In the retail industry, both food retailers and organic private labels act as senders of sustainable messages. To investigate the potential role of corporate communication in the construction of corporate responsibility, media coverage of the retail chains SPAR, BILLA and HOFER in connection with their brands Natur*pur, Ja! Natürlich and Zurück zum Ursprung in the years 2008 - 2011 was investigated by means of quantitative content analysis. The evaluated media included the quality press represented by Standard, Presse, Wirtschaftsblatt, the mid-market paper Kurier, and the tabloids Österreich and Kronen Zeitung.

Keywords: Cultural Materialism, Materialism, Subversiveness, Oppressive Ideology, Hegemonic Authority..