is formed. The data that was

collected during the content analysis of the consumer protection polices and laws of

countries included in the study, were used to develop themes or topics that would

inform the contents of the proposed framework for incorporating sustainability into

South African consumer protection policy.

Bryman and Bell (2011), having examined the work of a number of writers, draw out

additional contrasts between qualitative and quantitative research as set out in Table

5.3.


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Table 5.3: Contrasts between Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Quantitative Research Qualitative Research

Numbers Words

Point-of-view of researcher Points-of-view of participants

Researcher distant Researcher close

Theory testing Theory emergent

Static Process

Structured Unstructured

Generalisation Context understanding

Hard, reliable data Rich, deep data

Macro Micro

Behaviour Meaning

Artificial settings Natural settings

Source: Bryman and Bell (2011:410)

Table 5.3 shows that in a qualitative study the researcher actively interprets and

constructs concepts and theory as this emerges from the data during the research

process. The research in the study was qualitative, undertaking an in-depth analysis

of the consumer protection polices and laws of countries, which were a source of rich,

deep data. This data would be sufficient to allow the researcher to construct meaning

and allow theoretical understanding to emerge. Thereafter, the new meanings would

be critiqued by consumer policy experts and with business people, to ascertain their

views about the implementability of the proposed framework for incorporating

sustainability.

Given that there is little research that has been undertaken to date on sustainability in

the South African consumer protection policy domain, how sustainability could be

incorporated into policy emerged during the course of the research study itself. The

study utilised a qualitative approach to develop and construct a contextual

understanding of how to incorporate sustainability into South African consumer


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protection policy. The research would contribute to building understanding and

meaning within a particular context, namely, South African consumer protection policy,

and at a country (micro) level rather than at a global (macro) scale.

5.5 RESEARCH DESIGN

Cooper and Schindler (2008) refer to research design as the blueprint or plan

according to which the research will be carried out, to find answers to the research

questions. Mouton and Marais (1990) explain that research design structures how the

research will be conducted, in a manner that is, firstly, relevant to the research

purpose, and, secondly, ensures maximisation of the validity of the research findings.

Of the essence, according to Saunders et al (2009), is that the research design must

be such that it results in the research question(s) being answered. The research

design includes the research method that was used, how the data was collected, how

sampling was done, and how the data was analysed.

In seeking new insights and developing theory about ways to incorporate sustainability

into consumer protection policy, this study analysed secondary sources of data and

also administered open-ended questionnaires to a select group of respondents.

Content analysis was done by analysing the consumer protection policies and laws of

the countries selected to form the sample. In addition, the responses of questionnaires

returned by a selected group were analysed. An analysis of the content of these

questionnaires and policy documents would identify how, if at all, sustainability had

been incorporated. The analysiswould identify sustainability-related mechanisms

within the various policies and laws. Types of policy measures and tools to be identified

should be the same as or similar to the sustainability-related clauses reflected in the

United National Guidelines for Consumer Protection (2003). The analysis would also

allow for the identification of novel, additional ways in which countries have

incorporated sustainability concerns into consumer protection policy frameworks and

legislation. On the basis of this analysis, a framework for incorporating sustainability

into South African consumer protection policy was developed by the researcher.

5.6 RESEARCH METHOD

Content analysis was the primary research method that was used in this study.

Documents are valuable sources of information, and are “containers of content”, which


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can be “scoured” for data (Leavy & Biber 2008:112). Documents serve as a record of

evidence of social constructions. As such, when the contents of documents are

analysed, this provides a rich source from which to make observations, extrapolate

findings as well as develop theories and explanations. Content analysis entails a

detailed examination of texts and/or images, during which the researcher identifies

and interprets content to give voice and meaning to research questions (Bowen 2009).

For the purposes of this study, the laws and public policy documents and responses

from open-ended questionnaires that were analysed were those that related to

consumer protection, sustainability as well as sustainable production and

consumption. These documents were analysed to identify ways in which sustainability

had been incorporated in the document content. In certain countries, consumer

protection and economic and trade competition issues are managed and regulated by

a single Act. Where this was found to be the case, only the portion of the Act or policy

that related to consumer protection was analysed.

There are advantages and disadvantages with content analysis of documents, as set

out in Table 5.4.

Table 5.4: Advantages and Disadvantages of Content Analysis of Documents

Advantages Disadvantages

Existing available data used, making it cost-effective and quick to collect and analyse with little effort

Quality and availability of data depends on quality and availability of documents and the written record may lack a standard format because it is kept by different people

Data collection is unobtrusive Possibility of confusion about units of analysis

Highly-flexible method that can be applied to wide variety of kinds of unstructured information

Possibility of Bias:

Deposit bias – only a portion of pertinent material selected for preservation and thus able to be included in the set of materials to be analysed

Survival bias - only a portion of pertinent material retained in the set of materials to be analysed


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Advantages Disadvantages

Changes can be tracked and differences over time and space, allowing longitudinal analysis with relative ease

Difficult to ascertain answers to “why?” questions

Information about social groups that are difficult to gain access to can be generated rather than conducting research through direct, personal contact

Unable to study communities that have left no records, or where records have been lost or not collected

Raw data are usually nonreactive Written record content may be biased by inaccurate or falsified record keeping, either inadvertently or on purpose. Some written records are unavailable to researchers, like classified documents


Although Table 5.4 shows that while there are a number of advantages to choosing

content analysis of documents as a research method, there are disadvantages that

researchers choosing this method need to be aware of and need to pay attention to in

the research design. The most attractive advantage of using content analysis of

documents for the current research is the ease of access to data as well as the cost-

effectiveness of this method.

5.7 DATA COLLECTION

In crafting the research design, choices needed to be made concerning how the data

would be collected, from whom, which methods and tools would be used in this

process and how the data would then be analysed. Saunders et al (2009) regard the

choice of data techniques and procedures as so pivotal to the success of a research

project, that they locate these at the centre core of the research “onion” displayed in

Figure 5.2. These choices need to be embedded within and informed by the research

paradigm or philosophy on which the intended research rests, and be located within

the research approach.

Documents are an important resource to researchers as a source from which data can

be collected. Rapley (2008) indicates that when engaging in content analysis of

documents, the range of documents available as data for analysis is wide, from


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informal documentary records constructed in the course of everyday existence, such

as shopping lists, to written records constructed in a formal context, such as within

companies or government. Examples include, reports, statistics, manuscripts, policy

documents and legislation. With the increasing availability of digital communication

tools, Bryman and Bell (2011) note that in addition to written documents, the content

of visual imagery, pictures and videos can also be analysed. Scott (in Bryman & Bell

2011) make the distinction between personal and official documents, which can further

be classified as either official private documents or as official state documents.

Written communication can be classified into different types of documents, which can

arise from a wide array of sources. Bryman and Bell (2011:544) suggest the following

documentary sources that can be analysed:

Personal documents (letters, diaries, photographs)

Public documents (legal, parliamentary Hansards, commission of enquiry

records of proceedings)

Official documents (for example, annual reports, policy documents, minutes,

company memoranda)

Mass media outputs (newspaper articles, magazine columns)

Virtual outputs (internet resources, blogs, twitter feeds)

Official state documents were the primary source of data for this study. Specifically,

written public documents such as laws that have been passed by the legislative

authority of a country were examined. Government policy documents were also

gathered as data, where these were available. Laws and policy documents should be

able to be sourced with relative ease through internet searches, particularly, in relation

to public documents of developed countries, as governments tend to make effective

use of websites to communicate with the public. In the case of African countries, where

the use of the internet as a government communication tool is still gaining ground,

direct requests for copies of Acts and policy documents were made to government

employees who participated in the African Dialogue Network. This was an informal

network of people who worked in the field of consumer protection in a number of

African countries, and who linked up for monthly discussions that were facilitated by

the United States Federal Trade Commission. The researcher was a member of this

network, and made an official request for network participants to provide these official


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state documents. The researcher also submited a request to the United Nations

Conference on Trade and Development for onward transmission to the Member

states, to request copies of legislation and consumer protection policies (see Annexure

A). The request included an open-ended questionnaire (see Annexure B).

The Acts and policy documents relating to consumer protection and sustainable

consumption were also not likely to fall into the category of documents that would be

classified for state security reasons or have public access restrictions placed on them

by governments. The data to be collected for analysis would thus be readily available.

Where legislation and policy documents could not be sourced, inter-country

comparative research reports by global organisations such as the Organization for

Economic Co-operation and Development, Consumers International and the United

Nations were used as data sources.

5.8 SAMPLING

Sampling is about selecting the sources from which or from whom to collect data,

without having to involve the entire research population. Zikmund et al (2010:287)

describe a sample as a subset, or some part or portion of a larger population. Sampling

is used in situations where researchers wish to measure or examine a research

question but where it would be impractical, impossible, inconvenient, too expensive or

not possible time-wise to collect the data from the entire population (Saunders et al

2009; Zikmund et al 2010). In this sense, sampling is described by Adler and Clark

(2008:98) as “a means to an end: to learn something about a large group with-out

having to study every member of that group”.

Because researchers wish to gain an understanding of and draw some conclusions

about the larger group from the subset of the group included in the sample, careful

thought needs to be given to how sampling will be done in a research project. There

are different ways of drawing or selecting a sample. Probability sampling uses random

selection procedures to identify with precision which members of the population will

comprise the sample. To this end, findings from the sample are generalisable for the

research population as a whole. Non-probability sampling allows choice and discretion

as to who will be included in the sample, usually based on a rationale for this, for

example, components of the population who will be informative about the research


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topic (Cooper & Schindler 2008). Non-probability sampling relies heavily on personal

judgement as to whom should be included in the sample, and, as a result, is subjective

but pragmatic (Zikmund et al 2010). In such instances, research findings are not

generalisable across the population.

Different techniques can be used to conduct non-probability sampling, as set out in

Table 5.5.

Table 5.5: Non-probability Sampling Techniques used in this Study

Technique Description

Convenience sampling Respondent selection was based on availability, accessibility and co-operativeness

Purposive sampling:

a) Judgement sampling

b) Quota sampling

Respondent selection was based on expert judgement by an experienced individual

Respondent selection was based on compliance with certain criteria, according to defined characteristics

Source: Struwig and Stead (2013)

Table 5.5 shows that the sampling technique that was used was determined by

prevailing circumstances, which, in turn, determined how respondents were selected

to form part of a sample.

The South African economy has formal sector elements as well as an active informal

sector component. Different types of consumer protection policy instruments may have

been developed in countries with formal sector economies compared with countries

with developing economies and informal market conditions. For comparative

purposes, it would be useful to include the policy documents from both developed

countries and developing countries in the sample. It was also important to locate South

African consumer policy within the African context and it was thus be important to

include African countries in the research study.

Non-probability sampling was used to identify the countries to be included in the study.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is the


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custodian of the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection (2003). In

consultation with expert officials at UNCTAD, the researcher selected a range of

countries, both developed and developing, including certain African countries, from

among the member states of UNCTAD. In addition, African countries whose officials

were participants in the African Dialogue Network were also included in the sample.

Finally, countries examined in the report Tracking Progress were included in the

sample (Bentley 2004).

5.9 DATA ANALYSIS

Once the data collection process is complete, the data needs to be analysed. Data

analysis is a transformative process which converts the information locked into raw

data and extracts meaning (Sullivan 2001). It brings about an understanding and

enables an interpretation of the collected data by reducing accumulated data to a

manageable size, developing summaries, looking for patterns and more specifically

with quantitative data, applying statistical techniques (Cooper & Schindler 2008:93).

Data analysis also introduces an empirical confirmation of the research question and

hypothesis. Alternatively, data analysis can refute these propositions.

Content analysis is the data analysis tool that was used to analyse the official state

documents of countries in the sample. Content analysis could be applied in various

settings, but in this study it was applied to documents as a source (Bryman 2004).

Druckman (2005) regards content analysis as having analytical flexibility because it

can apply to any variety of communication forms, both written and oral, and is able to

be used in a wide range of settings. Content analysis can be used to describe trends

or it can be used to evaluate communication content against an identified standard

(Adler & Clark 2008).

Content analysis was the method through which the contents or messages within

documents and texts were analysed and observed to identify both the actual content

as well as other specified characteristics of the message (Zikmund et al 2010:246).

Content is quantified according to pre-determined categories in a manner that must

be both systematic and replicable (Bryman & Bell 2007). It is also a useful method to

reduce large volumes of information contained in documents to a manageable amount

of data that can be more easily analysed (Blumberg et al 2008). In addition, content


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analysis can be either quantitative or qualitative. A quantitative approach establishes

categories, and then numerically records the number of times the pre-identified word/s

or phrases appear in the texts of the documents being analysed (Silverman 2011).

Druckman (2005:257) describes a quantitative approach to content analysis as

“mechanical word counts”, which, in turn, leads to findings based on the number of

times a specific word or phrase was used in a document. Quantitative content analysis

requires creating and recording meaningful variables for classifying units of analysis

and carefully developing codes for categorising data for analysis.

On the other hand, a qualitative approach to content analysis would be more about

the identification of themes and the meaning thereof in relation to a research question.

Bryman and Bell (2007:560) describe a qualitative approach, namely, ethnographic

content analysis, which utilises a measure of initial categorisation but allows for

refinement thereof of with the addition of new categories to emerge as the data

collection and analysis unfolds. This is referred to as “constant discovery” and

“constant comparison” during the process of the examination of documents (Bryman

and Bell 2007). Qualitative content analysis was more appropriate for the proposed

research, as not all documentation was available at the start of the research. It also

accommodated a range of different terminology for sustainability and mechanisms that

enabled more sustainable consumption that might be used in the legislation and

policies of different countries to describe what was for all intents and purposes, the

same or a similar concept. This technique also allowed for new themes to be

generated during the research, based on unique country-specific policy instruments

and mechanisms beyond those able to be pre-identified by extracting policy measures

from the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection (2003).

Content analysis involves distinct steps. In the research, the laws and policies that

regulated consumer protection in the different countries was collected to be used as

the materials. Source documents were obtained in two ways. Firstly, a questionnaire

(see Annexure B) was distributed to selected United Nations Conference on Trade

and Development member countries as well as to colleagues who participated in the

African Consumer Protection Dialogue facilitated by the Federal Trade Commission in

the United States of America. Responses to the the open-ended questions in the

questionnaire provided data. In addition, respondents were requested to provide policy


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documents and copies of consumer protection legislation as a source of data, or

provide website details where these documents could be accessed on the internet.

The second source of data was consumer protection policies on additional countries

available on the internet, and in existing inter-country comparative research studies

that assessed the state of consumer protection in different countries and were

conducted by international organisations. These were the documents whose content

was analysed.

It was probable that some countries might have chosen to locate consumer protection

policy in other policy domains, for example, environmental policy or economic policy.

However, the scope of this research study was limited to consumer protection policy

and thus the content analysis would include only the consumer protection policies and

laws of countries.

The second step in content analysis was to define the categories or themes of content

that was going to be considered as the topics of interest within the documents. The

words and themes for the content analysis were extracted from the United Nations

Guidelines for Consumer Protection (2003) that dealt with sustainability and

sustainable consumption. Initially, the original guidelines adopted in 1985 included

rudimentary policy measures related to sustainability for countries to include in

consumer protection policy. In 1999, the guidelines on Consumer Protection were

substantially-amended to promote sustainability definitively and more sustainable

consumption. The following initial provisions were expanded:

Safe and non-hazardous products

Information about the environmental impact of products and services, and of

consumption patterns

Policies for public and private utilities to ensure the highest efficiency of

service delivery and resource conservation

Business having a particular responsibility for promoting sustainable

consumption through the design, production and distribution of goods and

services as well as a responsibility for their recycling and disposal.

The United Nations Guidelines (2003) were also expanded to suggest specific tools to

achieve these broad policy intentions, such as eco-labelling, product profiles and


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information disclosure, and policy measures such as setting minimum standards,

safety and environmental reporting by industry and consumer education and

awareness programmes.

The 1999 amendments also saw an entire section included on “Policy Instruments for

the Promotion of Sustainable Consumption” (United Nations Guidelines 2003), which

were intended to encourage countries to:

Promote the design, development and use of products and services that are

energy and resource efficient, non-toxic and safe, taking into account their full

life cycle

Promote innovative efforts by small and medium-sized enterprises to develop

and market innovative products and services that promote sustainable

consumption

Promote conservation of energy and the transition to renewable energy

sources

Promote the development and use of national and international environmental

standards for products and services

Encourage, develop and support independent environmental testing of

products, as well as international cooperation on joint testing

Ban or severely restrict environmentally harmful use of substances

Promote awareness of the health-related benefits of sustainable consumption

and production patterns

Encourage the transformation of unsustainable consumption patterns through

the development and use of services and new technologies that can meet

consumer needs while reducing pollution and depletion of natural resources

Create or strengthen effective regulatory agencies addressing various aspects

of sustainable consumption

Consider measures to promote pricing of products and services that takes

account of environmental costs and promotes sustainable consumption

Use a range of economic instruments for promoting sustainable consumption,

such as taxation systems that both incentivise and disincentivise sustainability

practices


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These extracts from the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection (2003)

provided some of the themes for the content analysis to be undertaken during the

research, which are set out as a framework in Table 5.6.


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Table 5.6: Framework to Content Analyse Consumer Protection Policies

Theoretical Framework Component

Content Analysis Theme

(From Provisions in United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection) UNGCP Ref

Sustainability definition elements

Ensure consumer rights to just, equitable and sustainable economic and social development and environmental protection

Part I Para 1

Promote sustainable consumption

Promote sustainable consumption patterns

Part I Sect 1 (g)

Part II Sect 3 (g) Sect 4

Meeti the needs of present and future generations for goods and services in ways that are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable

Part III: G Sect 42

Product life-cycle model

Encourage the design, development and use of products and services that are safe and energy and resource efficient, considering their full life-cycle impacts

Encourage recycling programmes that encourage consumers to both recycle wastes and purchase recycled products

Make producers responsible to ensure that goods meet reasonable demands of durability, utility and reliability

Part III: G Sect 45

Part III: B Sect 18


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Encourage the transformation of unsustainable consumption patterns through the development and use of new environmentally sound products and services and new technologies, including information and communication technologies, that can meet consumer needs while reducing pollution and depletion of natural resources

Part III: G Sect 50

Sector self-regulation: Sustainability

Provide information necessary to enable consumers to take informed and independent decisions, as well as measures to ensure that the information provided is accurate

Part III: B Sect 22

Ensure consumers have access to accurate information about the environmental impact of products and services through such means as product profiles, environmental reports by industry, information centres for consumers, voluntary and transparent eco-labelling programmes and product information hotlines

Encourage development of appropriate advertising codes and standards for the regulation and verification of environmental claims

Sect 24

Sect 25

Encourage all enterprises to resolve consumer disputes in a fair, expeditious and informal manner, and to establish voluntary mechanisms, including advisory services and informal complaints procedures, which can provide assistance to consumers

Part III: E Sect 33

Encourage the development of consumer information on the environmental impacts of consumer choices and behaviour

Part III: F Sect 35


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Ensure that consumer education and information programmes cover aspects of consumer protection as the following:

(b) Product hazards

(c) Product labelling

(f) Environmental protection

(g) Efficient use of materials, energy and water

Part III: F Sect 37

Policy instruments Implement standards, voluntary and other for the safety and quality of goods and services

Part III: C Sect 28

Establish or maintain legal and/or administrative measures to enable consumers or, as appropriate, relevant organisations to obtain redress through formal or informal procedures that are expeditious, fair, inexpensive and accessible

Part III: E Sect 32

Promote the development and implementation of policies for sustainable consumption and the integration of those policies with other public policies. Government policy-making should be conducted in consultation with business, consumer and environmental organisations, and other concerned groups

Part III: G Sect 43

Develop and implement strategies that promote sustainable consumption through a mix of policies that could include regulations, economic and social instruments and sectoral policies

Part III: G Sect 44


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Promote the development and use of national and international environmental health and safety standards for products and services

Part III: G Sect 46

Encourage governmentsto create or strengthen effective regulatory mechanisms for the protection of consumers, including aspects of sustainable consumption

Part III: G Sect 51

Encourage governments, in cooperation with business and other relevant groups, to develop indicators, methodologies and databases for measuring progress towards sustainable consumption at all levels. This information should be publicly available

Part III: G Sect 53

Source: Adapted from United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection (2003)


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The United Nations Guidelines (2003) do not necessarily contain all policy instruments

that would enable the incorporation of sustainability into consumer protection policy.

Hence, to allow for “constant discovery”, the analysis would further identify additional

measures, over and above those set out in the United Nations Guidelines (2003) that

countries might have incorporated into their respective consumer protection policy

frameworks. This would generate additional options for inclusion in the framework to

incorporate sustainability in consumer protection legislation to be developed for South

Africa.

5.10 OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH DESIGN PROCESS

An overview of the research design process is set out in Figure 5.3.

Figure 5.3: Research Design Process Overview


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Figure 5.4 provides a summary of the research methodology used in this chapter.

Figure 5.4: Overview of the Research Methodology Chapter



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Figure 5.4 shows that the research design is only one component of the methodology

followed in this research.

5.11 RELIABILITY AND IMPLEMENTABILTY

Stark and Roberts (2002:240) present issues for consideration regarding the reliability

of the research, noting that “content analysis depends on materials that were not

created for the purposes to which the social scientists wish to put them”. As a result,

content analysis researchers need to exercise caution, recognising that how they

code, thematise and interpret data may impose interpretations, which were not those

of the drafters of the original documents being analysed by the researcher. Stark and

Roberts (2003) extend this argument and suggest that the content being analysed can

have either manifest (explicit) or latent (implicit) content. Latent content requires the

researcher to subjectively interpret deeper meanings that may be implied, for example,

by descriptions of emotional expressions in writings. The public and official documents

to be analysed during the course the proposed research were unlikely to contain latent

content. Thus, only manifest content was analysed, which would strengthen the

reliability of the analysis. The results of the content analysis would provide the basis

for a framework for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer policy. To

confirm the reliability of this proposed framework for South Africa, two sets of experts,

namely, consumer protection experts as well as business people were interviewed to

critique it from an applicability and implementability perspective. Members of the

National Consumer Tribunal are appointed by the President of South Africa in terms

of S26 and S28 of the National Credit Act (National Credit Act South Africa 2005) by

virtue of their expertise and knowledge of consumer rights issues. Tribunal Members

were approached to give their expertise in the field of consumer protection. Drawing

on their expertise, they would also be requested to propose additional dimensions that

could be included in the framework. Similarly, between three and five business people

would be approached to critique the framework given their role in having to implement

it, if it was adopted by policy makers and became law.

5.12 ENSURING TRUSTWORTHINESS OF THE RESEARCH

In qualitative research, trustworthiness is acknowledged as a way of assessing how

good the study is, similar to the way in which validity is used with quantitative research


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regarding the integrity of the research. Two key aspects of trustworthiness are

credibility and dependability (Bryman & Bell 2011:43). Credibility concerns the

acceptability and believability of the researcher’s findings and is established by

following good practice during the course of the research. In addition, research

findings are submitted to people who are capable of confirming that the research

context has been correctly understood by the researcher (Bryman & Bell 2011:396).

Dependability establishes the merit of the research by requesting peers to adopt an

auditing approach both during and at the conclusion of the research, to ascertain

whether proper procedures were followed and whether theoretical inferences are able

to be justified (Bryman & Bell 2011:398).

For the purposes of this study, peer evaluation was used to ensure trustworthiness,

by continuously engaging with the researcher and the research work as well as the

valid data collection, analysis and presentation of the data and information. Morrow

(2005) describes peer evaluation or peer debriefing as a reflexive strategy through

which impartial peers engage the researcher through-out the research process about

perspectives, interpretations and responses to the research process. Two impartial

academic peers continuously checked the research observations and evaluations for

adequacy and regarded these to be correct. As is discussed in Chapter 7, experts in

consumer protection as well as business people were requested to evaluate the

proposed framework to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection in South

Africa. An audit trial of all documents was also be kept.

5.13 RESEARCH ETHICS

Ethics are central to good quality research. The researcher has the responsibility to

ensure that research is conducted responsibly and in a moral way, with due respect

for doing what is “right” by social standards (Blumburg et al 2008). Research ethics

need to be followed at all stages of the research project and need to be integral to the

research process (Bryman & Bell 2011). Zikmund et al (2010) suggest that the

researcher, research participants and research sponsors or funders all have rights and

obligations to act ethically during research and to prevent harm and adverse

consequences from research activities (Cooper & Schindler 2008). Struwig and Stead

(2013:68) offer a set of guidelines to follow to ensure that research is conducted

ethically. Specifically, researchers need to ensure that:


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Data is not distorted or invented

Work of others is properly acknowledged and there is no plagiarism

Confidentiality is maintained and the privacy of research participants

respected

Research participants are treated ethically and are not deceived

Results are not falsely reported

These principles have informed the approach to the current study, and have been

adhered to at all stages of the research process. The documents whose contents was

to be analysed were sourced from public domains such as the government websites

of countries included in the sample and through direct requests to members of

networks in whichthe researcher was active, for example, the United Nations

Conference on Trade and Development and the African Dialogue Network. The

documents were public documents and hence the sources could be revealed. The

content analysis of legislation was performed by a research assistant, to ensure

objectivity and to be free from possible bias of interpretation by the researcher. The

questionnaire with open-ended questions was send to a select group of participants

who had agreed to participate by completing the questionaires.

At all stages of the research process, the researcher ensured that research activities

were within the scope defined in the context and parameters of the study. The

researcher adhered to Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University research ethics policy

imperatives and made sure that no-one suffered adverse consequences during the

research.The necessary NMMU ethics form was also completed.

5.14 SUMMARY

The contents of this research methodology chapter, which discussed and set out the

way in which the research for the purposes of this study was conducted, were

summarised in Figure 5.4. This chapter also described the rationale for locating the

research within an interpretivist paradigm, whilst indicating that a qualitative approach

would be utilised. The research design set out how the research would be conducted

using content analysis, and elaborated on the how the data would be collected. The

non-probability sampling techniques that were used to select the countries, and, in

particular, African countries whose consumer protection policies and legislation would


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be analysed, were explained. The themes for the content analysis were presented as

a framework to use to analyse consumer protection polices and laws of the countries

in the sample. Open-ended questionnaires were also administered to a select group

of participants. This would then provide data to inform the framework to be proposed

for South Africa to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy. The

results and interpretation of the qualitative study are presented in Chapter 6.

RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE QUALITATIVE STUDY CHAPTER SIX

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CHAPTER SIX

RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE QUALITATIVE STUDY

6.1 INTRODUCTION

Chapter 5 provided an overview of the research methodology and the research design

which enabled the development of a framework of how to content analyse data

collected such as consumer protection policies, to determine ways in which

sustainability had been incorporated into these. Source documents, as the basis for

data, were obtained in two ways, firstly, a questionnaire was distributed to selected

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development member countries as well as

to colleagues who participate in the African Consumer Protection Dialogue facilitated

by the Federal Trade Commission in the United States. Secondly, data on additional

countries was sourced from the internet. The source documents were then content

analysed against the components of the theoretical framework for incorporating

sustainability into consumer protection policies.

The aim of Chapter 6 is to present an analysis and interpretation of the content

analysis results systematically, in accordance with scientific standards. As the study

was qualitative, the results are discussed on a country-by-country basis. In addition to

using the theoretical framework as an analytical tool, novel policy innovations beyond

the scope of the framework are also highlighted, as an additional means of identifying

sustainability aspects for consideration in the recommendations for ways in which to

incorporate sustainability into South African consumer protection policy.


Figure 6.1 is included here to illustrate the place of Chapter 6 in the broader research

process.


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6.3 RESULTS OF QUESTIONNAIRES USED IN THE QUALITATIVE

ENQUIRY

With the assistance of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development,

questionnaires were sent to twenty countries. Table 6.1 indicates the eight countries

that sent responses to the questionnaire.

Table 6.1: Country Questionnaire Responses Received

Country Responses Received

African Countries Response Other Countries Response

Botswana Yes Australia No

Egypt Yes Brazil No

Ghana No El Salvadore No

Kenya No Germany No

Mauritius Yes New Zealand Yes

Namibia No Singapore No

Nigeria No Sweden Yes

Seychelles No United Kingdom No

Tanzania Yes United States Yes

Tunisia No

Zambia Yes

The response from the United States was not usable as it contained responses to an

unrelated survey. In addition to the information provided in the responses to questions

in the questionnaire, countries were requested to either provide copies of consumer

protection policies and legislation or refer the researcher to where these could be

located on the internet. These documents, where able to be located, were then content

analysed to identify sustainability elements as set out in the United Nations Guidelines

on Consumer Protection (2003) as indicated in Table 6.1. The results of the content

analysis showed how the data had been transformed into information insights and


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knowledge (Struwig & Stead 2013). Given the qualitative nature of the study, the

results are described for each country, using six descriptive aspects to frame the

findings, as set out in Figure 6.2.

Figure 6.2: Results Descriptors


The four components of the theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability

referred to in Figure 6.2 were described in Chapter 4 as sustainability definition

elements, product life-cycle model, sector self-regulation initiatives and policy

instruments.

6.4 RESULTS OF EGYPT

The results of the content analysis of consumer protection policy in Egypt are

described according to each of the descriptors set out in Figure 6.2.

6.4.1 Background and Country Policy Context

Egypt is a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development member state and

submitted a response to the questionnaire. A consumer protection government official

participated in the African Consumer Protection Dialogue initiative and provided

assistance with the provision of data about consumer protection in Egypt. At the time

of the study, Egypt was the third biggest economy in Africa (Africa Ranking 2015) with

a significant formal economy. The country has comprehensive consumer protection

policies, dating back to the 1940s. At the time of the study, consumer protection

legislation was under review, gleaning expertise from the European Union consumer


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protection directives, with specific support from Germany, France and Spain.

Consumer protection is a constitutional provision, and is the end-goal of the overall

economic system “aiming to preserve the rights of workers and protect the consumer”

(Constitution of Egypt 2014).

6.4.2 Components of the Theoretical Framework

The research yielded data for each of the four components of the theoretical

framework for incorporating sustainability.

(a) Sustainability Definition Elements

Egypt’s constitution incorporates sustainable development and social justice as

undergirding the economic system and as a key means to achieve prosperity and

poverty eradication. There is also constitutional commitment to balanced growth

environmentally. These constitutional imperatives do not cascade through to any

provisions in the Consumer Protection Law 67 (Consumer Protection Law Egypt

2006), with the content analysis not finding any reference to sustainable consumption

practices to meet the needs of future generations. It is unlikely that Egypt has chosen

to rather use environmental policy to achieve sustainability, as McKenna (2013:27)

found in her research that “current Egyptian environmental policy does not include

sustainable development, nor has it successfully enforced action plans targeting the

protection of natural resources or addressed local behaviors that contribute to

environmental degradation”. Thus, Egypt’s impressive constitutional commitments to

sustainability do not seem to have been effectively reflected in consumer protection or

environmental policy.

(b) Product Life-cycle Model

The Consumer Protection Law 67 (Consumer Protection Law Egypt 2006) does not

contain provisions that speak to most of the elements of the product life-cycle model,

such as product design, natural resource usage, green manufacturing, re-cycling of

product disposal. The Law does, however, guarantee consumers rights to “obtain

correct information and data of products that are bought, used or offered to

consumers”. In the course of carrying out economic activities, Atricle 2 of the law

expressly prohibits people from concluding any agreement or performing any activity


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which prejudices this right (Consumer Protection Law Egypt Art 2006). Article 6 states

that the information to be provided to consumers must relate to the nature and

characteristics of the product (Consumer Protection Law Egypt 2006). Clear and

legible product labelling about the nature of commodities is also a legal provision

(Article 3 in Consumer Protection Law Egypt 2006). Whilst these provisions do not

specify that the information must incorporate environmental and eco-footprint details,

these policy provisions could be utilised to provide consumers with eco-information at

least in relation to some dimensions of the product life-cycle.

(c) Sector Self-Regulation for Sustainability

Self-regulation by its nature falls outside of the ambit of detailed policy provisions, but

rather through provisions that enable this and do not restrict this. In keeping with this,

Egyptian consumer policy was not found to place any restrictions on industry self-

regulatory initiatives to incorporate sustainability into business practices. For track-

and traceability, data identifying a supplier must be on all documentation in the course

of contracting or dealing with a consumer (Article 4 in Consumer Protection Law Egypt

2006).

(d) Policy Instruments

The Egyptian Consumer Law is succinct and clear regarding consumers’ essential

rights, and has a dedicated entity, the Consumer Protection Agency tasked to ensure

compliance and enforcement. There are clear policy instruments for dealing with policy

violations including fines, compelling businesses to adjust actions, suspension of

services, seizure of commodities and public “naming and shaming” of businesses that

continue to violate consumer rights through inappropriate practices. The Agency is the

avenue for consumer redress. These policy instruments could be well-utilised if the

legislation could be amended to include clearer provisions relating to sustainability.

6.4.3 Novel Policy Innovations

A policy provision that could be instrumental in continuously expanding Egyptian

consumer policy to incorporate sustainability is the obligation of the Consumer

Protection Agency for the on-going development of consumers’ rights (Article 12 in

Consumer Protection Law Egypt 2006). This responsibility could also be an important


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tool for ensuring the alignment of Egyptian consumer protection policy with

international standards and provisions, such as the United Nations Guidelines on

Consumer Protection (2003), particularly those which relate to sustainability and

sustainable consumption.

6.5 RESULTS OF BOTSWANA

The results of the content analysis of consumer protection policy in Botswana are



Botswana is a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development member state

and submitted a response to the questionnaire. A consumer protection government

official participated in the African Consumer Protection Dialogue initiative and provided

assistance with the provision of data about consumer protection in Botswana. At the

time of the study, consumer protection legislation was under review, with dominant

government thinking leaning towards incorporating the Consumer Protection Office,

established in terms of the Consumer Protection Act (Chapter 42.07 in Consumer

Protection Act Botswana 1998) with the Competition Authority.





Botswana’s Consumer Protection Act was promulgated in 1998 (Consumer Protection

Act Botswana 1998). Although this was six years after Agenda 21, the action plan of

the United Nations with regard to sustainable development, agreed by global leaders

at the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio

de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, it is, on the contrary, before the revision of the United

Nations Guidelines in Consumer Protection (2003) to incorporate sustainability and

sustainable consumption in 1999. This background may provide insight as to why

Botswana consumer policy contains scant incorporation of sustainability provisions.

The only provision which does so, is contained in the Regulations to the Act, and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Summit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil


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stipulates that a supplier of a commodity or service shall fail to meet minimum

standards of performance if “the supplier represents that a product of package is

degradable, bio-degradable, or photo-degradable unless it can be substantiated by

evidence that the product or package will decompose into elements found in nature

within a reasonable short period of time after consumers use the product and dispose

of the product or the package in a landfill or compositing facility…” (Consumer

Protection Regulations, 2001 Part III 14(f) in Consumer Protection Act Botswana

1998). The remainder of the Act is silent on sustainability definition components.


Other than the regulatory stipulation regarding a supplier failing to meet minimum

standards of performance if the supplier mis-represents a product or package as

degradable, bio-degradable, or photo degradable, as set-out in Regulations

(Consumer Protection Regulations, 2001 Part III 14(f) in Consumer Protection Act

Botswana 1998), Botswana’s consumer protection policy does not pronounce on the

elements of the product life-cycle model, such as product design, natural resource

usage, green manufacturing, re-cycling of product disposal. The law also does not

give consumers the right to information and data about products. The Regulations do,

however, give the Director of the Consumer Protection Office powers to recommend

to the Minister to determine any business practice as failing to meet minimum

standards of specification (Part III 13 (2) in Consumer Protection Act Botswana 1998).

If utilised in pursuit of sustainability, the Minister could deploy these powers to set

minimum standards for each phase of the product life-cycle, from the design phase

through to product disposal.


The Consumer Protection Office has the powers to determine the set standards of

practice of any particular business (Part III 8(3) in Consumer Protection Act Botswana

1998). Whilst this implies regulatory powers, the policy rider that the Office may

“consult such organizations as may regulate the particular type of business” suggests

that the Botswanan policy framework recognises the legitimacy of business sectors to

self-regulate, which could extend to sector-based self-regulation regarding

sustainability, similar to those designed by the South African wine industry and as


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exemplified in the theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer

protection policy.


Botswana consumer protection law grants powers to the Consumer Protection Agency

to protect consumers interests and to assist consumers actively to initiate civil or

criminal proceedings (Part II 5 (2)(i) in Consumer Protection Act Botswana 1998) to

gain redress. Allowable interventions include alternative dispute resolution processes,

escalating through fines, search and seizure, declaratory judgments and the

declaration of business practices as unlawful.

Botswana also has sectoral legislation such as the Public Health Act, which

compliments consumer protection law to regulate product safety.


Botswana’s consumer protection framework has aspects which could be expanded in

their interpretation to advance the incorporation of sustainability interests. The first is

the concept of unfair business practice, which is defined as “any business practice

which, directly or indirectly, has or is likely to have the effect of unfairly affecting any

consumer” (Part I (2) in Consumer Protection Act Botswana 1998). This definition is

sufficiently broad to allow for sustainability considerations to be advanced as unfairly

affecting any consumer, specifically, if these affect the three main tenets of

sustainability as defined for the purposes of this study as set out in Chapter 2 (Section

2.6), namely, “an integrated and holistic approach to production and consumption

which inter-links economic, social and environmental considerations and is mindful of

the impact on global resources; takes future generations needs into consideration; and

is multi-facetted, straddling all dimensions of the production and consumption life-

cycle”.

The second important aspect is the power granted to the Minister to make regulations

making provision for “prescribing the minimum specifications, performance, quality

and safety standards required for any type of commodity or service being offered to

consumers” (Part IV, 19(c) in Consumer Protection Act Botswana 1998). This


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unfettered policy provision could be used creatively in relation to sustainability

minimum specifications.

Similar to Egypt, the Consumer Protection Office is tasked with making

recommendations on consumer protection policies, laws and regulations (Part II

5(2)(a) in Consumer Protection Act Botswana 1998). This is an unchartered

opportunity for the regulatory authority to use this undefined policy mandate to propose

measures that would see sustainability incorporated into consumer protection policy.

In addition, Section 5(2)(j) in Consumer Protection Act Botswana 1998) sets out the

an additional function of the Office as “do all things as may be necessary to protect

consumers… from being otherwise exploited”. Again, this presents an opportunity to

bring policy recommendations that incorporate how unsustainable consumption

equates to an exploitation of consumers.

6.6 RESULTS OF ZAMBIA

The results of the content analysis of consumer protection policy in Zambia are



Zambia is a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development member state and

submitted a response to the questionnaire. Zambia is a self-declared free market

economy, which is viewed as having stimulated the economy and increased trade

levels. Concomitant with this has been the emergence of an increase in unfair trading

practices. In response to this, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission

(CCPC Zambia 2016) was established to enhance the welfare of consumers in

Zambia. The CCPC is a statutory body carries a dual policy mandate to protect the

competition process in the Zambian economy in conjunction with consumer protection.

A consumer protection government official participated in the African Consumer

Protection Dialogue initiative and provided assistance with the provision of data about

consumer protection in Zambia.


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The primary piece of consumer protection legislation in Zambia is the Competition and

Consumer Protection Act, No 24 of 2010 (Consumer Protection Act Zambia 2010).

Consumer protection policy is somewhat over-shadowed in the Act, which foregrounds

competition issues more strongly. Consumer protection is centred around the policy

notion of unfair trading. However, the definition of this in the Act does not extend to

any of the definition elements of sustainability. A policy amendment would be required

to extend the current legal definition to extend unfair trading to incorporate any trading

that is conducted in a manner which does take into account sustainability

considerations.


Although Zambian consumer protection policy does not specifically track all aspects

of the product life-cycle model holistically from a sustainability perspective, the

legislation does contain two provisions that relate to certain aspects and could be

expanded upon. The first aspect is about product labelling, with a policy specification

that the ingredients used in the product must be indicated in the label. This presents

a possibility to extend this policy requirement to include the eco- and bio-related

features of ingredients such as genetic modification, and the origin of product raw

materials. For traceability, the manufacturer’s name, the physical location of the

manufacturer, the telephone number and any other contact details of the manufacturer

must be included in the product label (s50(1) in Consumer Protection Act Zambia

2010).

The second aspect that could begin to provide consumers with information about

sustainability concerns at each step of the product life-cycle, is that “goods (must)

conform to the mandatory consumer product information standard for the class of

goods set by the Zambia Bureau of Standards or other relevant competent body” (s50

(2) in Consumer Protection Act Zambia 2010). Defining policy minimum standards that


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specify sustainability prerequisites at all steps of the product life-cycle would be a

mechanism to ensure compliance with sustainability standards.


In the response to the questionnaire, it was indicated that the Competition and

Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC Zambia 2016) undertakes “Training of

businesses on consumer complaints handling procedures/mechanisms (Compliance

Program); and consumer education /advocacy between businesses and consumers”.

This suggests that the CCPC encourages businesses to develop their own tools to

compliment the legal policy requirements of the Act (Consumer Protection Act Zambia

2010). The Compliance Program contains advocacy material which the CCPC has

developed to encourage businesses to comply with the Act. It consists of nine simple

measures which businesses can voluntarily introduce and implement, namely:

Demonstrate commitment

Understand and manage trade risk areas

Get staff involved

Allocate responsibility (to specific staff members)

Implement procedures

Set-up a complaints handling mechanism

Make sure staff realise they are accountable

Update and address compliance arrangements

Keep a record of compliance and CCPA issues

Each of these is expanded upon in more detail in a brochure distributed to businesses.

Whilst not specific to sustainability, these nine pointers provide a useful framework for

businesses to leverage off and customise for their own self-regulatory purposes.


The Zambian consumer protection policy instruments incorporate both preventive and

remedial measures, with examples of the former being consumer education and

market sensitisations aimed at educating consumers about their basic rights and

obligations. Furthermore, consumers are encouraged to actively report violations of

the Act to the Commission through various channels. Remedial measures are the


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Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s legislative mandate to impose

punitive measures such as warnings, fines and prosecution on traders that violate the

Act (Consumer Protection Act Zambia 2010).


An interesting policy innovation that the Zambian Competition and Consumer

Protection Commission is beginning to grapple with, though it is yet to translate into

policy, is consumer protection in the context of what is termed “roadside trading”. This

is described as involving “selling goods or services on a road or footpath or from a

place adjacent to the road. Roadside Traders usually place themselves along the road,

in a vehicle, at a stall or a vending machine or any structure used for trading purposes.

They may also be walking along the road selling or offering to sell goods and services

to various consumers” (CCPC Zambia 2016). The CCPC is engaging with this

business model in that it is informal in nature and as such does not offer the formal

business practices that can be relied upon to enforce consumer rights, such as a

receipt for goods purchased to be used to demonstrate proof of purchase when

wishing to return a faulty good or a good that does not meet a purported sustainability

feature such as a solar charging capability. In many developing countries in general,

and in African countries, in particular, these informal trading practices characterise

business and hence provide a new context within which to conceptualise consumer

protection policy as a whole, and in relation to sustainability in particular.

6.7 RESULTS OF MAURITIUS

The results of the content analysis of consumer protection policy in Mauritius are



Mauritius is a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development member state

and submitted a response to the questionnaire, which set out the following country

policy context. The Consumer Protection Unit, a specialised unit within the Ministry

of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection, is the institution entrusted with the

consumer protection mandate in Mauritius. It administers and enforces the various

consumer protection legislations in place, namely:


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(a) Fair Trading Act 1979 and subsidiary legislations

(b) Consumer Protection Act 1991 and subsidiary legislations

(c) Essential Commodities Act No 8 of 1991

(d) Consumer Protection (Price and Supplies Control) Act 1998 and subsidiary

legislations

(e) Hire Purchase and Credit Sales Act 1964

Price control and setting fixed prices of certain essential commodities is the main

policy instrument that seeks to look after the welfare of consumers.

Initiated in 2013, as stated in the response to the questionnaire, work had begun to

develop a consolidated Consumer Protection Bill to promote and safeguard the social

and economic welfare of consumers by establishing a legal framework for the

achievement and maintenance of a consumer market which is accessible, fair,

efficient, responsible and sustainable for the benefit of consumers generally, and

which provides adequate protection to consumers.


In the response to the questionnaire, it was indicated that existing Mauritian consumer

protection policy does not contain measures to promote and achieve sustainability and

sustainable consumption. As such, there is no analysis possible for the four

components of the theoretical framework.


Noting the policy constraint above, the product safety regulations contained within the

Consumer Protection Act No. 11 (Consumer Protection Act Mauritius 1991) give the

Minister wide scope to institute regulations that cover product dimensions, including:

(a) composition, design, construction, finish or packing of goods; (b) giving, refusing,

alteration, cancellation or approval of such goods; (c) prohibiting persons from

supplying goods to which this section applies, including components and raw materials

thereof; (d) standards to be applied in carrying out any test or inspection of goods; (e)

requiring of a mark, warning or instructions to be put on or to accompany the goods

(s4(2)(a)-(e) in Consumer Protection Act Mauritius 1991). This spectrum of regulatory


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mechanisms would provide comprehensive policy instruments if these were to be

extended to apply to sustainability considerations within the ambit of consumer

protection policy.

6.8 RESULTS OF TANZANIA

The results of the content analysis of consumer protection policy in Tanzania are



The United Republic of Tanzania is a United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development member state and submitted a response to the questionnaire. A

consumer protection government official participated in the African Consumer

Protection Dialogue initiative and provided assistance with the provision of data about

consumer protection in Tanzania. Consumer protection is folded into the Fair

Competition Act of 2003 (Fair Competition Act Tanzania 2003), with provisions to

protect consumers from unfair and misleading market conduct. At the time of the study,

consumer protection legislation was under review by the Tanzanian Ministry of Trade

and Industry in collaboration with the Fair Competition Commission, and in

consultation with stakeholders.




(a) Sustainability Definitionl Elements

Tanzanian consumer protection policy currently does not incorporate sustainability as

defined for the purposes of this study, which speaks to an intersect of economic, social

and environmental concerns. Rather, the broader national Tanzanian policy regime

rests on vertical segmentation of focus areas, with, for example, environmental policy

being administered by a stand-alone department which implements the National

Environment Management Act of 2004.


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Tanzanian consumer protection policy, as encapsulated in the Fair Competition Act,

allows for prescriptive regulations regarding consumer product information standards

(S50 (2) in Fair Competition Act Tanzania 2003). Specifically, regulations should

consist of requirements regarding:

disclosure of information relating to the performance, composition,

contents, methods of manufacture or processing, design, construction,

finish or packaging of the goods; and

form and manner in which that information is to be disclosed on or with the

goods, as are reasonably necessary to give persons using the goods

information as to the quantity, quality, nature or value of the goods.

This policy provision could be used to develop regulations regarding the sustainability

implications at each step of the product life-cycle.


Part III of the Act (Fair Competition Act Tanzania 2003) deals with misleading and

deceptive conduct by businesses, and specifically prohibits making a false or

misleading representation concerning the place of origin of goods (s16 (i) in Fair

Competition Act Tanzania 2003). This provision can be used to offer consumers the

means to trace products back to the source should they wish to validate sustainability

practices at any point of the supply-chain trajectory of a product.


The legislation also provides extensive detail about product safety, with Ministerial

powers to declare consumer product safety standards (S51 in Fair Competition Act

Tanzania 2003). Policy-makers could experiment with ways to use this policy provision

in relation to sustainability dimensions such as whether the product is “safe” in terms

of its impact on the environment or is hazardous to the environment and hence the

needs of future generations.


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Tanzanian consumer protection policy contains concepts that were not intended, in

their inception, to necessarily deal with sustainability but which in their essence could

creatively be applied to this notion. The first such policy provision is the notion of

unconscionable conduct, which suppliers are expressly-prohibited from engaging in

(Part V s 25(1) in Fair Competition Act Tanzania 2003). In a sustainability context, if

products which were produced and/or utilised in ways which compromised the needs

of future generations owing to, for example, their destruction of composite raw

materials during manufacture, this could be construed as falling under the policy

mantle of unconscionable conduct. Using this policy provision, producers and

suppliers could be regulated and prevented from conducting these unsustainable

business practices.

The second policy innovation is the establishment of National Consumer Advocacy

Council (s93(1) in Fair Competition Act Tanzania 2003), which has a legislative duty

to represent the interests of consumers. This could be a formal mechanism through

which the sustainability related concerns of consumers could be brought to the

attention of policy makers.

6.9 RESULTS OF NEW ZEALAND

The results of the content analysis of consumer protection policy in New Zealand are



New Zealand is a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development member

state and submitted a response to the questionnaire. Within the Ministry of Business,

Innovation and Employment, New Zealand has a Minister for Commerce and

Consumer Affairs, pointing to the importance attached to consumer matters by the

government. During the recent consumer legislation review process, amendments

were made, where appropriate, for policy alignment with Australian Consumer Law, in

accordance with the geo-political agenda to create a single economic market with

Australia (SEM 2015).


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Consumer protection laws promote an environment in which sustainability and

sustainable consumption may be achieved more effectively. New Zealand’s consumer

laws are aimed at ensuring that consumers can access and understand the

information they need to transact with confidence. This includes assisting consumers

to make consumption decisions that promote sustainability.


Section 27 of the Act (Fair Trading Act New Zealand 1986) provides for Consumer

Information Standards regulations, which can relate to all or any of the following

matters:

disclosure of information relating to the kind, grade, quantity, origin,

performance, care, composition, contents, design, construction, use, price,

finish, packaging, promotion, or supply of the goods or services

form and manner in which that information must be disclosed on or in relation

to, or in connection with, the supply or resupply, or possible supply or

resupply, or promotion of the supply of the goods or services

The intention of Consumer Information Standards Regulations (CISR 2016) is to

provide consumers with information about goods or services that they cannot readily

access or determine on their own, and for consumers to then utilise this information to

make more informed purchase decisions. From a sustainability perspective, two

interesting standards are country of origin and fibre content-labelling applicable to the

clothing and footwear sector and water efficiency and consumption information for

major water using products (for example, washing machines, dishwashers, showers,

toilets, urinals and taps). A rating system indicates the efficiency to consumers.


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Some industries in New Zealand have established voluntary codes of practice for their

members, for example, the processed food industry in relation to marketing to children,

and the grocery industry in relation to their coupon practices.


New Zealand has a suite of laws specifically-designed to protect consumers. Chief

among these are the Fair Trading Act 1986, the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, and

the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (Consumer Protection New

Zealand 2016). The general aim of New Zealand’s consumer protection laws is to

create a competitive business environment in which consumers and businesses can

engage with trust and confidence; ensure that products are safe and as described;

and ensure that where these expectations are not met, consumers have access to

appropriate forms of redress. New Zealand’s consumer protection laws set out

expectations and minimum standards. Consumer law was comprehensively revised

and reformed between 2010–2014. The primary objective was improve and enhance

policy provisions to have in place principles-based consumer law that, on the one

hand, enables consumers to transact with confidence, whilst supporting honest

business practices and protecting reputable suppliers and consumers from

inappropriate market conduct (Consumer Protection New Zealand 2016).


The Fair Trading Act (Fair Trading Act New Zealand 1986) prohibits false or

misleading representations by businesses, and was reformed to also prohibit the

making of unsubstantiated claims. These prohibitions extend to environmental claims

that may hinder the ability of consumers to make sustainable consumption choices.

The Fair Trading Act (Fair Trading Act New Zealand 1986) requires businesses

making environmental claims, including statements about sustainability, recycling,

carbon neutrality, energy efficiency, use of natural products or impact on animals and

the natural environment. This is to ensure that those claims are accurate, scientifically

sound and substantiated.


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6.10 RESULTS OF SWEDEN

The results of the content analysis of consumer protection policy in Sweden revealed

interesting novel policy innovations.


Sweden is a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development member state

and submitted a response to the questionnaire that referred the researcher to the

websites of the Swedish government to access information about consumer protection

policy. Much of the information was in Swedish, with less detail available in English.

What follows was thus a general overview of Swedish consumer protection policy,

rather than reporting in any findings as per each component of the theoretical

framework.

Sweden is a highly-developed post-industrial society in which a mixture of high-tech

capitalism and extensive social security benefits has resulted in an enviable standard

of living (Olsson in Mehta 2006). Swedish public policy reflects this mix of economic

strength grounded in social equity considerations, and aims to be a world leader in

both development and equality. Consumer protection is the responsibility of the

Consumer Agency under the Ministry of Finance. The objective of consumer policy is

stated as “to give consumers the power and opportunity to make active choices”

(Consumer Protection Sweden 2016). The mechanisms to achieve this are statutory

consumer protection, ensuring compliance with the legislation, providing consumers

with information and dispute settlement avenues. A policy domain identified for

receiving attention to improve the position of consumers wassustainable consumption.

There are a number of acts that protect consumers from different aspects of the

market, with the three primary acts being the Consumer Act (ensuring non-detrimental

contractual arrangements), the Product Safety Act (ensuring that goods and services

do not harm consumers) and the Marketing Act (prohibiting misleading advertising and

unfair marketing) (Consumer Protection Sweden 2016).

The policy is preventative in its intention, emphasising co-operation amongst parties

and the importance of consumer education and information provision in order for

consumers to insist on their rights actively (Olsson in Mehta 2006). In additional to


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national government entities, local government also offers consumer advisory and

support services. Thus, consumer protection is comprehensive and easily accessible

for consumers.


Sweden has conceptualised the role of the consumer in sustainability in a unique

manner. This presents a novel perspective that could be translated into policy

innovation. The policy and related implementation plan is termed, “Think Twice: An

Action Plan for Sustainable Household Consumption” (Think Twice 2006). The policy

premise is that consumption habits impact sustainably or unsustainably and that all

consumers must contribute and be persuaded and assisted to adopt consumption

choices that would enable future generations to be able to meet their needs. Through

such changes to everyday consumption, consumers can contribute towards reducing

injustices and environmental degradation, with positive social and economic

consequences for themselves. The site of policy implementation is the household,

and, as such, the focus is on sustainable household consumption, which is defined as

“consumption of goods and services that meets human needs and provides increased

quality of life while at the same time minimising the negative impact of consumption

on health and environment, to benefit fair and just global development” (Think Twice

2006:5). The point of departure is the policy confluence between the country’s

sustainable development strategy, and the Swedish Government consumer policy

strategy. The institutional site for policy co-ordination is the Consumer Agency.

The policy provides a starting point for how consumers can “think twice” and pivots on

three initial areas for consumer behaviour change, namely, how to eat, live and travel

sustainably as these three areas consume the bulk of household expenditure and

place the greatest strain on a healthy society and the environment. Government has

developed a mix of economic, administrative and informative policy control

instruments and tools to, firstly, enable consumers to consume sustainably, secondly,

to strengthen their motivation to change their behaviour, and, thirdly, increase their

commitment to the issue of sustainable consumption. Examples of initiatives to

achieve these three policy intentions are set out in Table 6.2.


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Table 6.2: Policy Initiatives to Encourage Sustainable Household Consumption

Policy Initiative Category Policy Intention Policy Measure

Enabling consumers Increasing organic production and public consumption of organic food

Labelling of organic food

Promoting energy conservation

Having regulatory standards for energy-efficient housing

Adapting adaptation of products and services environmentally, and further assisting in the environmental adaptation of production process

Stimulating operational and product development from a sustainability perspective

Ensuring that the sustainability perspective is taken into consideration in the development of consumer product standards

Having a governing standard for social and environmental responsibility

Ensuring ethical and social-labelling offering easily-accessible

information at the time of purchase, including content declarations, and added value labelling

Eco-labelling

Motivating consumers Increasing consumer costs for unsustainable behaviour (adding an environmental tax) or reducing the costs for sustainable behaviour (a tax reduction on household environmental improvements)

Adapting tax element environmentally

Reducing personal energy consumption by taking simple steps

Having an efficient energy advisory

Committing consumers Increasing awareness of global justice issues.

Increasing support to information campaigns promoting fair trade



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Table 6.2 depicts a number of novel Swedish policy initiatives to encourage

sustainable household consumption that present interesting possibilities for a

framework for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection

policy.

6.11 RESULTS OF THE COUNTRY COMPARATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS

Given that only eight country analysis questionnaires were returned, of which six

country consumer protection policy frameworks were able to be directly analysed,

additional findings were gathered by conducting a content analysis of research

findings from studies of consumer protection conducted by other agencies and entities.

Specifically, a content analysis was performed using the findings of a research Project:

Tracking Progress (Bentley 2004). The countries that formed part of the research

project were Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Germany, Japan, Mauritius and Senegal.

The findings of the content analysis of these research findings as well as policy

updates since 2004 when the research was published are set out in Table 6.3.


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Table 6.3: Results of the Country Comparative Analysis of Incorporating Sustainability

Country Comparative Analysis

Country Background &

Context

Components of Theoretical Framework for Incorporating Sustainability

Novel Policy Innovations Sustainability

Definition Elements Product Life-cycle

Model

Sector Self-Regulation for Sustainability

Policy Instruments

AUSTRALIA As a federation of states, sustainable consumption policy is crafted jointly at Federal and State level. Implementation involves co-ordination across the three levels of government, including local government.

There is a single window of co-ordination for policy, with the national environment department mandated to provide leadership on consumer protection issues related to sustainable consumption, which are framed as More With Less.

Australian consumer protection policy leverages off and is strongly-informed by international fora that pro-actively develop approaches to consumer policy that consider the environmental impact and sustainable consumption parameters (for example, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Committee on Consumer Policy)

Australia has extensive measures encouraging businesses to design for the environment. Encapsulated as Product Innovation: the Green Advantage, the aim is to reduce the impact on the environment at each step of the product life-cycle

A federal eco-labelling programme failed in the 1990s owing to lack of industry interest. Initiatives since then have been segmented, with an Energy Rating Label applicable for household appliances and Water Efficiency labelling making this information available to consumers at the point of purchase

Government works pro-actively with business, developing voluntary eco-efficiency agreements with sectoral industry associations.

Arising from this collaborative approach, a wide range of sector-specific initiatives have been designed, with a definite focus on re-cycling and producing goods and services using less energy and fewer natural resources.

Other initiatives rate environmental impact, such as the Green Building initiative

Australia has an extensive suite of policy instruments for consumer protection, which include demand- and supply-side measures and economic measures that promote sustainable consumption such as taxes, eco-rebates, levies and tolls.

There are enforcement and remedy mechanisms.

Other mechanisms include a Framework for Industry Codes of Conduct and reporting frameworks, notably for Government departments on greening initiatives

Australia practices evidence-based policy making, using data gathered during surveys undertaken by Bureau of Statistics on environmental behaviour and practices in households.

Product-stewardship frameworks are used to draw business into voluntary sustainability initiatives

Cost-benefit analysis is used to make realistic assessments of viability of introducing sustainability initiatives


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Context




Model


Policy Instruments

UPDATE:

Since 2004, Australia reviewed consumer protection law and the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 was introduced to replace the Trade Practices Act 1974 (ACCU Australia 2016). The legislation is comprehensive, the core purpose being to enhance the welfare of Australians in a two-fold manner by promoting fair trading and competition, and through the provision of consumer protections. Whilst five mandatory industry codes are prescribed under the Act, non-prescriptive voluntary industry codes of conduct which set out specific standards of conduct for an industry are encouraged and assistance and guidance is provided to develop these. The benefits of voluntary codes are increased consumer protection and reduced regulatory burdens for business. In 2011, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, charged with implementation of the new legislation, produced guidelines for developing effective voluntary industry codes of conduct. A further development since 2004 is that organic claims are now against the law. An organic claim is any claim that describes a product as organic, or the ingredients used to make a product as organic. Such claims must be able to be substantiated by business. There is a voluntary Australian standard for growers and manufacturers wishing to label their products ‘organic’ and ‘biodynamic’. Private bodies provide certification of products as organic and symbols, logos or other trademarks have been designed to provide consumers with this information. July 2016 saw the introduction of a new country of origin food-labelling system applicable to food offered for retail sale. These labelling requirements would be introduced incrementally with businesses having a two-year window to amend business practices to achieve compliance (ACCU Australia 2016). Alongside production-side regulation that puts in place or tightens minimum standards, Australia has supplemented these policy instruments with consumption side information policies to promote sustainable consumption. Examples of these booklets and web-based information resources are Your Home, Shop Smart and Living Greener which provide information on how to live more sustainably (Gale 2014).

BRAZIL

A grouping of Ministries have collective responsibility for sustainability and sustainable consumption

Social and cultural differences in countries are important determinants of sustainability

Eco-labelling is encouraged on a voluntary basis, as are recycling initiatives that are pro-poor

Green labelling of forestry products is encouraged

The National System of Consumer Protection is responsible for the formulation, co-ordination and implementation of

Consumer rights NGOs conduct independent product testing


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Context




Model


Policy Instruments

More generally, consumer protection legislation is encapsulated in the Brazilian Consumer Defense Code (Federal Law 8.078 of 1990), which gives specific expression to the consumer rights embedded within the 1988 national Constitution.

national consumer protection policy

Government actively engages consumers to change and adopt behaviour and attitudes in pursuit of sustainability

Environmental indicators underpin monitoring

UPDATE

Since 2004, Brazil established the National Consumer Bureau (SENACON) by Decree 7738 of May 28, 2012 (SENACON Brazil 2016). Located under the Ministry of Justice, SENCON is responsible for planning, preparation, coordination and implementation of the National Policy for Consumer Affairs, including promoting harmonisation and encouraging integration and joint action by members of he National Consumer Protection System (SNDC). The Secretary of Consumer Defence (head of SENACON), introduced a unique integrated approach to consumer protection during the soccer world cup in 2014. SENACON co-ordinated and lead the participation of a number of government departments and agencies (such as Tourism, Health, Transport, Aviation, municipalities and market representatives) in the Integrated Centre for Foreign Consumer Protection (ICFCP Brazil 2016) which implemented a national strategy developed to protect and ensure the rights of foreign consumers quickly and effectively during their visit to Brazil. Having demonstrated the capability for harmonised policy development and implementation, this integrated model of consumer protection could be expanded in relation to sustainability and consumer protection and involve relevant departments such as environmental affairs.


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Context




Model


Policy Instruments

CHILE

Chile regards itself as one of the leading Latin America / Caribbean countries regarding sustainability and sustainable consumption.

The country also participates actively in international fora in this arena

The National Consumer Protection Agency (SERNAC) works in partnership with a number of government ministries and entities to change consumption patterns

The United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection provisions on sustainable consumption are the touchstone for sustainability thinking in relation to consumer protection.

Sustainability is recognised as a delicate balancing act that requires careful macro-economic analysis to achieve

SERNAC actively educates and campaigns among consumers to raise awareness of the impact of their consumption choices on sustainability, in the belief that as a result consumer demand will shift towards environmentally sound products which will, in turn, influence businesses to design and supply these

Eco-labelling and cleaner production efforts have been initiated

The country submission did not deal with this

The Chilean Consumer Protection Act grants consumers rights, including the protection of health and the environment, and safe access to goods and services

Misleading environmental claims are punishable in terms of the Act

SERNAC promotes research on the environmental impact of consumer choices

The youth are targeted and trained as Environment Pioneers, to play a role in sustainability monitoring, whilst teachers are trained in consumer protection


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Context




Model


Policy Instruments

UPDATE

Since 2004, Chile has implemented a national initiative, Education for Sustainable Consumption (Flores 2012) aimed at integrating fundamental rights and freedoms including consumer rights, through providing consumers with the information and knowledge on the environmental and social impacts of their daily choices, with a view to influencing consumption behaviour towards sustainability. The intention is to use this experience-based model to shape policy-making in the field of sustainability, including consumer protection aspects. The underlying policy premise is encouraging responsible consumers, “to adjust towards lifestyles based on economic and social justice, food security, ecological integrity, sustainable livelihoods, respect for all life forms and strong values that foster social cohesion, democracy and collective action (Flores 2012:7).

SENEGAL

Senegal acknowledges that much policy remains to be developed in the field of consumer protection and that sustainability has received scant attention as a policy domain

Senegal sketches the impact of poverty on purchasing choices, noting that the primary need is for products to meet basic needs and avoid hunger. As a result, this overrides possible consideration of whether or not products are eco-friendly or “green”. Scare resources are spent on survival

Government is using information campaigns on sustainable consumption, with programmes focussed on saving energy

Recycling is receiving marginal attention

The country submission did not deal with this

Consumer protection and sustainability policy is fragmented, scattered across several laws and regulations, and a “constructive synthesis” is being advocated


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Context




Model


Policy Instruments

needs, irrespective of the impact on the needs of future generations

UPDATE

Since 2004, Consumers International conducted research on consumer protection in Senegal (CI Senegal 2013), which found as follows:

recognised the impact of poverty on consumer choice confirmed the disparity and lack of integration of consumer protection instruments in Senegal although a number of regulatory and quality control bodies exist, such as for water; electricity; transport and whose purpose should be the establishment of a sustainable competitive state, of which the ultimate goal should be the interest of the consumer, the bodies do not function effectively to protect consumer interests

GERMANY

Germany is regarded as a leading country in the drive to main-stream sustainable consumption. Germany also actively advocates for making a clear link between consumer protection and sustainability.

The incorporation of sustainability into the

Consumer Protection Policy is premised on the nexus between the economic, social, technological and cultural aspects of sustainable production and consumption

Research is identifying a wide spectrum of practical barriers to establish

The Integrated Product Policy ensures that production models incorporate environmental management systems, design for environment, life-cycle assessment and life-cycle management, eco-labelling and

It is recognised that legislation and regulatory frameworks are limited in their ability to dictate business re-orientation towards incorporating sustainability provisions that extend to consumer protection. Co-operative multiple

A wide-spectrum of regulatory mechanisms offer consumer protection, specifically related to ecological, health and environmental aspects.

Research has shown that voluntary schemes (complementary instruments) such as

Recycled products are labelled, to enable consumers to identify these for purchase

On a broader level, “ecologization” of patterns of production and consumption needs to become to be seen as a new stage in the modernisation


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Context




Model


Policy Instruments

United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection is viewed as an important step to re-orientate consumer protection policies towards sustainability.

Sustainability and sustainable consumption are a cross-sector field of policy for which multiple Ministries have responsibility

As a federal state, responsibility for sustainability cascades across national, regional and local levels

sustainable consumption and production patterns in society, namely:

Information barriers

Behavioural barriers

Perception barriers

Emotional barriers

Social barriers

Navigating these barriers is fundamental to the achieving increased levels of sustainability through the incorporation of policy provisions within consumer protection

Achieving sustainability is now seen as a long-term process involving

sustainability reporting.

Companies are also supported to develop eco-efficient new technologies

stakeholder partnerships are thus seen as vital in encouraging and enabling business sectors to pursue such innovations as value-add innovations in pursuit of sustainability objectives

eco- and recycled product labelling are proving to have a greater impact on safe-guarding consumer protection incorporating sustainability

Economic instruments such as an ecological finance and tax regime have played a crucial role in facilitating implementation of environmental and sustainability policies

of societies and cultures and will require deliberate “social innovations”, in order to overcome the barriers previously identified (see definition elements).

Achieving sustainability will require socio-ecological transformation


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Context




Model


Policy Instruments

social innovation and cultural re-orientation

UPDATE:

Since 2004, consumer protection law in Germany, as a member state of the European Union (EU), has needed to be changed to align with the EU Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU). This was introduced in 2011 with the aim of harmonising and simplifying consumer protection legislation in the EU. Member states had until June 2014 to amend domestic legislation in order to incorporate the provisions. Accordingly, on June 14, 2013, the German Federal Parliament passed an Act to facilitate the implementation of the EU Consumer Rights Directive. A one year transitional period was put into place before the law came into effect in June 2014 to allow businesses a window to amend business practices and align and comply with the legislation (Lutz & Wendler 2014). Although these legislative provisions related to contract provisions rather than to sustainability dimensions, the compliance process is of interest in that it recognises the need to offer businesses a fair and realistic time period to make the requisite changes. The Federal Ministry for Justice and Consumer Protection leads and co-ordinates the implementation of consumer protection. Policy priorities focus on the information society, financial services, the energy and transport sectors, and the health and social service sectors. This remit is wider than that of other government consumer protection entities described in this table, and points to the widened extent to which Germany has aligned consumer protection and sustainability in key focus areas. There are also various industry-driven statutes, for example, for food, cosmetics, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals.

Alongside protecting consumer health, safety and economic interests and promoting sustainable consumption, a further fundamental goal of consumer policy is to ensure that consumers are able to obtain balanced and independent information, to make comparative choices. Promoting sustainable consumption remains an important element of environmental and consumer policy in Germany. Consumer policy is embedded within EU policy dictates, such as product-related requirements such as the Ecodesign Directive and the EU energy label. The Ecodesign Directive provides for the establishment of minimum efficiency requirements for different groups of products. This leads to particularly inefficient appliances being gradually excluded from the EU internal market and aids the attainment of national and European climate targets. The Directive also allows minimum efficiency standards to be adopted as voluntary industry agreements. Mandatory EU-wide product labelling with regard to use-phase energy and resource consumption additionally allows consumers at the time of purchasing to be aware of the energy and resource consumption of products, compare with other products and make their purchase decisions accordingly. The labelling also gives manufacturers an ongoing incentive to improve their products. The result is greater market penetration for products that


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Context




Model


Policy Instruments

are more eco-efficient. In the most recent policy development regarding labelling for consumer products, it is now a requirement to indicate the sustainability of certain products.

Germany is regarded as having a comprehensive regulatory framework, with a complex mix of authorities and regulations at various levels and non-compliance by businesses can result in investigation and potential enforcement of consumer protection laws by multiple parties (Freshfields 2016).

JAPAN

The Ministry of the Environment is the fulcrum of co-ordination for policy development, in co-operation with other Ministries and government agencies.

The aim is comprehensive and all-inclusive policy

Principles underpinning Japanese law include creating provisions that will “constrain the consumption of natural resources and reduce environmental burden”

There is legislation which promotes “green purchasing” encouraging consumers to consider the environmental impact of products and

Policy intentions are to promote efforts towards the establishment of a “recycling oriented society” and a suite of laws have been introduced to systematically and incrementally expand recycling obligations on different products, for example recycling packaging to recycling cars

Government promotes “eco-friendly labelling” and fraudulent eco-

Sectoral regulatory bodies encourage sector-wide initiatives

Government entities act collectively to implement laws such as the Green Procurement Law, and to enforce regulatory dispensations as applicable, for example, fraudulent environmental claims

Government has commissioned research to measure the progress of green purchasing in households, with a view to informing future communication and engagement campaigns


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Context




Model


Policy Instruments

services when purchasing these

friendly claims are prosecuted

UPDATE

Since 2004, Japanese consumer protection law was overhauled for the first time since 1968, with the enactment of the Consumer Basic Act in May 2004 replacing the Consumer Protection Fundamental Act enacted in 1968. The new act set consumer rights as the basis of consumer polices. This Act also strengthened the governmental institutional arrangements for the implementation of consumer policy. At the apex is the inter-ministerial Consumer Policy Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, with all Ministers as members. The council is responsible for the promotion and implementation of consumer policy as well as formulating a national Consumer Basic Plan. The Consumer Policy Council is advised by the multi-civic-stakeholder Quality of Life Policy Council, which studies and deliberates on basic and important issues regarding consumer policies. Its Committee on Corporate Codes of Conduct produces guidelines to create and operate corporate codes of conduct and to ensure their effectiveness (Consumer Protection Japan 2016). The Consumer Policy Council is able to ensure the inter-connectedness of consumer policy across the whole of government, and ensuring that each line department fulfils its responsibilities in relation to consumer protection. This would serve as a good basis for pursuing sustainability concerns given the nexus between economic, social and environmental aspects contained therein. The Quality of Life Policy Council is also well-positioned to raise policy issues related to sustainability given how this is premised within quality of life concerns.

CHINA

China is acutely aware of the need to balance the needs of the large populace with limited availability of per capita resources and sees “green consumption” as

Policy is premised on co-ordinating initiatives to “attain better living standards for the Chinese people” and has an integrated suite of objectives to enable this, including

ISO standards provide the framework for China to comply with environmental protection standards

Certification standards for

Green volunteers are the mainstay of engaging economic sectors in participating in and introducing green-promoting initiatives

The central policy instrument is the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests

China’s Consumer Association conducts “green testing” on products

A “green consumption” campaign has been initiated with the


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Context




Model


Policy Instruments

central to achieve this endeavour

specific social imperatives to narrow the gap between rich and poor and pursue common prosperity

environmentally-sound products have been introduced

Regulations are in place for environmental labelling and the certification of energy-saving products

involvement of millions of “green volunteers”

UPDATE

Since 2004, China unveiled new consumer protection laws in 2014, the first time in two decades that this sphere of legislation had been reviewed. Amongst other reforms, important from a sustainability perspective is that penalties for false advertising have increased, including for false statements about human health or safety, though the law is silent on measures retailers must take to ensure the accuracy of product information. In addition, business accountability for product quality and safety have been strengthened. For products that are designed to be long-lasting yet are found to be defective within six months, the burden of proof is on the business operator to demonstrate that this is not so. Product recall could also be ordered. This is an important deterrent to be conscious of resource use in the production of goods and to limit wastage. Providers of public facilities are obliged to ensure the safety of consumers, which could extend to safety from unsustainable practices. China makes use of international Consumer Day on 15 March each year to name and shame companies found to be conducting illegal business practices. This is a possible platform to begin to bring to public attention companies that are conducting business in a way which impacts negatively on the environment more narrowly and sustainability more broadly, whilst also showcasing companies that are introducing sustainability measures. Of concern is that the legislation is also intended to boost domestic consumption by building consumer confidence in purchasing. This may have the unintended consequence of increased levels of household consumption to levels that could impact on sustainability (Zhang 2014).



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6.12 RESULTS OF THE CONTENT ANALYSIS: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICY

Chapter 3 provided an overview of consumer protection policy in South Africa, and

noted that the primary legislative tool to enact and enforce consumer protection is the

Consumer Protection Act (Consumer Protection Act South Africa 2008). During the

policy development process to identify and refine the premise on which the Act was to

be drafted, the guiding principles as reflected in confidential government discussion

documents and, as outlined in Table 6.4, have relevance for sustainability measures.

Table 6.4: Guiding Principles for Sustainability Measures in South African Policy

Guiding principles

i. Ensure a safe and sustainable environment is a public good and is one of the nine internationally-recognised rights of consumers

ii. Establish and recognise consumer rights in the legislation

iii. Recognise the need for balance, taking into account the developing national economy whilst providing the protection consumers need

iv. Establish rules of conduct to govern the interaction between businesses and consumers to ensure a fair and transparent market place whilst promoting performance and competitiveness

v. Regulate all aspects of the purchasing cycle

vi. Ensure that business is not over-burdened

vii. Establish redress for consumers

viii. Regard consumer welfare as a cross-cutting issues that is not limited to the implementation of consumer protection measures, and thus policy measures are spread across a wide range of government departments

ix. Co-ordinate and integrate with other policies and pieces of legislation, which impact on consumers is also vital for a comprehensive and coherent consumer policy framework

Source: Adapted from DTI (2004)

The guiding principles as outlined in Table 6.4 could be used to, firstly, cross-reference

whether these principles have been translated into and are reflected in the Consumer

Protection Act (Consumer Protection Act South Africa 2008), and thus provide

examples of how sustainability has been incorporated into consumer protection policy.

Secondly, particularly if the guiding principles were not incorporated into the

Consumer Protection Act (Consumer Protection Act South Africa 2008), these offer


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important dimensions for inclusion in the proposed framework to incorporate

sustainability into South African consumer protection policy, and its implementation

through proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection Act (Consumer Protection

Act South Africa 2008).


In the process of transforming policy into law, some original guiding principles may not

find expression in the legislation. A content analysis of the Consumer Protection Act

(Consumer Protection Act South Africa 2008) was undertaken to determine which

guiding principles were incorporated in the form of provisions in the Act, as well as any

other provisions relating to sustainability. The results are shown in Table 6.5 .

Table 6.5: Sustainability Provisions in the Consumer Protection Act in South Africa

Aspect Provision in the Act Analysis

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Section 3 (1) Purpose of the Act

States the purposes of the Act are to promote and advance the social and economic welfare of consumers by:

(a) Establishing a legal framework for the achievement and maintenance of a consumer market that is fair, accessible, efficient, sustainable and responsible for the benefit of consumers generally

(b) Reducing and ameliorating any disadvantages experienced in accessing any supply of goods or services by low-come (poor) and rural consumers

The concept of social welfare is not defined in the Act making it unclear as to which needs of individuals and their well-being are intended to be covered, including whether this extends to issues from health to safety, social inclusion and eradicating poverty

There is no definition of a sustainable consumer market

The recognition of the realities of poor consumers acknowledges the realities of the African consumer context

This can enable consumers to make choices that advance


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(c)Improving consumer awareness and information and encouraging responsible and informed consumer choice and behaviour

sustainability, but Act could be more specific about this

Section 3 (2) Purpose of the Act

The National Consumer Commission is responsible for:

(a) Taking reasonable and practical measures to promote the purposes of this Act and to protect and advance the interests of all consumers

(b) Monitoring and reporting on conduct and trends affecting consumer rights

(c) Conducting research and proposing policies to the Minister in relation to any matter, including proposals for legislative, regulatory or policy initiatives that would improve the realisation and full enjoyment of consumer rights

This unfettered provision gives the Commission wide scope to research sustainability-related dimensions of consumer protection and make firm policy proposals in this regard

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Section 82 (2) Industry Codes

The Minister, on the recommendation of the National Consumer Commission, may by regulation prescribe an industry code in order to regulate the interaction among persons conducting business within an industry

Consultation with business and consumers is required on any proposed code.

Industry sectors may voluntarily propose codes.

Depending on the content of the code, consumers rights can be substantially-strengthened, and additional redress avenues opened up if the Minister simultaneously accredits an industry ombud. The Minister could also prescribe minimum standards or criteria related to sustainability

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Investigation

Prohibited conduct is well-embedded within the Act, and is broadly-defined as meaning “an act of omission in contravention of the Act”

Businesses are compelled to adjust business practices and corrective and punitive measures can be instituted to ensure compliance


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Section 22 Plain Language

The Act provides consumers with the right to information in plain and understandable language

This is encapsulated as a component of a consumer’s right to disclosure and information

Section 24 Product labelling and trade descriptions

For imported goods, the country of origin of the goods must be disclosed

The presence of any genetically modified ingredients or components must be disclosed

This is encapsulated as a component of a consumer’s right to disclosure and information

Section 29 Marketing Standards

A producer, importer, distributor, retailer or service provider must not market any goods or services in a manner that is misleading, fraudulent or deceptive in any way, including in respect of the nature, properties, advantages or uses of the goods or services

This is encapsulated as a component of a consumer’s right to fair and responsible marketing

Section 41 False, misleading or deceptive representations

In relation to the marketing of any goods or services, the supplier must not, by words or conduct directly or indirectly express or imply a false, misleading or deceptive representation concerning a material fact to a consumer

It is a false, misleading or deceptive representation to falsely state or imply, or fail to correct an apparent misapprehension on the part of a consumer to the effect, that:

3(a) the supplier of any goods or services has any particular status, affiliation, connection, sponsorship or approval that they do not have

This is encapsulated as a component of a consumer’s right to fair and honest dealing


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(b) any goods or services (i) have ingredients,

performance characteristics, accessories, uses, benefits, qualities, sponsorship or approval that they do not have

(ii) are of a particular standard, quality, grade, style or model

Section 52 Product Safety

Consumers are protected from defective, hazardous and unsafe goods

This is encapsulated as a component of a consumer’s right to fair value, good quality and safety


Table 6.5 shows that whilst a number of clearly-set out policy instruments are included

in the Consumer Protection Act (Consumer Protection Act South Africa 2008), there

is scope for more precise definition of concepts in the Act (Consumer Protection Act

South Africa 2008), specifically in relation to sustainability and sustainable

consumption. In addition, the Act (Consumer Protection Act South Africa 2008)

provides for the recognition of voluntary industry self-regulation. The government has

ministerial power to prescribe minimum industry sector standards or criteria related to

sustainability to be incorporated into industry codes.


The Consumer Protection Act (Consumer Protection Act South Africa 2008) legislates

eight consumer rights as set out and discussed in Chapter 3 (see Section 3.9). The

analysis in Table 6.5 illustrates which of these rights have to some extent incorporated

sustainability. The rights-based nature of the Act (Consumer Protection Act South

Africa 2008) provides an analytical scaffold around which to expand and extend the

incorporation of sustainability. Each right should be examined and policy options

developed so that sustainability is incorporated as a dimension of each right.


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6.13 SUMMARY OF THE QUALITATIVE ENQUIRY RESULTS IN TERMS OF

THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The results of this qualitative enquiry determining how a range of countries have

incorporated sustainability into consumer protection policy showed that all the

countries examined had at least some elements of environmental considerations in

their legislation but to a lesser extent in African countries, particularly those with less-

developed economies. African countries tended to focus on more narrow

environmental policy implications than on the more broadly-defined notion of

sustainability. Indigenous consumption systems, which by their nature are very

sustainable were not explored in the study. Policy mechanisms that promote

sustainability were more evident in the policies and laws of developed countries.

Developed countries have begun to regard sustainable household consumption

measures as an important policy route for sustainability in general, and for certain

aspects of consumer protection. Incorporating sustainability into consumer protection

remained complex policy terrain, and there was a need to clearly set out the nexus

between sustainability and consumer protection in any policy exposition. In the case

of most African countries, basic needs were foregrounded as the primary concerns of

consumers, ahead of sustainability concerns. Further, poverty limited consumer

choices, particularly if more sustainably produced and eco-efficient goods came at a

higher price. Interpretive observations regarding policy measures that have enabled

the incorporation of sustainability into consumer protection, also emerged from the

qualitative enquiry and are set out in Table 6.6.

Table 6.6: Interpretive Observations from the Content Analysis

Interpretive Observations

1. Definition Elements

Sustainability needed to be stated as a policy intention and the link between consumer protection and sustainability needed to be made explicit in the policy proposition

Sustainability needed to be clearly-defined in policy, encapsulating the multi-facetted dimensions of sustainability as a concept, because sustainability is conceptually more integrative and multi-dimensional than purely environmental concerns


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Interpretive Observations

2. Product Life-cycle

Sustainable production rested on specific initiatives to be implemented at each stage of the production and consumption cycle

Sustainable production was more achievable if responsibility for this was apportioned across all roleplayers in the cycle

3. Sector Self-regulation

Policy should prescribe a minimum mandatory compliance requirement to include sustainability in all sector initiatives, complimented by voluntary sectoral self-regulation

Introducing sustainability measures into the business environment should be approached through incremental and voluntary adaptation of business practices

4. Policy Measures

A mix of policy instruments could be developed to incorporate sustainability, starting with an expanded approach to product safety

Product information policy mechanisms and consumer information standards enabled consumers to make more sustainable consumption choices

Sustainability straddled multiple policy domains and effective policy implementation required co-ordination and co-operation and joined-up implementation across government departments and spheres or levels of government

Benchmarking against international guidelines and best practices was useful to inform domestic consumer protection policy

5. Contextual Considerations

Economic conditions in poorer countries necessitated placing the basic needs of consumers ahead of sustainability considerations

Individual consumers could impact on sustainability through their choices and behaviour and thus consumer education and stakeholder engagement were important and created an enabling environment for policy implementation

Policy initiatives and incentives to promote sustainable household consumption should be developed as a means to adjust individual resource consumption patterns


In Chapter 4 (see Figure 4.2), a theoretical framework for the incorporation of

sustainability into consumer protection policy was suggested. The interpretive


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observations of the multi-country qualitative enquiry in Table 6.3 provide guidance as

to the actual policy contents that should be included under each of the four elements

of the theoretical framework, so that the theoretical framework translates into

implementability. This is shown in Figure 6.3.

Figure 6.3: Proposed Policy Framework to Incorporate Sustainability


Figure 6.3 shows that the four aspects of the theoretical framework were found to be

relevant and should hence be retained as the basis for developing the framework for

incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection policy. The


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elements of each aspect of the framework were adjusted to reflect policy propositions

and policy measures that should be developed within each of the four elements of the

proposed policy framework for South Africa. A number of countries were found to have

recently amended their consumer protection legislation, elements of which were more

inclusive of sustainability. Other countries, and African countries in particular,

indicated that policy reviews were taking place or were imminent. This provides an

opportunity for these countries to amend policy to incorporate sustainability measures

such as those proposed for South Africa, but customised for the particular context of

each country.

6.14 SUMMARY

This chapter presented the results of the qualitative enquiry into how a selection of

countries have incorporated aspects of sustainability into their respective consumer

protection policies, including legislation to this effect where this was able to be

accessed and content analysed. The aspects were identified for each of the four

elements of the proposed theoretical framework set out in Chapter 4. The chapter also

reported novel policy innovations that have been developed by countries beyond the

scope of the theoretical framework.

Based on a set of summative observations across the countries, subjected to peer

evaluation to ensure trustworthiness, policy proposals were set out under each of the

four elements of the theoretical model, as a proposed policy model for incorporating

sustainability into consumer protection. In Chapter 7, the results of an expert

evaluation of these policy proposals is presented. This provides the basis for a Policy

Framework for South Africa, which is described in Chapter 7.

A FRAMEWORK FOR INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO SOUTH AFRICAN CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY CHAPTER SEVEN

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CHAPTER SEVEN

A FRAMEWORK FOR INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO SOUTH

AFRICAN CONSUMER PROTECTION POLICY

7.1 INTRODUCTION

Chapter 6 analysed and interpreted the results of the qualitative study of ways in which

certain countries reflect sustainability or aspects thereof in consumer protection policy.

The findings supported the proposed theoretical framework and identified actual

provisions and mechanisms that should be reflected in policy to incorporate

sustainability and to enable implementation thereof. These policy proposals are the

basis for a framework applicable for South Africa.

Chapter 7 presents the evaluation of the proposed framework for South Africa by two

sets of experts, namely, consumer protection experts as well as business people, who

would be instrumental in having to implement the framework, should it be adopted by

policy-makers in South Africa. The proposed framework is presented together with

implementation practicalities, notably possible amendments to the Consumer

Protection Act (2008) to enable the realisation of policy measures to incorporate

sustainability.

The conceptualisation of the framework for incorporating sustainability into South

African consumer protection policy is against the background of the development of

consumer protection policy in global terms. Consumer protection law emerged in

response to expanding consumer markets with correlating consumption at levels

beyond what people actually needed to consume to just survive. Combined with the

diversity of product options available in a modern massified market place in which the

producer and seller are largely anonymous to the consumer, consumer protection was

introduced in relatively affluent societies to offer consumers a level of trust to underpin

their purchasing decisions, and redress if needed (Howells et al 2010). The growth of

the consumer society is more apparent in developed countries and, as a result,

consumer protection has its origins in such countries. In less-developed countries,

poverty means that people are struggling with survivalist and basic needs issues such

as access to water, shelter and food security. Consumer and consumption-related


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problems are different from those in developed countries. The South African economic

and consumption landscape displays elements of affluent and poor consumers, and

thus the framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy

needs to span both these marketplace realities.

Chapter 7 also sets out some identified challenges related to the implementation of

the proposed framework.


Figure 7.1 indicates where Chapter 7 is located with-in the overall research process,

and how it interfaces with the broader research conceptualisation and framing.


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7.3 RESULTS OF EXPERT EVALUATIONS OF THE FRAMEWORK

In Chapter 4, a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer

protection was developed based on the findings of the literature review. In Chapter 6,

based on the findings of the content analysis of consumer protection policies in a range

of countries, actual policy mechanisms that countries had developed to incorporate

sustainability were identified under each of the four aspects of the theoretical model.

Chapter 6 concluded with a proposed policy framework for incorporating sustainability

into consumer protection. To critique the implementability and workability of the

proposed policy framework, two sets of evaluators were approached to review and

critique the proposed framework. The first set comprised members of the National

Consumer Tribunal, who by virtue of their role as Tribunal Members responsible for

adjudicating consumer protection legislation in South Africa, had expertise in

consumer protection. The second set were business people, who would have to

implement and comply with consumer protection policies introduced to incorporate

sustainability, and could also initiate sector self-regulatory mechanism in this regard.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each Tribunal Member and business

person respectively, some of whom further submitted written contributions (see

Annexure C for a copy of the interview schedule). The results of the reviews are

presented in Table 7.1.


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Table 7.1: Review of Framework for Incorporating Sustainability

Aspect Consumer Protection Expert Business Person

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In the African context, basic needs, such as clean water, roads infrastructure of transport goods to market, food security need upfront prioritisation.

The Consumer Protection Act (2008) is pro-poor in its orientation, aimed at protecting the needs of less-resourced consumers. Section 3(2)(c) empowers the National Consumer Commission to conduct research and proposed policies to the Minister, including legislative, regulatory or policy initiatives that would improve the realisation and full enjoyment of low-income, remotely located and low literacy level consumers. This pro-poor perspective should inform policy amendments to incorporate sustainability, which is a policy area in which the Commission should undertake research and about which they should make proposals.

The core of sustainability is the impact on future generations, which is much broader than the impact on the environment.

Further research should be conducted on the sustainability impact of consumer choices.

Policy is needed on sustainable household consumption, including a clear definition encompassing optimal quality of life and responsible usage of natural resources.

Tribunal Member 2

Sustainability is so pertinent to immediate global concerns as well as future needs that it must be

Small Business Owner (Personal Services Sector)

Sustainability is about doing more with less, and about consciousness of resource utilisation, by both business and consumers.

Wine Industry Specialist

South Africa should align with internationally-developed and agreed definitions of sustainability, for example, the United Nations structures and the Global Environment Fund.

The essence of sustainability is using resources today in a way that considers the needs of the next generation.

Developing people and consideration of the social good are key components of sustainability.

Business Analyst & Strategist

Interest in sustainability reflects a class dimension, with upper-end consumers displaying an interest in future legacy concerns, with poorer consumers driven by immediate consumption needs.

Achieving sustainability requires achieving lasting behaviour changes, and building a shared values base among consumers about the need for sustainability, both of which are not yet evident in South Africa.


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specifically featured in consumer protection.

Consumers need to be educated on sustainability.

Tribunal Member 3

Sustainability is a necessary aspect of business that ensures that current business methods do not lead to long-term problems in terms of health, future availability of resources.

Tribunal Member 4

Moving from the premise that sustainability is about the protection of the earth, and the inability to understand the basic context and causal connection between sustainability and the consumer protection. If a workable definition of sustainability is arrived at, there needs to be absolute clarity on what is to be practically achieved to determine how to legislate this and what enforcement provisions to include in the Consumer Protection Act (2008).

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Tribunal Member 1

Sustainability implications need to be considered at each phase and there also needs to be convergence between the mechanisms implemented for each phase.

Education and guidance for consumers also needs to be available, particularly around product usage, and this must be in accessible language/s.

Tribunal Member 2

Did not have any comment on this aspect


Sustainability is about continuously exploring new opportunities to introduce eco-efficiency into all business practices that constitute the business model.

The packaging aspect of business impacts most harmfully on the environment and, as such, recycling initiatives in which customers participate, such as return and re-use of product containers can drive


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Tribunal Member 3

Sustainability is necessary in consumer protection BUT it cannot be at the expense of business sustainability

Tribunal Member 4

Did not have any comment on this

aspect, linked to concerns about

how to translate sustainability into

legislative enforcement principles.

down costs for both the business and customers whilst having the environmental benefit of reducing waste. Customer awareness of this is key.


The traditional structure of the wine making industry has been that the wine maker owns every aspect of the production value-chain. This has had a motivational impact on members of the industry to begin to experiment with sustainability. In the wine industry, the impetus for sustainability initiatives was environmental because wine farmers wanted to preserve farm land as a key production resource, and find ways to make it more productive. This expanded throughout the industry as the Bio-diversity in Wine initiative and gradually extended to all aspects of the product life cycle.

Sustainability initiatives must speak to the underpinning business logic.

In the sector, social responsibility projects and initiatives for the good of society have been integrated into business sustainability initiatives, for example art, heritage and preservation of natural assets


Identifying opportunities for introducing sustainability should start with the biggest cost drivers in the production cycle. Making


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gains in these areas would encourage changes to production processes and spin out into further innovation.

Crises such as no availability of electricity to power production could spark shifts in production inputs, for example, towards renewable energy sources which could remain in place as these could prove to be more cost-effective as

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Tribunal Member 1

Sustainability is an integral component of good corporate citizenship and shared value, and should be included in sector codes and charters, with accompanying triple bottom line reporting obligations.

Tribunal Member 2

Business needs to be at the forefront and actively engaged in designing and developing sustainability frameworks as well as educating consumers about these.

Tribunal Member 3

Self-regulation is preferable as SA is already characterised as a nanny state, in certain viewpoints.

Sustainability must not necessarily lead to the increase in the cost of doing business, because this would be to the detriment of the poor who are already struggling with affordability of basic goods


Would actively participate in developing sustainability guidelines for the sector.

Eco-efficiency can reduce the costs of doing business and positively differentiate the business in the market and, in so doing, attract new customers and build loyalty and pride in existing customers.


A noticeable impetus for the South African wine industry to incorporated sustainability into business practices has been international requirements. For example, to participate in and sell products in the European Union (EU) market, businesses need to meet EU sustainability standards. The wine industry response was to develop sector self-regulatory sustainability initiatives. This has had a trickle-back effect to the benefit of South African consumers.


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Sectors need to develop ways to navigate between sustainability, profitability and consumer convenience, without making false choices and avoiding short-termism.

Tribunal Member 4

Case studies and examples from sectors that have introduced self-regulation in relation to sustainability would be a good starting point to garner ideas for how sustainability could begin to be reflected in the Consumer Protection Act (2008), and how to further legislate on this.

Key is to track data to show bottom-line impact and competitive advantage, as this convinces and persuades more industry members to voluntarily participate in sustainability initiatives.

As benefits of sustainability initiatives become visible, and as successes are recorded, this drives further innovation and grows commitment.


Future-thinking business leadership is a key impetus for re-thinking business and introducing sustainability innovations. This leads to pro-active change rather than re-active compliance.

Business initiatives such as corporate environmental awareness awards generate voluntary re-orientation and adjustment of production processes. The prestige of winning drives inter-company competitiveness within a sector and across business genres, with positive sustainability gains

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Tribunal Member 1

Sustainability needs to be explicit in each of the 8 consumer rights in the Consumer Protection Act (2008). Basic needs precede consumers being able to claim their rights effectively, for example, the right to basic education provides literacy which enables consumers to read product labels and safety messages.


Organic labelling claims are often misleading as these are not contextualised and are not independently verifiable. Consumer education about this is vital.


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Economic pricing policy instruments are key, as these can influence the impact on availability and sustainability of resource use, for example, water. These mechanisms, for example, taxes and tariff setting, could also ensure basic needs are met and resources are available at lesser prices or for free to poor consumers.

Tribunal Member 2

Given the multi-facetted nature of sustainability, it will need to be harmonised across functional policy domains in Government and regulated and enforced co-operatively.

Legislation is an effective tool to achieve compliance.

Tribunal Member 3

It is important to link sustainability to the Consumer Protection Act (2008), and to educate consumers about this. However, policy makers may not have the appetite to expand the scope of the Act to include sustainability, primarily because while the Act seeks to enshrine therights of Consumers, it also tries to limit the unintended consequences of increasing the cost of consumer protection at the expense of the markets. In addition policy makers may be reticent to advocate openly for environmental welfare issues because these could be very broad.

Tribunal Member 4

Sustainability may be more effectively covered by existing environmental acts and legislation.


In addition to sector self-regulation, economic policy instruments can further encourage uptake of sustainability in production, for example, a tax rebate rewarding the incremental incorporation of sustainable business practices. The incentives, however, need to be seen as worthwhile by business.

Consumer education is essential, to understand industry certification systems, to make more sustainable consumption choices and to exercise purchasing choices in favour of more enviro-friendly and sustainable products. This further rewards sustainability in business through growth of consumer base and market share.

Bio-friendly and organic products need to be accessible in the marketplace and affordable. Consumers also need confidence in the quality of products. Production information, labelling and certification systems could enable this.


There is a fine balance between effective enforcement as a compliance driver, versus measures deemed as too punitive, which encourage resistance, malicious compliance and avenues to avoid detection.

A mid-point between over-regulating nanny state and


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laissez faires resulting in non-action needs to be established.

King III Sustainability Reporting requirements are an available avenue to incorporate sustainability measures relating to consumer protection.

Consumer education is central to consumer behaviour change and pro-sustainability consumer choices.


The expert review of the framework, as collated in Table 7.1, indicates that both the

consumer protection experts and the business people expressed support for the

proposed framework. The outcome of the review confirmed the four aspects of the

proposed policy framework, namely:

Definition aspects of sustainability

Incorporation of sustainability in all stages of the production and consumption

cycle

Sector-self regulation for sustainability

Instruments and measures to enable and facilitate implementation of

sustainability within consumer protection policy

The review further indicated that the proposed policy proposals, policy instruments,

and policy measures, as set out under each of the four elements of the proposed

Framework in Figure 7.2, were seen to be workable to enable the incorporation of

sustainability into consumer protection policy in South Africa.

The review also brought forth the importance and centrality of consumer education for

achieving sustainability policy intentions. For example, informed consumers are able

to make choices that contribute to sustainability and to adjust their behaviour in favour

of more sustainable consumption patterns. Consumer education is thus a key policy

enabler, within the broader socio-political environment and context in which


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consumers find themselves. Consumer education coupled with stakeholder

engagement would create awareness among all roleplayers about the importance of

consumption choices that take the needs of future generations into account.

Stakeholder dialogue could create a climate of greater understanding, collective intent,

common purpose, mutual benefit and shared value, which are important for lessening

resistance towards the incorporation of sustainability into consumer protection policy.

Consumer education and co-creating shared value create an enabling environment

within which to locate the framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer

protection.

The review also elicited guiding principles that should inform sustainability policy

measures. These principles should be set out in the policy paper that policy makers

would draft to motivate for changes to current consumer protection policy in South

Africa, including amendments to the Consumer Protection Act (2008). The principles

should be included within the existing guiding principles for South African consumer

protection policy set out in Table 7.2.

Table 7.2: Additional Guiding Principles for Sustainability Measures in South African Policy

Guiding Principles

i. Acknowledgement that sustainability is a complex and multi-facetted phenomenon, which is central to the quality of life needs of future generations

ii. Need for convergence in the business process value chain between sustainability achievability measures introduced at each phase of the production cycle

iii. Consumer protection sustainability measures to be balanced against business sustainability, seeking a balance between sustainability, profitability and consumer convenience

iv. Recognition that sustainability is an integral component of good corporate citizenship and shared value in the market place


The review identified future research to be undertaken to introduce additional

sustainability measures into the domain of consumer protection policy, including:


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to make sustainability explicit within each of the eight rights in the Consumer

Protection Act (2008) such that this is articulated in each right

to develop policy and an implementation plan on sustainable household

consumption

The perspectives offered during the review interviews informed the proposed

framework for South Africa.

7.4 PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR SOUTH AFRICA

The proposed framework for Incorporating Sustainability into South African Consumer

Protection policy takes the outcomes of the expert reviews into account. In addition to

this, the proposed framework needs to be located within the African context that

emerged from the content analysis findings described in Chapter 6. Specifically, the

basic needs of poor consumers in South Africa, and the impact of poverty on

sustainability policy intentions, need to be factored into the proposed framework. This

was confirmed during the expert evaluation.

In Chapter 3, the importance of engaging and involving stakeholders who would

implement or benefit from the intended policy was articulated, with the caveat that

failing to do so would impact on the eventual successful implementation of the policy

and achieving intended policy outcomes. Stakeholders in consumer protection policy

are consumers, business, organised labour, civil society and communities, including

interest-based and consumer advocacy organisations and government. Stakeholders

are thus placed at the centre of the proposed framework for South Africa, which is set

out in Figure 7.2.


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Figure 7.2: Proposed Framework for South Africa


Figure 7.2 integrates the findings of the content analysis, the expert evaluations of the

proposed policy framework and lessons from the literature survey, into a consolidated

policy framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection in South

Africa. The framework is located within the socio-political context of policy

harmonisation within government policy domains, joined-up government to enable

implementation, good corporate governance and shared value considering the needs

of future generations and underpinned by on-going consumer education. These create

an enabling environment for policy implementation.

7.5 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FRAMEWORK

The Consumer Protection Act (2008) is the primary legislative tool to implement policy

to promote and protect the interests of consumers. As discussed in Chapter 6, whilst

the Act includes a number of clearly set out policy instruments relating to sustainability,

there is scope for the inclusion of more provisions in relation to sustainability and


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sustainable consumption. Table 7.3 sets out proposed amendments to the Act to

enable the implementation of the policy propositions which comprise the framework

for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection policy, as

presented in Figure 7.2.

ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES FOR THE FINANCIAL SECTOR IN SOUTH AFRICA CHAPTER SEVEN

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Table 7.3: Proposed Policy Propositions and Related Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act

Policy Propositions Comprising the South African Framework Proposed Amendment to Consumer Protection Act

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1. Explain the link between sustainability and consumer protection. State that it is a policy intention to achieve increased levels of sustainability through the incorporation of policy provisions within consumer protection that promote and safeguard the social, economic and environmental welfare of consumers, whilst recognising that this is a delicate balancing act.

Pre-amble

Add a clause to the pre-amble that consumer protection measures should enable consumers to make consumption choices that do not jeopardise the livelihoods of future generations

Add a clause to the pre-amble that it is desirable to achieve increased levels of sustainability by promoting and safeguarding the social, economic and environmental welfare of consumers, whilst recognising that this is a delicate balancing act

Section 3 (1): Purpose of the Act

Amend and add an additional clause that the purpose of the Act is promote and advance the social, economic AND ENVIRONMENTAL welfare of consumers by incrementally seeking to achieve increased levels of sustainability and sustainable consumption

2. Include a definition of sustainability being “an integrated and holistic approach to production and consumption which inter-links economic, social and environmental considerations and is mindful of the impact on global resources, takes future generations needs into consideration and is multi-facetted, straddling all dimensions of the production and consumption life-cycle”

Section 1: Definitions

Add the definition of sustainability

Add the definition of sustainable consumption (see point 3)


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Policy Propositions Comprising the South African Framework Proposed Amendment to Consumer Protection Act

3. Noting that:

achieving sustainability is a long-term process involving social innovation and cultural re-orientation

consumption habits impact sustainably or unsustainably

all consumers must contribute and be persuaded and assisted to adopt consumption choices that would enable future generations to be able to meet their needs

4. there is a need develop policy on sustainable household consumption, this being defined as “consumption of goods and services that meets human needs for optimal quality of life and responsible usage of natural resources”

Section 3 (1)c: Purpose of the Act

Expand the sub-section to read: improving consumer awareness and information and encouraging responsible and informed consumer choice and behaviour and promoting sustainable household consumption

Section 3 (2)c: Purpose of the Act

In terms of this section, the Consumer Commission has the powers to conduct research and propose guidelines to the Minister.

Commission should exercise its powers and after conducting research, propose guidelines to the Minister on measures to encourage sustainable household consumption, which would serve as a compendium to the Act.

Commission should further conduct research on the sustainability impact of consumer choices to inform future policy options.


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Policy Propositions Comprising the South African Framework Proposed Amendment to Consumer Protection Act P

rod

uct L

ife

-cycle

Gu

ide

line

s

Include a provision that sustainability considerations and the environmental and eco-efficiency impact must be considered at all stages of the production and consumption cycle, namely:

a. Pre-production b. Production c. Marketing and buying decision-making d. Purchase (selling) e. Usage of products f. Disposal/end of life

Responsibility for this must be apportioned between the producer/manufacturer, distributor and seller/retailer, whilst acknowledging the responsibility of the consumer to exercise more sustainable consumption choices,

Section 5 (1) Application of the Act

Add a sub-section that the Act applies to all stages of the production and consumption cycle, with responsibility for sustainability considerations apportioned between the producer, distributor, marketer and seller.

Se

cto

r S

elf-R

eg

ula

tio

n f

or

Su

sta

ina

bili

ty G

uid

elin

es

Recognise the role of industry codes of self-regulation as an important consumer protection measure.

Embed all codes within a set of principles and values that promote sustainable product stewardship, and include a minimum mandatory provision for sustainability standards and measures.

Frame standards of behaviour in all codes in a manner that encourages wilful and pro-active incremental voluntary adoption of measures to achieve more sustainable business practices.

Section 82 (2): Industry Codes

Add a sub-section that all industry codes MUST include a minimum mandatory provision for sustainability standards and measures and a commitment to incrementally adapt business practices in pursuit of sustainability objectives.

Government to work pro-actively with business to set simple minimum voluntary sustainability intentions that business is encouraged to comply with and develop sector-specific initiatives to implement these.

Add a sub-section that sectors are to be supported and enabled to pursue such value-add innovations in pursuit of sustainability objectives.


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Policy Propositions Comprising the South African Framework Proposed Amendment to Consumer Protection Act P

olic

y I

nstr

um

en

t

Gu

ide

line

s

Policy Intention

Policy Measure

Sustainable business practices

Unconscionable, prohibited or deceptive conduct

To include business practices that impact negatively on the environment

Product safety Unsafe and hazardous products

To include products which impact negatively on and are hazardous to the environment, and hence on the needs of future generations.

Informed consumer choices

Product Information

To be in plain and understandable language

To set trade descriptions (Consumer Information Standards) and have a governing standard for social and environmental responsibility

Section 73(1)(c): Outcome of an Investigation

Prohibited conduct is well-embedded within the Act, and thus the Consumer Commission and Tribunal have powers to make findings in this respect. With the inclusion of the proposed clauses relating to sustainability and the environment, given the complexity of these issues, it is proposed that once the Commission has conducted an investigation, a sub-clause be added to the above section empowering the Commission to refer such cases to the Department of the Environment for further investigation.

Collaborative arrangements between the Commission and the Department would need to be defined and amendments to the Environmental Management Act considered.

Section 53(1)(d): Definition of “unsafe”

Expand the definition to read: unsafe means that, owing to a characteristic, failure, defect, or hazard, particular goods present an extreme risk of personal injury or property damage to the consumer or to other persons OR TO THE ENVIRONMENT.


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Product labelling

To guarantee ethical and social labelling offering easily accessible information, including content declarations

To include eco-labelling, eco-efficiency rating, sector-customised product eco-certification systems

Product advertising and marketing

To prevent false or misleading representations and making unsubstantiated claims that to extend to environmental claims, which may hinder the ability of the consumer to make sustainable consumption choices

To ensure environmental claims are accurate, scientifically sound and substantiated (if requested by consumer)

International benchmarking and alignment

To incorporate o sustainability provisions from the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection

Section 24(4) Product Labelling and Trade Descriptions

Expand the scope of Ministerial prescription to include a benchmark standard for environmental and sustainability-related information to be provided for each trade description.

Section 24(6) Product Labelling and Trade Descriptions

Expand the scope of the subsection to include the disclosure of eco-information including environmentally-harmful ingredients or components of goods.

Section 29(b): General Standards for Marketing of Goods and Services

Add a sub-section that a producer, importer, distributor, retailer or service provider may not market any goods or services in a manner that is misleading, fraudulent or deceptive in any way including ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY CLAIMS.

Section 2(2)(b): Interpretation

Expand the sub-section such that when interpreting or applying the Act, a person, court or Tribunal or the Commission may consider appropriate international conventions, declarations of protocols relating to consumer protection AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION.


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Table 7.3 provides the detail of the policy proposals within the proposed Policy

Framework for South Africa, and for each of these, proposes an amendment to the

Consumer Protection Act (2008) to give effect to implementation of the framework.

Policy-makers may be reticent to embrace the proposed amendments, firstly, because

the Act is relatively new, having been enacted less than a decade ago, with uptake of

consumers accessing the rights, remedies and redress afforded by the Act only

recently beginning to show positive impact. Secondly, there may be concerns of

unintended consequences such as increasing the cost of consumer protection at the

expense of the markets. Educating consumers about the beneficial impact of

incorporating sustainability into consumer protection, both immediately and for future

generations, could lead to consumers and consumer advocacy organisations lobbying

policy makers to amend the legislation to incorporate the proposed propositions and

related policy measures.

Given the multi-facetted nature of sustainability, successful implementation and

enforcement would also require harmonisation across functional policy domains in

government and between spheres or tiers of government. It would be important to

monitor the impact of the amendments, should these be implemented. In addition,

sector self-regulatory initiatives should also be tracked and monitored. Successes,

innovations and lessons learned could assist other sectors similarly to pursue

sustainability initiatives. Cost implications should also be tracked, as cost savings and

efficiencies could propel further innovation, whilst increased costs of business might

serve as a deterrent.

7.6 CHALLENGES OF THE FRAMEWORK

The literature review of public policy in Chapter 3 revealed that public policy

formulation is complex and complicated. In addition, that policy formulation is an arena

of contest between competing views and is characterised by vigorous debate and

negotiation, with contenders defending and advancing their respective interests.

Policy content emerges and is moulded by these dynamic and often rigorous

engagements. This was evident in the views expressed by interviewees in the course

of the evaluation of the policy framework for South Africa. One consumer protection

expert, in particular, expressed reservations about the link between sustainability and


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consumer protection, seeing sustainability as located within the domain of

environmental policy. Expanding on this, a challenge was raised about the practicality

of incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy. Further that should

policy indeed be amended to incorporate sustainability, implementation challenges

were foreseen, given the complex nature of sustainability. The central challenge was

what type of enforcement provisions would be able to be developed to ensure

compliance. Without such provisions, the policy was seen as being ineffective as it

would be ignored by business. Counter to this, the other consumer protection experts

who were interviewed were supportive of incorporating sustainability into consumer

protection policy and confirmed that the mechanisms in the proposed framework

would achieve this adequately and effectively, such as product information (for

example, eco-labelling) as well as policy harmonisation and joined-up implementation

across government departments and entities.

Another challenge that was raised related to resistance from stakeholders, particularly

business, given possible implementation burdens and increased cost of doing

business. However, policy mechanisms existed to overcome this, for example,

voluntary measures in the initial phases of implementation and incrementally

introducing mandatory compliance measures. Sector self-regulation was another

mechanism. Consumers might also resist the incorporation of sustainability policy

measures, particularly if this results in increased prices of goods. Consumer education

is an obvious measure to counter this. These challenges are expanded upon in more

detail under the Recommendations in Chapter 8.

7.7 SUMMARY

This chapter presented the results of expert evaluations of the proposed framework

for South African, and related policy proposition proposals. The evaluation confirmed

the suitability of the proposed policy framework, with experts raising the importance of

including consumer education to underpin the effective implementation of the policy

intentions as well as to shift consumer behaviour patterns towards more sustainable

consumption.

Owing to the complexity and multi-facetted nature of sustainability, a few policy

implementation challenges were raised. Ways in which these can be dealt with are set


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out as part of the Recommendations in Chapter 8. As the concluding chapter, it also

summarises the research project and addresses the research questions set out at the

start of the study.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS CHAPTER EIGHT

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CHAPTER EIGHT

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

8.1 INTRODUCTION

Chapter 7 presented the results of expert evaluations of the proposed framework to

incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy. The intention of the

evaluation was for the consumer protection experts and business people to critique

the proposed policy framework. The expert views were utilised to develop a country-

specific policy framework for South Africa specifically. The experts identified factors

that would enable the implementation of the framework, namely, good corporate

governance and shared value, consumer education, policy harmonisation and joined-

up government. Proposed amendments to the South African Consumer Protection Act

(2008) were also presented, so that the Act would serve as the primary tool for

incorporating sustainability into public policy. Implementation challenges were also

discussed.

Chapter 8 is the concluding chapter of the research and begins with a summary of

each of the preceding chapters. This isfollowed by addressing the research objectives,

research questions and research propositions, describing how each of these were

achieved through the research. Thereafter, recommendations are made for the

implementation of the proposed framework for incorporating sustainability into

consumer protection policy. The chapter concludes by setting out the contribution of

the research, followed by an overview of the limitations of the research and

suggestions for further research to be conducted.


Figure 8.1 is a reproduction of Figure 1.1 and positions Chapter 8 within the research

process as a whole.


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8.3 SUMMARY OF CHAPTERS

This section provides a brief overview of each of the preceding seven chapters, as a

preface to addressing the research objectives, questions and propositions.

8.3.1 Summary of Chapter One: Introduction and Background to the

Research

Chapter 1 presented the argument that consumer protection is central to building a

fairer, safer world (Consumers International 2013), and with growing global concern

for sustainability (Smith 2014), the incorporation of sustainability into consumer

protection policy is important. A preliminary review of literature indicated that

consumer protection policy measures could enable consumer behaviour shifts in

favour of more sustainable choices. Whilst government is responsible for developing

consumer protection policy in a particular country, business is central in the

implementation of such policy. Ways in which the global business community had

explored new thinking to co-create a shared sustainable future for business, society

and the environment were examined, as the basis of identifying best practices that

could be incorporated into a framework to incorporate sustainability into consumer

protection policy.

The United Nations has developed Guidelines for Consumer Protection (2003) to

provide a baseline for countries to begin to implement or strengthen existing consumer

protection policies and laws. In response to increased recognition of the link between

consumption patterns and environmental sustainability, these guidelines were

amended to incorporate an entire section on “Policy Instruments for the Promotion of

Sustainable Consumption”. A number of countries have responded to this global

benchmark and have incorporated sustainable consumption into consumer protection

legislation. A preliminary overview of South African consumer protection legislation,

newly drafted as it is, showed that it did not sufficiently incorporate sustainability

measures. This observation informed the problem statement of the research.

Chapter 1 introduced the problem statement, research aims and objectives as well as

mapped the outline of the research. The primary objective of the research was to

develop a framework for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer

protection policy. Nine secondary objectives formulated and nine research questions


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were posed. A six step research process undertaken to achieve the objectives of this

research was explained and the conceptual framework that underpinned the research

was set out.

8.3.2 Summary of Chapter Two: Sustainability in the Global and Business

Context

Chapter 2 outlined the global context of sustainability, tracing how sustainable

development, sustainable consumption and sustainability entered the international

policy arena. These concepts were defined and their inter-relatedness described. Key

elements of the definition developed for the purpose of this research were, firstly, the

confluence and inter-linked connectivity of economic, social and environmental

considerations.Secondly, the usage or consumption of global resources in ways which

meet basic needs and with due concern for the needs of future generations.

Sustainability in the business context was also discussed and ways in which

sustainability had been incorporated into production processes within certain industry

sectors were outlined, using the building and construction sector and the wine

production industry in South Africa as examples. Lessons were extracted from these

case studies with a view to identifying ways in which these lessons could be adapted

and incorporated into other business sectors in the form of sector-self regulatory

approaches for more consumer-oriented business models and more sustainable

production processes.

The issues discussed in this chapter presented the basis for a framework for

incorporating sustainability into business strategically and pro-actively, rather than

being compelled to do so by legislation. It was proposed that businesses could

introduce and advance sustainability by:

Adopting an integrated business framework that defines sustainability and

decouples corporate growth from its environmental footprint whilst

simultaneously increasing positive social impacts

Using the life-cycle approach, examining the economic, social and

environmental impacts of goods and services at each stage of the production

process, from product design, through to disposal, and then pro-actively


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adapting, innovating and (re)designing production processes to be more

sustainable

Developing a sector-based self-regulatory sustainability framework

foregrounded by a sustainability vision, tracking and measuring success in

achieving this

Outlining the specific context of South Africa to consider when developing a

framework that would include all members of society

8.3.3 Summary of Chapter Three: Consumer Protection Policy Development

and Role of Business

Chapter 3 reviewed literature related to public policy and explored what constituted

public policy, how it was defined, what different approaches to public policy existed

and the architecture of the policy-making process, which had five iterative steps. Public

policy implementation takes place in dynamic socio-political circumstances and in an

environment of ever-shifting resource availability. As a result, the literature indicated

that approaches to policy making would differ, depending on prevailing circumstances

and on lobbying and advocacy by stakeholders. The chapter also presented

mechanisms for encouraging and enabling policy adherence and enforcement,

considering both voluntary mechanisms to encourage policy adherence or compulsory

measures to compel business to comply with policy imperatives. Enablers and

inhibitors of effective policy implementation were also discussed.

The chapter then described how consumer policy constituted a domain of public policy,

framed within broader social and economic policy arguments. Further that consumer

policy cut across a number of policy domains and overlapped with other public policy

domains such as environment, health, social and transport policy. This suggested that

there needed to be vertical integration at government level to enable inter-

departmental co-ordination, with simultaneous horizontal integration across different

line function departments. Additional governmental institutional arrangements such as

a cluster system incorporating multiple departments working collaboratively on cross-

cutting policy issues could further achieve policy integration. This is critical to achieve

effective policy design and policy implementation. An examination of policy options

that have been included into the policy and legislative framework in a number of


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countries showed that a combination of both demand- and supply-side policy

measures were deemed most effective to enable implementation.

Having considered the theoretical underpinnings of consumer protection policy, an

international perspective on policy options that had been included into the policy and

legislative framework in a number of countries revealed that noticeably absent was

information on perspectives on consumer protection within African countries. This led

to the empirical research seeking information specifically on ways in which

sustainability was being incorporated in African countries.

The final part of the chapter looked at how business viewed consumer protection

policy. The business community was more likely to accept measures to incorporate

sustainability into consumer protection policy if this delivered balanced outcomes for

both consumers and businesses themselves. Amending consumer protection policy

to incorporate sustainability needed to be done in ways that would encourage business

willingness to accept, implement and adhere to it. Important guiding principles were

that policy should have the buy-in of business, should not be burdensome and should

allow for sector self-regulation as an implementation mechanism.

8.3.4 Summary of Chapter Four: Framework of Consumer Protection Policies

that Incorporate Sustainability

In the light of increased global concern for sustainability, and the greater availability of

good practice information availed by international agencies and bodies, a theoretical

framework to assist countries in the development of policy measures for incorporating

sustainability into consumer protection was developed. The framework drew on the

theoretical aspects related to sustainability and consumer protection policy as detailed

in Chapters 3 and 4.

With due consideration for the needs of business and consumers, the proposed policy

framework that was developed for incorporating sustainability into consumer

protection spanned four distinct aspects, namely, definition elements of the concept of

sustainability, sustainability considerations at each stage of the product life cycle,

industry and sectoral self-regulation in pursuit of sustainability as well as voluntary and

mandatory policy measures to enable the implementation of a consumer protection


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framework that incorporated sustainability. The framework was the tool used during

the research, to content-analyse consumer protection policy and legislation in a range

of countries, to validate it or amend it if the results of the analysis indicated this.

8.3.5 Summary of Chapter Five: Research Methodology

Chapter 5 outlined the research design and methodology utilised to achieve the

research objectives. The rationale for choosing a qualitative approach and an

interpretivist research paradigm for the purposes of this research as well as the

choices regarding sampling, data collection techniques and data analysis methods

were provided.

Content analysis was described as this was to be used as the primary research

method to analyse secondary sources of data. Open-ended questionnaires were

developed and sent to a select group of respondents in identified countries and the

responses analysed. Content analysis was done by analysing the consumer protection

policies and laws of the countries selected to form the sample. An analysis of the

content of these questionnaires and policy documents would identify how, if at all,

sustainability had been incorporated within the policies and laws of the countries in the

sample.

The use of experts to critique the proposed framework to incorporate sustainability in

to consumer protection was explained as the measure to ensure credibility and

implementability of the framework. Research ethics and ensuring the trustworthiness

of the research were also discussed.

8.3.6 Summary of Chapter Six: Results and Interpretation of the Qualitative

Research

Chapter 6 presented an analysis and interpretation of the results of the content

analysis and the responses to the questionnaires. Given the qualitative nature of the

research, the results were described for each country using six descriptive aspects,

namely, Country Policy Context, the four Components of the Framework for

Incorporating Sustainability in Consumer Protection and Novel Policy Innovations.


200

Given that only eight country analysis questionnaires were returned, of which six

country consumer protection policy frameworks were able to be directly analysed,

additional findings were gathered by conducting a content analysis of research

findings from studies of consumer protection conducted by other agencies and entities.

The findings of the content analysis of these research findings as well as policy

updates from the literature were set out in the chapter. The results of a content analysis

of the Consumer Protection Act (2008) in South Africa showed how sustainability has

been incorporated into this legislation.

The results of the qualitative enquiry determining how a range of countries had

incorporated sustainability into consumer protection policy showed that all the

countries examined had at least some elements of sustainability considerations in their

legislation but to a lesser extent in African countries, particularly those with less-

developed economies. African countries tended to focus on more narrow


sustainability. Policy mechanisms that promoted sustainability were more evident in

the policies and laws of developed countries. Developed countries had begun to

regard sustainable household consumption measures as an important policy route for

sustainability in general, and for certain aspects of consumer protection. In the case

of most African countries, basic needs were foregrounded as the primary concerns of

consumers, ahead of sustainability concerns. Further, poverty limited consumer

choices, particularly if more sustainably produced and eco-efficient goods came at a

higher price.

The findings confirmed the validity of the proposed theoretical framework proposed in

Chapter 4. Based on the findings of the content analysis, interpretive observations

were made, which identified the actual policy contents that should be included under

each of the four elements of the theoretical framework, so that the theoretical

translated into an implementable policy framework. The chapter concluded with a

description of the policy options that were proposed for inclusion into an actual

framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy.


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8.3.7 Summary of Chapter Seven: Framework for Incorporating

Sustainability into South African Consumer Protection Policy


sustainability into South African consumer protection policy, which was presented in

Chapter 7. Two sets of experts, namely, consumer policy experts and people in

business, reviewed the proposed framework for South Africa and expressed support

for it and regarded it as workable to enable the incorporation of sustainability into

consumer protection policy in South Africa. The expert review also elicited guiding

principles that should inform sustainability policy measures in South African consumer

protection policy. Based on these guiding principles, and on the elements of the

framework, Chapter 7 presented proposed amendments to South African Consumer

Protection Act (2008) to incorporate sustainability into the statute more

comprehensively.

The framework integrated the findings of the content analysis, the expert reviews and

lessons from the literature survey, into a consolidated policy framework for

incorporating sustainability into consumer protection in South Africa. The framework

incorporated stakeholders who would be involved in its implementation as well as

factors that would constitute an enabling environment in which policy implementation

could take place.

8.4 ADDRESSING THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS

The primary objective of the research was to develop a framework for incorporating

sustainability into South African consumer protection policy. Nine secondary

objectives were formulated and nine research questions were posed.

Table 8.1 indicates the various research objectives and research questions that were

outlined in Chapter 1 and in which chapter each objective was addressed.


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Table 8.1: Achievement of Research Objectives

No. Research Question Research Objective Chapter

1 What is sustainability and how has this been defined?

To conduct a literature review to establish how sustainability developed as a global policy concept and how it has been defined

Chapter 2

2 What is consumer protection policy?

To conduct a literature review to define consumer protection policy and how it is developed

Chapter 3

3 In what ways have countries incorporated sustainability into their respective consumer protection policy frameworks?

To conduct a literature review and undertake content analysis to examine how sustainability had been incorporated into consumer protection policies and legislation in a sample of countries

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Chapter 6

4 How does South African consumer policy deal with sustainability, if at all?

To examine South African consumer policy to establish how it dealt with sustainability

Chapter 3

Chapter 6

5 What would constitute a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection?

To develop a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy

Chapter 4

6 What would constitute a policy framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection?

To analyse responses to questionnaires sent to a sample of countries to compare sustainability provisions within consumer protection policy of the different countries and propose a policy framework to incorporate sustainability

Chapter 6

7 What would constitute a framework for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection policy?

To develop a framework for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection policy

Chapter 7


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No. Research Question Research Objective Chapter

8 What amendments to South African consumer protection policy could be proposed so that sustainability is incorporated into the policy framework?

To propose amendments to the South African consumer protection policy so as to incorporate sustainability

Chapter 7

9 What should business do in response to the proposed framework to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy?

To recommend how business could respond to the proposed framework to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy

Chapter 8


Based on the primary objective, the research aimed to address nine questions, each

of which was addressed by the findings as follows:

8.4.1 Addressing Research Question 1

Research Question 1 states:


The literature review in Chapter 2 indicated that the concept of sustainability is

complex and that a variety of definitions exist. The notion of sustainability is wide-

reaching and developed from global discussion about sustainable development and

sustainable consumption and production. Sustainability is also multi-facetted, and

requires the consideration of economic, social and environmental aspects in relation

to the utilisation of global resources in ways which meet current basic needs with due

concern for the needs of future generations. The literature also indicated that

sustainability implications needed to be considered at all stages of the goods and

services production as well as the consumption cycle.

Based on the various definitions identified in the literature review, a definition of

sustainability was developed for the purposes of this research, this being that

sustainability is “an integrated and holistic approach to production and consumption

which inter-links economic, social and environmental considerations and is mindful of

the impact on global resources; takes future generations needs into consideration; and


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is multi-facetted, straddling all dimensions of the goods and services production and

consumption life-cycle”.

The literature review also discussed sustainability in the business context and

elaborated on ways in which business models had been adapted and developed to

incorporate sustainability.



What is consumer protection policy and how is this developed?

The literature review presented in Chapter 3 provided an overview of consumer

protection policy. Consumer policy regulates the transactional relationship between

consumers, business and the market. Consumer policy cuts across a number of policy

domains, such as health, economic and environmental policy, which need to be taken

into account when developing consumer protection policy. The literature further

showed that consumer protection policy deals with economic issues such as

combating market irregularities and ensuring consumer access to goods and services,

whilst also incorporating social dimensions such as protecting the health and safety of

consumers. Initially, consumer protection legislation was developed to regulate seller

behaviour and to prohibit behaviour that serves to disadvantage consumers. As

sustainability became a global policy issue, consumer protection policy began to be

more broadly conceptualised and extended to incorporate consumer well-being and

social justice.

Consumer protection policy began to contribute to sustainable development by

incorporating policy measures, such as product labelling, to enable consumers to

exercise more sustainable consumption choices and to promote more sustainable

production methods. It is possible to develop additional and more far-reaching policy

measures which make explicit the environmental and social consequences of

consumer choices and in-so-doing influence consumer behavior towards more

sustainable lifestyles. In this manner, consumer spend could drive sustainability

outcomes.


205

The literature review also set out different approaches to policy-making, and the

factors that would trigger the policy development process within each approach. Policy

development was complicated, being described as a dynamic social process, as

opposed to a once-off single act. Stakeholder engagement during the policy-making

process was found to be an important factor which contributed to stakeholder

willingness to comply with and implement policy. Stakeholders in the consumer

protection policy arena were government, business, consumers, including poor

consumers and civil society, including consumer interest groups.



In what ways have countries incorporated sustainability into their respective consumer protection policy frameworks?

Ways in which countries have incorporated sustainability into consumer protection

policy were identified from the literature review, from the responses received to the

open-ended questionnaire and from the content analysis of the policy and legislation

of different countries. The literature review showed that the United Nations Guidelines

on Consumer Protection, as amended in 1999, incorporated a section on policy

instruments for the promotion of sustainable consumption to serve as a guide to

countries, many of which have been incorporated to some extent within the policy

frameworks of various countries. Mixed-mode consumer protection models, which

included both government regulation and private sector self-regulation were found in

a number of countries. Important policy provisions identified included an obligation on

business to ensure consumer safety, the provision of information to consumers and

access to redress mechanisms for consumers.

The questionnaire responses and the content analysis showed that consumer

protection policy mechanisms that promoted sustainability were more evident in the

policies and laws of developed countries. In most African countries included in the

analysis, basic needs to alleviate poverty were foregrounded as the primary concerns

of consumers. Policy provisions in African countries tended to focus more narrowly on



206

sustainability. Indigenous consumption systems, which by their nature are very

sustainable were not explored in the research. The results also showed that some

developed countries had begun to regard sustainable household consumption

measures as an important route for sustainability in general, and for certain aspects

of consumer protection. The focus had thus shifted to emphasise sustainable

household consumption and policy had been developed accordingly. African countries

tended to focus on more narrow environmental policy implications than on the more

broadly-defined notion of sustainability.




The literature review in Chapter 3 outlined the deliberate intention within South African

consumer protection legislation to promote the rights of consumers, particularly

previously disadvantaged and vulnerable consumers and enumerated the eight

consumer rights in the legislation, namely:

Right of equality in the consumer market

Right to privacy

Right to choose

Right to disclosure and information

Right to fair and responsible marketing

Right to fair and honest dealing

Right to fair, just and reasonable terms and conditions

Right to fair value, good quality and safety

The content analysis in Chapter 6 identified sections of the South African Consumer

Protection Act (2008) that related to sustainability, namely:

Section 3 (1) & (2)(c) Purpose of the Act

Section 82 (2) Industry Codes

Section 73(1)(c) Outcome of an Investigation

Section 22 Plain Language


207

Section 24 Product labelling and trade descriptions

Section 29 Marketing Standards

Section 41 False, misleading or deceptive representations

Section 52 Product Safety

The content analysis showed that certain of the eight rights in the legislation had to

some extent incorporated sustainability. Further that South African consumer

protection legislation incorporated certain elements relating to sustainability but this

had not been done comprehensively, and had not been clearly set out in relation to

each of the eight consumer rights encompassed in law.



What would constitute a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection?

The purpose of the research was to develop a framework for incorporating

sustainability into South African consumer protection policy. To do this, Chapter 4 set

out a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability. Based on the literature

review presented in Chapters 2 and 3, four dimensions of a theoretical framework were

identified. The components of the theoretical framework were set out in Table 4.2. The

first dimension of the framework looked at definition elements, clearly stating

sustainability as a policy intention and setting this as one of the policy aims. Therefore,

sustainability should also be defined in the policy. The second dimension of the

framework was to examine the sustainability implications at every stage of the product

life-cycle model, and to adapt business practices and production methods accordingly

to achieve more sustainable production. The third dimension of the framework allowed

for sector-driven initiatives for self-regulation in relation to sustainability. The final

dimension comprised the policy measures, both voluntary and mandatory, that should

be put into place to enable and ensure the incorporation of sustainability into consumer

protection policy.

The proposed framework for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer

protection policy was depicted diagrammatically in Figure 4.2.


208



What would constitute a policy framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection?

Having developed a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability into

consumer protection policy, the qualitative research design presented in Chapter 5 set

out the steps that would be followed to identify the policy suggestions to be included

in the proposed framework. Examination of the questionnaire responses and the

content analysis of results lead to set of interpretive observations which provided the

basis for the contents of the policy framework that would enable the incorporation of

sustainability. The interpretive observations for each of the four dimensions of the

theoretical framework were set out in Table 6.6, and the policy framework was

depicted diagrammatically in Figure 6.3.

The interpretive observations also indicated that contextual factors needed to be taken

into account when developing a policy framework for incorporating sustainability into

consumer protection. Consumer education emerged as a key consideration in relation

to more sustainable consumer choices, whilst poverty was indicated as limiting the

choices a poor consumer was able to make. Stakeholder engagement also emerged

as an important factor in the design and implementation of policy frameworks.



What would constitute a framework for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection policy?

Chapter 4 developed a theoretical framework that proposed four dimensions for

incorporating sustainability into consumer protection. In Chapter 6, based on the

findings of the content analysis of consumer protection policies in a range of countries,

actual policy mechanisms that countries had developed to incorporate sustainability

were identified under each of the four dimensions of the theoretical model. Chapter 6

concluded with a proposed policy framework for incorporating sustainability into


209

consumer protection. To consider the implementability and workability of the proposed

policy framework for South Africa, two sets of experts were approached to review and

critique the proposed framework.

The expert review of the proposed framework, as collated in Table 7.1, confirmed the

four aspects of the proposed policy framework, namely:

Definition aspects of sustainability

Incorporation of sustainability in all stages of the production and consumption

cycle

Sector-self regulation for sustainability

Instruments and measures to enable and facilitate implementation of

sustainability within consumer protection policy

The review also underscored the importance and centrality of consumer education

and stakeholder engagement for achieving sustainability policy intentions. The review

further confirmed that the basic needs of poor consumers in South Africa, and the

impact of poverty on sustainability policy intentions must underpin the proposed

framework. Factors that created an enabling environment for the implementation of

the framework were identified as policy harmonisation within government policy

domains, joined-up government, good corporate governance and shared value that

considered the needs of future generations and consumer education. These factors

would create an enabling environment for policy implementation. The proposed

framework for incorporating sustainability into South African consumer protection

policy was presented in Figure 7.2.



What amendments to South African consumer protection policy can be proposed so that sustainability is incorporated into the policy framework?

Having developed a framework for incorporating sustainability into South African

consumer protection policy, a number of proposed amendments to the Consumer


210

Protection Act (2008) were set out in detail in Table 7.4. These amendments would

give effect to the implementation of the framework.



What should business do in response to the proposed framework to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy?

This final research question was addressed in the findings that addressed the second

research proposition in Table 8.2 as well as in the recommendations set out in Chapter

8.

8.5 CONFIRMING THE RESEARCH PROPOSITIONS

In addition to the research questions, two research propositions were set out in

Chapter 1. Table 8.2 explains how the research confirmed each of the propositions.

Table 8.2: Addressing the Research Propositions

Research Proposition Findings Confirming the Proposition

A number of countries have developed consumer protection policies that incorporate sustainability and have put into place different mechanisms to encourage and enable business to respond to this (Bentley 2004; OECD Good Practices 2008; Consumers International 2013)

The results of the content analysis and the responses to the open-ended questionnaires indicated that economically more-developed countries had put in place a suite of measures to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection policy and to enable consumers to make more sustainable choices. These ranged from product safety regulations, to product eco-labelling to provide sustainability-related information such as genetically-modified product ingredients and energy usage of product.

Countries had also established regulatory bodies such as a Consumer Commission to enable implementation of policy and to ensure compliance by business with the regulatory requirements.

Some countries, for example, Sweden and Germany, had recognised the impact of household consumption levels on sustainability and had introduced sustainable household consumption policy to compliment consumer protection policy, as a means


211


to change consumer behaviour as a means of achieving more sustainable livelihoods.

Most African countries in the sample had more limited policy measures related to product safety and environmental management. African countries and other developing countries such as Costa Rica and Brazil needed to prioritise basic needs of consumers such as education, health care and transport, ahead of sustainable consumption measures.

Poverty in and of itself limited the consumption levels of consumers, and subsistence lifestyles in poorer countries. These were often more sustainable than the high consumption levels in economically-developed countries. As a result, there was less of a need to incorporate sustainability measures into consumer protection policies in less-developed countries. This factor is dealt with in more detail as an area for future research.

Business will need to adapt practices and procedures at all stages of the production life-cycle to respond to the incorporation of sustain-ability into consumer protection policies (Mont & Bleischwitz 2007)

The literature review showed that the modern business context is shifting towards a more holistic conceptualisation of sustainability, as a value that needs to be deliberately and consciously-built into the design and essence of a business. Doing so was not only as good corporate citizenship, but offered competitive advantage and could drive product demand and attract consumers. Some businesses had realised the benefit of embracing sustainability and had set this as part of the strategic focus of the business.

Corporate business was starting to realise the value of integrating sustainability as a business operating principle. New business management theory acknowledged the need to develop business models that decoupled corporate growth from its environmental footprint whilst simultaneously increasing positive social impacts.

Using the life-cycle approach to examine the economic, social and environmental impacts of goods and services at each stage of the production process, from product design through to disposal, and then pro-actively adapting, innovating and (re)designing production processes to be more sustainable, was evident in the literature.

The experts who critiqued the proposed framework to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection


212


policy advocated for sectoral self-regulation with business taking the lead to design and develop sustainability frameworks as well as educating consumers about these.

Sustainability should also be explored as a means to reduce the costs of doing business and positively differentiate products in the market and, in so doing, increase demand by attracting new customers and building loyalty and pride in existing customers.

8.6 RECOMMENDATIONS

The research proposes a framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer

protection policy in South Africa. On the basis of the framework, amendments to the

Consumer Protection Act (2008) were proposed. It is recommended that these

amendments be sent to the Minister of Trade and Industry as the ministry responsible

for consumer protection policy as a proposed blue-print for amending the legislation in

order to incorporate sustainability.

To inform the proposed legislative review process, it is recommended that preparatory

research is initiated to develop in-depth proposals for how sustainability considerations

could be incorporated into each of the eight rights set out in the Consumer Protection

Act (2008) as would be appropriate in an evidence-based approach to policy review.

It is recommended that the proposed framework be used by business organisations to

develop best practice guidelines for how business could adapt practices and

procedures by analysing each stage of the production life-cycle to identify ways in

which to incorporate sustainability into consumer engagement strategies.

The proposed framework can also be used to develop consumer education material

to enable consumers to understand their role in sustainable production and

consumption on the basis of their consumer choices. Consumer education should

include methodologies that take into account the needs of illiterate, rural and poor

consumers who might not have access to mainstream media.

Finally, given that consumer policy could be re-positioned to play a key role in the

choices that consumers make and, if well-designed and implemented, could direct


213

consumer spend in support of the goal of sustainability and sustainable consumption,

it is recommended that the framework be used as the basis to develop a much broader

policy outlook in which consumer protection intentions are based on concepts of well-

being and social justice. Using consumer spend to drive sustainability requires a

deliberate intention on the part of policy-makers to move away from the more

conventional framing of consumer policy, which has tended to focus on the economic

interests of consumers, such as price, quality, choice and redress. The remit of

consumer policy should be extended to include measures that influence consumer

choice towards more sustainable lifestyles in the environmental and social sense. In

support of this, it is recommended that South African policy-makers be engaged on

the need to develop policy on sustainable household consumption.

8.7 CONTRIBUTION OF THE RESEARCH

This research brought together an analysis of two disassociated domains of public

policy, namely, consumer protection policy and sustainability policy. Whilst the

literature review indicated that much has been written about each of the respective

policy areas, it was also found that limited literature existed concerning the nexus

between the two policy areas. Thus, this research contributed to the body of

knowledge about ways in which sustainability could be incorporated into consumer

protection policy. The research findings would thus be useful to researchers, policy

makers and educators as these contribute to the debate and literature consumer

protection and sustainability.

The research developed a policy framework, which experts evaluated and considered

implementable. The proposed framework provides public policy makers with a blue-

print for revising consumer protection policy such that it is broadened to incorporate

sustainability. The research provides factual information that could contribute to

evidence-based policy-making and makes the case for a review of South African

consumer protection policy. The research proposed specific amendments to South

African consumer protection legislation to enable the incorporation of sustainability.

The research could thus serve a useful tool for policy-makers in government and

legislators in parliament and provincial legislatures on a practical level during the policy

review process.


214

It is possible that policy review may not be a priority for public policy-makers, in which

case, the research could be useful to consumer interest groups and sustainability

activists in communities and civil society who are lobbying for policy amendments to

incorporate additional measures to incorporate sustainability into consumer protection.

One example of this would be Consumers International, which is an international non-

governmental organisation that is currently advocating for consumer protection to be

included in the Sustainability Development Goals which were adopted by the United

Nations in 2015 (Consumers International 2015).

Through the findings of this research, the business community could begin to consider

and gain new insights into ways in which business processes can be re-imagined to

identify and incorporate ways in which sustainability in relation to consumer protection

can be integrated into business models. Sector self-regulation initiatives to incorporate

sustainability would be able to be developed as a result, and as a means to enhance

competitiveness rather than as a re-active measure in response to policy compliance

imperatives. The research would thus be of interest to business chambers, producers

and business sectoral organisations, and business management membership

organisations who would be able to develop best practice guidelines for incorporating

sustainability based on the findings and distribute these to members. Similarly,

business management educators could incorporate the findings of this research into

teaching materials to make students aware of the impact of sustainability on consumer

behaviour and product choice, and hence business models. Business management

educators could also offer training to the business community to update the skills set

of managers to enable the re-design of business processes to incorporate

sustainability into consumer education and engagement strategies of businesses.

An additional contribution of the research is also to inform international policy debates

about incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy. Specifically, the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development regularly convenes the

Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy. In the

light of the important role of research and policy analysis in the development of

appropriate policies to respond to challenges in the area of consumer protection policy,

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development created the Research

Partnership Platform in 2010. This platform is an initiative that aims at contributing to


215

the development of best practices in the formulation and effective enforcement of

consumer protection laws and policies so as to promote development. The findings

from this current research would contribute to these international policy debates, as

the researcher is an active member of the International Group of Experts on Consumer

Protection Law and Policy and participates in the Research Partnership Platform.

A final important contribution of the research is to provide an African perspective of

ways in which sustainability has been incorporated into consumer protection policy.

This perspective was largely found to be absent in the literature. The comparative

analysis of consumer protection in a number of African countries provided a policy

framework that could be offered to policy makers in regional continental bodies such

as the African Union. One of the roles of such multi-country bodies is the coordination

and harmonisation of policies between member states and sub-regional economic

communities such as the Southern African Development Community and the

Economic Community of West African States. The theoretical framework for

incorporating sustainability could serve as a guideline for member states and could be

used to encourage countries to review domestic policy to incorporate sustainability

into consumer protection policy.

8.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH AND FUTURE RESEARCH AREAS

Notwithstanding the contributions of the research, it also had limitations. Being

qualitative research, and relying primarily on content analysis, the choice of research

methodology and design limited the inclusion of important perspectives, notably the

views of consumers in general and poor consumers in particular. Consumers are

central stakeholders in the development of consumer protection policy as they are

directly affected by its implementation. Should the research findings persuade

government policy-makers to review South African consumer protection policy with a

view to incorporating sustainability, this process would provide an opportunity for

consumers and consumer organisations to express their views as Parliament and the

provincial legislatures are bound by the Constitution to facilitate public involvement in

legislative processes (Constitution South Africa1996).

The restricted reference to poor consumers is a limitation in that the majority of voices

might not be included in the proposed recommendations. Recommended policy


216

changes and legislative amendments might be perceived as not being pro-poor and

inclusive of the needs of all consumers, irrespective of economic means. This

suggests that approaches beyond consumer education need to be considered to

ensure that the economically-disadvantaged sectors of society are included and that

their own established sustainable consumer practices become instructive to policy

content.

A second limitation of the research is that formal government policy and legislative

documents were content analysed as well as published research studies. This would

have excluded the consideration of indigenous consumption systems because these

were not set down in policy or reflected in written works. These systems were very

sustainable, and remain so in many societies in the global south though perhaps to a

lesser extent than before, because of globalisation. Valuable lessons for sustainable

consumption and sustainable lifestyles could be gleaned by examining indigenous

consumption systems, which is an area for future research.

A further limitation related to the sample. Although questionnaires were sent to two

Latin American countries, no responses were received. Furthermore, relatively few

countries who received the questionnaire submitted responses despite personalised

follow-up requests. As a result, the content analysis for these countries was limited to

information available on the internet and in published research studies. Given that the

majority of West African countries are francophone, official policy documents would

be available in French. Financial constraints prevented the questionnaire being

translated into French or to translate French policy documents into English for

inclusion in the research. Policy insights from these countries were thus not

considered when developing the framework for incorporating sustainability into

consumer protection policy.

Future research into how business could adapt practices and procedures at all stages

of the production life-cycle to respond to the incorporation of sustainability into

consumer protection policies, should consider the different requirements of big

business and smaller businesses and well as businesses in the informal sector.


217

8.9 SUMMARY

As the concluding chapter of the research, this chapter provided a summary of each

of the preceding chapters, to provide an overview of how the research was conducted.

Having set out the primary objective of the research, the subsequent chapters

reviewed the literature, set out the research methodology and presented the findings

of the research.

The primary objective of the research was to develop a framework for incorporating

sustainability into South African consumer protection policy, which was presented in

Chapter 7, following a critique of the theoretical framework by consumer policy experts

and business people. The framework has four dimensions, namely, the inclusion of

the definition of sustainability, consideration of sustainability implications at each step

of the production process and business cycle, the development of sector self-

regulatory systems to advance sustainability and policy mechanisms to promote

sustainability. The framework elaborates on the contents of each of these dimensions.

The framework also comprises of factors that create an enabling environment, namely,

policy harmonisation and implementation co-ordination across relevant government

departments, good corporate citizenship and co-creation of shared value and

consumer education. The final aspect of the framework is stakeholder engagement,

inclusive of consumers, business, labour, communities, civil society and government.

The nine research questions posed at the commencement of the research were also

addressed in this chapter. Following this, the findings confirming the two research

propositions were discussed. Firstly, the findings confirmed that a number of countries

had developed consumer protection policies that incorporated sustainability and,

secondly, that business should adapt practices and procedures at all stages of the

production life-cycle to incorporate sustainability within their consumer protection

obligations and responsibilities.

The research made a number of contributions for policy-makers, researchers,

educators and consumer rights interest groups. The contribution of the research

towards a deeper understanding of an African perspective regarding consumer

protection and sustainability was highlighted. A set of recommendations was


218

presented, including proposed amendments to South African consumer protection

legislation, best practice guidelines for business and consumer education.

The chapter concluded with suggestions for possible future research, most notable of

which being the need to research indigenous consumption systems, which would offer

valuable lessons for sustainable consumption and sustainable lifestyles.

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ANNEXURES

234

ANNEXURE A

LETTER TO UNCTAD MEMBER STATE IN THE SAMPLE

Dear

Happy New Year 2016! In the framework of UNCTAD's Research Partnership Platform, which brings

together academics and Member States' policy makers and law enforcers, Laura Best of the Nelson

Mandela Metropolitan University of South Africa is conducting a research project on: "Incorporating

Sustainability into Consumer Protection Policy." You will find all relevant information in the attached

document (UNCTAD RPP Overview LBest.docx) and following this link to our website.

Your country has been selected, along with twenty others, to take part in this research project, which

aims at benchmarking the best practices in the field to inform policy reforms. We believe your

contribution will ensure we can provide a useful piece of research for Member States, so we highly

encourage you to participate. We would be very grateful if you could answer the attached questionnaire

(UNCTAD Request to Member States LBest v2.docx), which should not take you more than 20 minutes.

Kindly return the completed questionnaire to Laura Best ([email protected]) and to us at your

earliest convenience (ideally before 5 of February 2016).

Once the answers are compiled, Ms Best might want to contact you for further information/clarifications.

Progress on this research will be presented at the Research Partnership Platform meeting, in the

margins of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts Meeting in October 2016.

We remain at your disposal should you need any further assistance.

Thanking your collaboration in this exciting project.

Best regards,

Arnau

___________________________________________________________

Arnau Izaguerri Vila Associate Legal Officer COMPAL Programme Competition and Consumer Policies Branch Division on International Trade in Goods and Services Tel : +41 22 917 5071 E-mail : [email protected] http://unctad.org

mailto:[email protected]

http://unctad.org/

ANNEXURES

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ANNEXURE B

OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRE

Request to member states

Research Project: Incorporating Sustainability into Consumer Protection Policy

Name of Member State: ______________________________________________________

1. Does the member state have a consumer protection policy? Yes No

(If the member state DOES have consumer protection policy, please submit a copy or provide the website address where this can be accessed)

2. If the member state does have consumer protection policy and/or legislation, does this contain measures to promote and achieve sustainability and sustainable consumption? (Sustainability refers to consumer protection measures to promote economic

development, social equity and environmental protection in an inter-related way so as to meet the needs of present generations without compromising the needs of future generations)

Yes No

If YES, please list the consumer protection policy and legislative

provisions that promote sustainability and sustainable consumption.

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List of provisions that promote sustainability and sustainable consumption:

3. What measures does the member state take to promote and ensure

consumer protection? Please list those that are voluntary, which businesses can choose to implement, and those that are mandatory, with which businesses must legally comply.

List of voluntary measures: List of mandatory measures: Contact details for person completing this short questionnaire:

Name: Portfolio: Email address: Tel number:

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ANNEXURE C

COPY OF THE INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

PRE-INTERVIEW PREPARATION

A) What are the research objectives for the study? Are they aligned with the questions

in the interview guide? Ensure that research objectives can be explained to

participants.

B) Knowledge of the type of interview to be conducted and how to conduct such an

interview: Unstructured interview based on the framework.

C) Location and scheduling of the interviews: at the location of the participants.

IDENTIFYING INFORMATION

A) Transcribe the interview manually

B) Name of interviewer and participants

C) Interview date

D) Purpose statement of interview – to verify the process used and review and critique

the proposed framework

OPENING

A) Introducing the objectives of the research to the participants and what will be

discussed during the interview.

B) Explaining to the participants what information will be requested from them.

C) Orientation – these are guidelines that shall be set out for the interview. For this

interview, open-ended questions will be asked to the participants and their

responses will be written down.

ANNEXURES

238

ANNEXURE D

FRAMEWORK TO REVIEW

ANNEXURES

239

ANNEXURE E

LANGUAGE EDITOR LETTER