Analyze Discourse Community on People Against Canada Goose

Professor Mcelroy

March 3, 2020

Canada Goose Jackets

A discourse community can be defined as a group of people with shared ideas and common goals. There are a number of features that define a discourse community. For instance, it broadly agreed on a universal set of shared public goals. It also has well established mechanisms of communication and collaboration among members. A discourse community also uses its broad mechanisms for participation to share information and access information and feedback. Such a community also has genres that can be used for communication to pursue its objective. A discourse community also boasts some specific lexis and has a threshold level of members. This research focuses on Canada Goose as a discourse community.

The growing concern about the production of jackets by Canada Goose has led to the rising of a discourse community that is against the practices. The company, which is recognized for having the best insulators in the world, claims that it manufactures the best jackets which are lighter and without sacrificing the warmth. However, the discourse community is concerned about how warmth is achieved. This is because the company is involved in the trapping of animals such as Coyotes, which are caught in the wild using steel clamps, steel traps, or the neck snares. The problem is that it is not one type of animal that is trapped, but rather dogs, cats as well as birds can be caught in these traps. These result in the death of animals, especially due to attacks by predators and dehydration. Comment by Windows User: I think this sentence does a good job providing the background for what the community is fighting against.

According to Swales, discourse communities consist of people who work together to achieve a common goal through communication. They can develop a particular code or form of communicating to pass the message to the others. The main aim is for members within the community to identify with each other and hence effectively communicate. The definition of discourse community can be completed using when a group acts in common public goals, has methods of communicating amongst the members, the communication methods are participatory, have genres that define the group, and the standard of knowledge that is needed for membership (Swales 471). Comment by Windows User: Repetitive

A person for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the leading discourse community that is actively involved in communicating against the Canada Goose products. With membership in most parts of the country, the discourse community has established methods of communication to pass the message in a simple and understandable manner. The group works to ensure that people around the world understand the manufacturing process of any jacket they buy from the company. Canada goose used feedback to assess their performance. The organization has set metrics for performance. When feedback is received, key performance indicators are compared to set performance metrics to identify areas that need improvement. This can help address issues raised by customers and hence make customers happy and hence cultivate customer loyalty. Comment by Windows User: What is the primary goal? Comment by Windows User: What are these performance metrics?

One of the methods of communication used by PETA is social media. The main goal for this group is to save the animals by ensuring that the jackets are made using ways and materials which do not violate or inhumanly treat the animals. This is the reason the group put forth social media posts on various platforms. A Facebook page, “Boycott Canada Goose Jackets,” stipulates the problems that the animals go through when they come into contact with the traps (“Canada Goose” 1). Photos of the animals, including Owls and Coyotes,are displayed. Social media, as a platform,can reach as many people as possible around the world. Therefore, the main aim is to create awareness and ensure people understand that they have the responsibility of enhancing their wildlife by boycotting the buying of these jackets.

Social media advertising also includes the use of Twitter. This is where PETA displays messages such as, “Here is the rest of your Canada Goose Jacket” (Katherine 3). This message shows an individual wearing a jacket and holding a coyote and a goose, which are used in fillings and the making of fur jackets suitable for winter. Several messages are displayed on social media pages so that people all over the world can see.

The second form of communication used is a mobile billboard. The Canada Goose Jackets are famous and acceptable in Canada. For this reason, PETA uses mobile billboards to display messages that show that animals should not be used in the making of jackets. These are then placed in strategic places to receive mass viewership. This is coupled by placing bus shelter ads that have been erected outside and down the street where the Canada Goose flagship stores are located(Katherine 3). These ads have had a significant impact on the world. This is because after opening a branch in the United Kingdom, the store was met with demonstrations and protests. This is because the people believed that Canada Goose uses the steel-jawed leg-hold traps to capture the animals. This is a practice that has been long banned in the United Kingdom. Therefore, the people rejected the opening of the store. The application for an injunction was a blow after the judge ruled that the actions of the company restricted freedom of assembly and expression. Comment by Windows User: I think this sort of communication is to members outside of the community. What are the intercommunication between members of the community?

The third method of communication used by PETA is demonstrations. This is the practice of holding mass meetings with posters that depict the ethical issues faced by Canada Goose by killing animals to make the jackets. A demonstration in London illustrated people nearly naked and in a “bloody” pool, which was meant to show how the company kills for the fur trim (Priya 4). These demonstrations, mostly held in strategic places, are supposed to inform the shoppers of how the jackets are made. This is most notably because the animals are killed in barbaric ways, which cause their agony before dying. The demonstration in London was held strategically near the store so that it attracted the attention of the shoppers as they came to buy a jacket for the winter. This form of communication, although useful in a small area,can pass the message to the members of the public. This is because they can see and think before making a decision. Therefore, PETA, as a discourse community, has established the code of killed animals as the language code that is used to depict the inhumane treatment the wild animals receive as the company tries to make a profit. Comment by Windows User: How does the group organize these demonstrations?

In conclusion, discourse communities can focus on a particular common goal and use coded language to pass the message to the members of the public. Contrary to the common belief that discourse communities operate within the conventions that are defined by communities they operate in, discourse communities can be academic disciplines and social groups in some cases. Typically, a discourse community is formed by a group of people who share common discourses. As such, members must understand the basic values and assumptions that bind the group together. PETA has been vocal in fighting against the purchase of the Canada Goose Jackets, which are said to fuel the continued killing of Coyotes and other wild animals in a bid to make light and warm jackets. The result is the use of various communication approaches to pass the message. Social media is a standard method that is used to reach the supporters of PETA all over the world. This includes platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Mobile billboards are also used. Demonstrations are used with people holding posters condemning the actions of Canada Goose. The results have been an increase in awareness all over the world and a growing acceptance that the company should stop killing these animals. Comment by Windows User: I think that this statement should be used as the common goal of the community.