How do brands shape our choices? For sociologist Sonia Bookman, the answer lies in exploring the act of everyday consumption. She studied the connections between brands, culture and daily life, with a focus on cosmopolitanism and class. Bookman recently completed her SSHRC-funded research project, Cosmopolitan Consumption, Markets, and Culture in Canadian Society.

The research explored how brands communicate ideas of cosmopolitanism. It particularly focused on the moral dimension of cosmopolitanism — a sense of responsibility and respect for people and their environment, both locally and globally. It examined how brands position themselves as socially responsible and how consumers engage with these messages through their everyday purchases.

Bookman said, “we’re looking at how [IKEA, Amazon, H&M, and McDonald’s] essentially mediate cosmopolitanism and how they are doing so in part with corporate social responsibility (CSR).”

“Some companies like lKEA, really bring it into their ‘brand scaping.’ So, you go shopping and […] there’s a sign that says, fill your cart with consciousness.” This is how brands encourage shoppers to shop more ethically, explained Bookman.

Her interest in this topic stemmed from her doctoral research and long-standing work on branding and ethical consumption. She said brands encourage consumers to feel good about their consumption choices, in ways that relate to both people and environments.

In the current study, Bookman and her team interviewed consumers associated with popular global brands like IKEA, Amazon, H&M, and McDonald’s. The research revealed that these companies offer what Bookman termed “cosmopolitan affordances” — opportunities that allow consumers to feel like responsible global citizens, such as recycling clothes at H&M or buying eco-friendly products at IKEA. The findings suggest that while these actions are meant to help consumers express ethical values and build a connection with the brand, most people do not engage with them deeply or consciously.

Bookman noted that consumers’ choices were mostly driven by convenience rather than conscious ethical reflection. “They were doing it as a matter of practice and convenience. Something that they just came across, they were not really thinking about it.” Choices like “buying the low flow shower heads and bringing batteries to recycle” were often made because they were “affordable, easy, and convenient” — a practical way to express their own cosmopolitan outlook, Bookman explained.

This gap between brand messaging and consumer engagement was particularly striking to Bookman. Even though many participants identified with cosmopolitan values, expressing concern for the environment, labour rights and global justice — they did not see brands as central to how they practiced these values.

According to Bookman, many people were skeptical about corporate motivations. They often perceived CSR initiatives as mere PR tactics rather than authentic ethical commitments.

Participants in the study expressed doubts about the sincerity of certain brands, especially large corporations. Some pointed to contradictions, such as questioning H&M’s environmental initiatives given the brand’s reliance on fast fashion — a business model associated with high environmental costs.Rather than connecting with brand messages, consumers spoke of more personal, community-rooted forms of ethical practice like shopping at farmers’ markets, volunteering, supporting local producers, or engaging in mutual aid.

Bookman also found that cosmopolitan consumption can reflect social status, with age and opportunity shaping consumers’ expression of ethical values.

Younger consumers, particularly those engaging with H&M, were more likely to reflect on their consumption habits and express values of responsibility and sustainability. Bookman added most consumers focused more on environmental concerns over social issues in their expression of moral cosmopolitanism.

Issues of human rights, labour conditions and global inequalities, were usually less important to them than environmental responsibility. This focus on the environment reflects broader societal trends and global conversations prioritizing climate change, she explained.

Bookman is currently writing up the findings from this research as a journal article, which she has presented with her research assistant, Benjamin Ayamga, at conferences in both Canada and the U.K.

Bookman emphasized, “market cultural forms like brands are actually really impactful. They are very powerful actors in our society.” Her research showed brands may influence how we think and talk about being responsible global citizens. “We need to pay attention to brands and to consumption practices which […] have a lot of significance in terms of shaping ideas, identities […] in contemporary society,” she said.

For students and researchers exploring consumer culture, her advice is to stay curious and follow the questions that genuinely matter to them.