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The view that alternative consumption practices (i.e., informal and/or second-hand modes of goods acquisition) are used by disadvantaged urban consumers out of economic necessity has been recently opposed by cultural theorists who instead view participation in such practices as more a matter of choice. To evaluate these contrasting perspectives, this paper reports data from 120 interviews conducted in Leicester in England. Finding that the agency-orientated view of alternative consumption practices is valid in affluent urban populations but economic necessity remains the principal motive amongst lower-income urban populations, this paper concludes that for a fuller understanding to be achieved, there is a need to reconcile the dualistic either/or debates between those promulgating economic necessity and those emphasizing choice by adopting a both/and approach sensitive to the varying meanings of such practices across the urban landscape. |
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