No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Models of Mammon: A Cross-Disciplinary Survey in Pursuit of The 'Sustainable Consumer
... These two proposals -the former suggesting reform and the latter a radical realignment of social and economic institutionsrepresent competing perspectives of the nature of the problem and its solution, and illustrate some of the tensions inherent in a pluralistic concept as contested as its predecessor, sustainable development. For the purposes of this paper, these two approaches shall be termed 'mainstream' and 'alternative' perspectives on sustainable consumption (see also Seyfang (2004a), Jackson and Michaelis (2003) and Jackson (2004b) for other reviews of sustainable consumption discourses). Each approach holds promise as a tool for ecological citizenship, for enabling individuals to make political decisions with their consumption behaviour to reduce the ecological footprints and unsustainable impacts of their behaviour. ...
... In addition, consumers have a number of different motivations for consumption, and the neo-liberal conception of sovereign consumer as rational satisfier of wants is in decline (see for example Fine, 2002;Miller, 1995). Patterns of material consumption exercised through the marketplace embody multi-layered meanings above simple provisioning, for example aspirational consumption, retail therapy, selfexpression, a need for belongingness, self-esteem, self-validation, a political statement, an ethical choice, status display, loyalty to social groups, identity, etc (Jackson, 2004b;Burgess et al, 2003). Accordingly, these motivations may be incompatible with ecological citizenship urges for sustainable consumption. ...
Ecological Citizenship is a potentially ethic-based motivation for changing behaviour towards more sustainable lifestyles. It describes citizenship as activity taken in the private as well as public sphere, and with regard to a common humanity transcending the boundaries of nation states. This paper examines ecological citizenship at perhaps its most mundane, yet its most ubiquitous and fundamental level - the choices and actions which individuals and households make on a daily basis, in the supermarket and on the high street. It deals with changing consumption patterns, consumer behaviour and lifestyles, and how these relate to environmental and social demands for sustainability. Sustainable consumption has become a core policy objective in national and international arenas, despite contested understandings of what it might mean in practice. The mainstream policy interpretation of sustainable consumption and the UK strategy is described, which relies upon individual consumers to make environmentally-motivated private decisions in order to deliver sustainability. This approach is critically evaluated on two fronts. First, a number of market failures are identified which compromise the integrity of the proposed model. Second, failures to achieve the desired impacts are revealed, which significantly limit the scope and ambition of mainstream sustainable consumption strategy. Responding to these limitations, an alternative conception of sustainable consumption is proposed, and three examples are given of practical tools and initiatives which overcome some of the obstacles faced by the mainstream approach. These are: the Measure of Domestic Progress national accounting index, localised organic food supply chains, and community currencies (time banks and LETS). The alternative strategy promotes ecological citizenship by re-creating social and economic institutions for environmental governance according to different value regimes. By combining improvements to the mainstream policy strategy, with explicit support for a diversity of alternative approaches which build new social and economic institutions for consumption, governments could harness the energies of ecological citizens to make significant strides along the road to sustainability.
... Due to the adverse environmental impacts of the present clothing consumption behavior, there is a rising concern on sustainability issues on the consumption side of the fashion supply chain (FSC) (Fineman, 2001;Jackson, 2004;Birtwistle and Moore, 2007;Carter and Rogers, 2008;Niinimäki, 2010). Fashion companies, including manufacturers and retailers, are increasingly developing and marketing eco-fashion to promote sustainable consumption ( Joergens, 2006;Fletcher, 2008;Wong et al., 2011aWong et al., , 2012a. ...
... Eco-fashion consumption refers to the consumers' purchase behavior on eco-fashion (Niinimäki, 2010). The purchase of eco-fashion suggests a sustainable consumption at the end of a FSC, forcing the upstream FSC processes, ranging from sourcing, production, to distribution, to be environmentally responsible in order to satisfy customer needs and expectations (Jackson, 2003(Jackson, , 2004Claudio, 2007;Young et al., 2010). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between product‐ and store‐related attributes of eco‐fashion and fashion consumers’ eco‐fashion consumption decisions; and if such relationships are subject to the price premium level of eco‐fashion.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted with consumers in Hong Kong: in total, 216 consumers participated in the survey. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to check the validity and reliability of the scales. Hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis.
Findings
The findings showed that only store‐related attributes of eco‐fashion positively influence consumers’ eco‐fashion consumption decision, yet, such relationship can be weakened by the price premium level of eco‐fashion.
Research limitations/implications
Fashion consumers’ response to product‐ and store‐related attributes of eco‐fashion is still important in predicting fashion consumers’ eco‐fashion consumption decision. Fashion consumer environmental attitudes can predict fashion consumers’ eco‐fashion consumption decision better than fashion consumers’ attitude towards eco‐fashion.
Practical implications
It is not enough for fashion companies to manufacture fashion clothing in an ethical production system and develop and design fashion clothing with sustainable and recyclable materials. They must also improve store‐related attributes of eco‐fashion to better satisfy fashion consumer needs, and should be cautious in the direct and moderating effect of price premium level of eco‐fashion when determining the price premium level of eco‐fashion.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to research by advancing understanding on how consumers make ethical consumption decisions in purchasing fashion, and provides retailers with managerial insights into devising marketing plans to promote eco‐fashion consumption, which facilitate fashion companies’ development of a sustainable fashion supply chain. Limitations and directions for future research are also presented in the paper.
... These two proposals -the former suggesting reform and the latter a radical realignment of social and economic institutions -represent competing perspectives of the nature of the problem and its solution, and illustrate some of the tensions inherent in a pluralistic concept like sustainable consumption. For present purposes, this article will refer to them as 'mainstream' and 'alternative' perspectives on sustainable consumption (see also Jackson & Michaelis (2003), Jackson (2004b) and Seyfang (2004a) for other reviews of sustainable consumption discourses). Each approach holds promise as a tool for ecological citizenship, for enabling individuals to make political decisions with their consumption behaviour to reduce their ecological footprints and unsustainable impacts of their behaviour. ...
... In addition, consumers have a number of different motivations for consumption, and the neo-liberal conception of sovereign consumer as rational satisfier of wants is in decline (see, for example, Miller, 1995;Fine, 2002). Patterns of material consumption exercised through the marketplace embody multi-layered meanings above simple provisioning, for example, aspirational consumption, retail therapy, self-expression, a need for belongingness, self-esteem, self-validation, a political statement, an ethical choice, status display, loyalty to social groups, identity, and so forth (Burgess et al., 2003;Jackson, 2004b). Accordingly, these motivations may be incompatible with ecological citizenship desires for sustainable consumption. ...
Ecological citizenship is a justice-based account of how we should live, based upon private and public action to reduce the environmental impacts of our everyday lives on others. This paper examines ecological citizenship at perhaps its most mundane, yet its most ubiquitous and fundamental level: the choices and actions which individuals and households make on a daily basis, in the supermarket and on the high street. ‘Sustainable consumption’ has become a core policy objective of the new millennium in national and international arenas, and the paper critically evaluates the UK policy model of sustainable consumption as a tool for ecological citizenship. It first reviews the debate about sustainable consumption and describes two competing perspectives: one concerned with reform of the mainstream, and another more radical alternative. It then appraises the mainstream policy model of sustainable consumption in the light of ecological citizenship goals, and identifies a number of failures. Turning to the alternative perspective of sustainable consumption, a number of initiatives are discussed which are able to overcome the limitations of the mainstream model in enabling individual consumers to be good ecological citizens. Finally, the policy implications of this analysis are drawn out in order to nurture the practice of ecological citizenship.
... (Shove, 2003). This model suggests that consumers are driven to consume by a desire to maximise utility (Jackson, 2004a). It implicitly assumes that consumer behaviour is rational, consistent, driven by individual choice and informed by careful analysis of the costs and benefits afforded. ...
... Mundane commodities are not prestigious or meaningful (Shove and Warde, 1998); their consumption, therefore, warrants little consideration by consumers (Jackson, 2004b, Warde, 2002). The drivers behind the consumption of other goods and services however are more complex than simply satisfying basic, utilitarian needs (Jackson, 2004a). ...
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University. This thesis investigates the feasibility of applying design-led approaches to influence user behaviour to reduce the negative social impacts of products during use. A review of the literature revealed a distinct lack of design-led research in this area. Three promising approaches from other disciplines, however, were found; ecofeedback, behaviour steering and intelligence. The majority of product examples identified did not use a singular approach, but combined two or more approaches. Most of the examples were concepts and focused on the end result. Few commented on the research and development processes undertaken to generate the final design. These limitations reinforced the need for case studies detailing these processes. To this end, two design studies were carried out; a preliminary study using a range of products and a further, more in-depth study on the use of mobile phones. The results of these studies led to the development of a framework of attributes for 'behaviour changing' devices. In response to these findings, two design resources were developed; a detailed design project to reduce the social impacts of mobile phone use in public and a short film on texting whilst on the move. Evaluation by design professionals provided analysis of the effectiveness of these resources and wider reflections on designer's perceived responsibilities for use and the ethics of designing for behavioural change. Collectively, the findings indicated that resources for designing behavioural change should; be explorative not prescriptive, focus on problem solving, be tailored to meet the needs of the intended recipient and ideally be applied in the early 'ideation' stages of the design process. Additionally, the findings indicated that designer's involvement in, and responsibility for, lifecycle impacts must be extended beyond point-of-purchase. Designers, however, are reportedly often unable to influence product development at a strategic level. Prior work, therefore, is needed to engage those at a senior level. Furthermore, the findings strongly indicate that 'behaviour changing' devices must be prototyped and subjected to rigorous consumer testing not only to establish their effectiveness but also to determine their acceptability.
... While it is very important for businesses to design efficient industrial processes, smarter and cleaner technologies, greener and more ethical products, it is not enough. What is important at this point is the implementation of marketing strategies that will lead consumers to more sustainable consumption habits (Jackson, 2004). The main obstacle to the adoption of sustainable practices by governments, businesses and consumers is that it requires a radical change in the way individuals live and think (Peattie, 2012). ...
The concept of sustainable fashion has been widely used in the literature and industry in recent years. It is seen that the rapid change of fashion trends and the increasing production and consumption rate in the garment industry bring negative environmental impacts. For this reason, the priority of sustainability in the context of the fashion industry is focused on improving existing fashion systems by prioritizing ecological integrity and social order. In this study, firstly, sustainability and its importance are emphasized and sustainability in the fashion industry is discussed. Examining the radical changes in the fashion industry, which has an important place in the economies of countries, which is changing and growing, and analyzing the practices and studies of brands that have an important positioning in the fashion industry regarding sustainability in fashion are analyzed within the framework of sustainable marketing. In this research, which provides examples of sustainability strategies applied in the fashion industry; it is aimed to raise awareness among producers, consumers and researchers, to draw attention to sustainable fashion and to make suggestions to relevant sector professionals.
... When an organisation shifts from being primarily When an organisation shifts from primarily being driven by self-interest to being primarily driven by a desire to serve the wellbeing of others (purposefulness), this necessarily gets translated to the organisation's view of human behaviour in general. As the sustainable economy academic Tim Jackson observes, once "the simple economic model of consumer behaviour is abandoned, a host of other possible policy interventions present themselves" 127 . Whilst recognising that humans are complex, rather than assuming that people (and organisations as a group of people) are primarily self-interested and rational, a purpose-driven organisation assumes that at a fundamental level they are primarily purpose-driven and emotional. ...
A summary of the three organisational logics that promote or constrain and organisation to be able to address sustainability:
business-as-usual / short-term self-interest/ CSR (logic 1) is the basis of sustainability and constrained to respond,
business-as-usual / long-term self-interest/ ESV (logic 2) addresses transformation to business models that are within social and environmental thresholds and purpose-driven but not innovation that aligns with long-term wellbeing (sustainability).
However it is a purpose-driven logic (logic 3), that aligns a firm with sustainability and unleashes it role in bettering life on earth through the prudent use of resources.
Part 2 can be found here: https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/resources/unleashing-sustainable-business
... Indeed, according to Wang and Waller (2006), products become embedded in consumer culture when their purchase and use transcends the functional and come to be important as carriers of messages of cultural meaning. Jackson (2004) puts it in clear terms: The car is a product with powerful symbolic value, which external observers may then use to confer attributes to the drivers or occupants (Effendi and Whitfield, 2012) The accounts of car psychology however tend to focus on the communication value (as a status object) to the owner/user or the observer. While such symbolism may indeed be important, the analysis neglects other aspects of potential significance in seeking to understand the emotional comfort provided by cars. ...
This paper is about emergent car cultures and how they may interact with novel technologies, innovative business models, and new ways of owning or using cars to create new mobilities.
... The shift toward consumer responsibility also places a considerable burden on consumers themselves, who are now held responsible for ensuring environmental and social welfare. But even conscientious individuals who are acutely aware of the ills of consumption face significant barriers when attempting to channel their concern through their purchasing decisions-despite the pervasive illusion of free choice (e.g., Princen et al., 2002;Jackson, 2004). These barriers range from the mundane (availability, price, and quality) to the complex and unimaginable (social and economic ostracism). ...
... During the 1970s and 1980s, marketing scholars undertook extensive research regarding the effect of environmental issues on consumer behavior (Anderson & Cunningham, 1972;Doane, 2001). The issue has received intensive discussion later and one of the main topics for discussion was sustainable consumption (Jackson, 2004), which is defined as "consumption that supports the ability of current and future generations to meet their material and other needs, without causing irreversible damage to the environment or loss of function in natural systems" (Jackson & Michaelis, 2003, p. 14). ...
... A revision of all the definition stated that all definitions required us to view sustainable development as a system that connects space and time [5]. Hence, it is said that sustainable development is a difficult task as in [6] where it contains a wide range of scales and indicators. Consumer behaviour is a main key in sustainable development studies. ...
The literature on sustainable fashion consumption tends to concentrate on the motivational factors which encourage consumers to behave sustainability from the lens of personal and social factors. This paper seeks to extend the sustainable fashion consumption study by conceptualising the aspects of socio-technical factor as a means of understanding the consumer’s sustainable fashion consumption behaviour, noting the existence of attitude-behaviour gap. In addition, this paper considers how sustainable fashion consumption come into existence from the lens of personal factors and how the various interventions of facilitating conditions involved in these dynamics. An action oriented research which involved the technical aspects is needed to examine the distinctive challenges of understanding transitions in sustainable practice and to engender a more sustainable way of fashion consumption.
... During the 1970s and 1980s, marketing scholars undertook extensive research regarding the effect of environmental issues on consumer behavior (Anderson & Cunningham, 1972;Doane, 2001). The issue has received intensive discussion later and one of the main topics for discussion was sustainable consumption (Jackson, 2004), which is defined as "consumption that supports the ability of current and future generations to meet their material and other needs, without causing irreversible damage to the environment or loss of function in natural systems" (Jackson & Michaelis, 2003, p. 14). ...
Young consumers are the stylish shoppers who have a strong tendency to follow the latest fashion. With the rapid changes in the fashion trends, the overconsumption of clothing has had a significant environmental impact on society. Hence, there is a need to understand how young fashionable consumers are disposing their unwanted clothes. The survey was conducted among 205 young respondents, and the results show that clothing disposal behavior is affected by philanthropic awareness and mediated by the attitude toward clothing disposal. Interestingly, environmental economic factors only influence clothing disposal behavior through the attitude toward the disposal of clothing. The findings provide a valuable insight into the government and related authorities or organizations in developing strategies to encourage young consumers to increase their clothing-recycling rate, and, thus, eliminate the environmental issues in near future.
... The WCED answers the question of what to sustain by defining SD with sustaining the ability to satisfy people's needs within and across generations. Yet, the concept of needs has not received the attention one would have expected by the subsequent SD discourse Boulanger 2008;Jackson 2004;Mebratu 1998) that rather focused on questions of balancing economic, ecological, and social dimensions of sustainability or on the substitutability of man-made and natural capital. Apart from the basic needs approach (Streeten 1981) that inspired the Brundtland commission and strived to overcome the narrow notion of well-being proposed by Paretian welfare economics, various other concepts of needs exist. ...
The politically influential idea of sustainable development (SD) is closely tied to the concept of intergenerational justice without clarifying what exactly is to be sustained across time and space. In developing an account of human development, the capability approach provides a partial theory of justice with a focus on intragenerational justice. This chapter first offers insights into the history of modern SD. Focusing on the ends rather than means of SD, it secondly analyses the appropriateness of using capabilities as sustainability goals. The chapter then examines how the Capability Approach (CA) could contribute to extending an intra- to an intergenerational theory of justice, before providing a summary of the contribution that the CA could make to the discussion on SD.
... In addition, several international conferences provided a forum for discussion (Strong, 1996;Robins and Roberts, 1997;Kalafatis et al., 1999;Jones et al., 2005). One of the main themes that emerged from this was that of sustainable consumption (Jackson, 2004) which is defined as 'consumption that supports the ability of current and future generations to meet their material and other needs, without causing irreversible damage to the environment or loss of function in natural systems' (Jackson and Michaelis, 2003, p. 14). Creating meaningful progress towards sustainable consumption requires the acceptance of responsible and sustainable consumption and disposal behaviour (Peattie and Peattie, 2009). ...
Fast fashion retailing is leading consumers towards an increased rate of purchasing and the trend to keep clothing for an ever shorter time with the resulting rise in clothing disposal. The aim of this paper is to empirically explore antecedents of two methods of sustainable clothing disposal behaviour in two countries: donating to charities and giving away to family and friends. Using data from females located in Australia and Chile, the authors test the proposed model with structural equation modelling (SEM). The results of this study show that consumer recycling behaviour is a strong and direct driver of donating to charity. In addition, results find that consumer awareness of the environment and consumer age affect donating behaviour. The findings have value for fast fashion retailers, marketers, environmental activists, ecological researchers, charity institutions and public policy makers.
... Starting with the model of rational choice implicit in conventional economics, the following sections go on to discuss some of the more sophisticated attempts to account for the variety and complexity of consumer behaviours. Further details and supporting accounts can be found in Bocock (1993), Edwards (2000), Jackson (2003), , Miller (1995), Røpke (1999) and Sanne (2002). ...
There is an emerging recognition of the importance of consumption within the sustainability debate. The term ‘sustainable consumption’ has been coined to reflect this emphasis. In pursuit of its advocacy remit, the Sustainable Development Commission is currently seeking to influence government policy on sustainable consumption, specifically with regard to DEFRA’s forthcoming Sustainable Consumption and Production strategy and other UK policy developments. The purpose of this document is to enhance that process. It aims to provide a guide to the complexity of the sustainable consumption debate, an overview of the extensive literatures on consumer behaviour and lifestyle change, and an analysis of the policy opportunities suggested by these literatures.
... Much more emphasise has recently been given to the study of household behaviour and demand side issues (e.g. Gatersleben 2000;Jackson 2004); socio-institutional and demographic concerns have been integrated with environmental-economic ones (e.g. Cogoy 1995;Madlener and Stagl 2001); and more and more effort has been devoted to understanding and disclosing the complex relationship between consumption activities and well-being (Hofstetter and Madjar 2003;Jackson et al. 2004). ...
Having considerably furthered the understanding of the relationship between the economy and the environment during the last 15 years, the next big task for sustainability research is to find ways to integrate social aspects into quantitative models. This is particularly true for sustainable consumption research, where behavioural and demand-side issues have commonly been emphasised. This paper explores the possibilities of approaching this challenge by the means of time use data. As physical data in the ecosphere, the hours of time use as a measurement units allow to bring all activities - market and non-market - in a society into the scope of applied models under full and equal coverage of the population. Therefore, it is the ideal complement to monetary data for the description of the socio- economic system. A unique set of monetary, physical and time input-output tables for Western-Germany is used to demonstrate how time-use data can help to build an integrated model of sustainable consumption. In a preliminary application, the environmental, social and economic implications of different lifestyles are compared. The paper concludes by stressing the potential of time-use data for sustainable consumption research and briefly outlining some promising future applications.
... The literature on consumption can be sorted among four perspectives: conventional economic, political economic, biological/evolutionary, and cultural (Jackson, 2003). In the latter perspective, consumption is seen in terms of its symbolic meaning and it is a key feature of postmodernist studies of identity. ...
The historical and structural connections between auto-centered transport and fast food franchising are analyzed as comprising a synergistic contemporary mode of consumption. It is a mode that is rooted in individualized, private convenience, and it is implicated in a number of growing public health and environmental problems, including obesity and climate change. Emerging in the US after World War I, this mode of consumption, ‘fast cars/fast foods,’ developed rapidly after World War II, based on the application of mass production techniques to food, and in the development of the Interstate highway system. The analysis suggests that this mode of consumption is associated with a particular socio-material landscape, motorized urban sprawl, and that both promote hyperconsumption.
... This was brought about by the establishment of regular international conferences, which provided a forum for discussion (Jones et al. 2005;Kalafatis et al. 1999;Robins and Roberts 1997;Strong 1996). One of the specific themes to emerge from these conferences was that of sustainable consumption (Jackson 2004), which is defined as 'consumption that supports the ability of current and future generations to meet their material and other needs, without causing irreversible damage to the environment or loss of function in natural systems' (Jackson and Michaelis 2003, 14). Sustainable consumption, as an aspect of consumer behaviour, involves pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase components, with the latter including the process of discarding clothing (Jacoby, Berning, and Dietvorst 1977;Winakor 1969). ...
This study investigates the antecedents to clothing disposal methods in two countries: Scotland and Australia. Increasing volumes of textiles are disposed of in landfill sites to the detriment of the environment. Extant research has identified the influences affecting an increased rate of purchasing and the trend to keep clothing for an ever shorter time. As such, it is imperative to examine the factors that affect consumers' choice of clothing disposal method as limited research has been undertaken in this area of socially responsible consumption. The results of a survey administered to a sample of female consumers in the two countries identify antecedents of three forms of clothing disposal methods: selling through eBay or second-hand shops, giving away to family or friends or donating to charities. Findings show differences between the countries regarding clothing disposal behaviour. Nevertheless, general recycling behaviour was found to be the strongest predictor for donating to charities in both countries.
... Much more emphasise has recently been given to the study of household behaviour and demand side issues (e.g. Gatersleben 2000;Jackson 2004); socio-institutional and demographic concerns have been integrated with environmental-economic ones (e.g. Cogoy 1995;Madlener and Stagl 2001); and more and more effort has been devoted to understanding and disclosing the complex relationship between consumption activities and well-being (Hofstetter and Madjar 2003;Jackson et al. 2004). ...
... Jackson, T. (2003) Mapping Models of Mammon -a cross-disciplinary survey of conceptual approaches to consumer behaviour, Paper to epuk03 Conference, June 2003, www.envpsy.org.uk ...
Influencing the public is as much an art as it is a science. This 2003 report from the think tank Demos identified current thinking and best practice in the art of public influencing. It was designed to assist the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in incorporating a broader set of cultural, psychological and social factors into the development, communication and delivery of policy.
... Much more emphasise has recently been given to the study of household behaviour and demand side issues (e.g. Gatersleben 2000;Jackson 2004); socio-institutional and demographic concerns have been integrated with environmental-economic ones (e.g. Cogoy 1995;Madlener and Stagl 2001); and more and more effort has been devoted to understanding and disclosing the complex relationship between consumption activities and well-being (Hofstetter and Madjar 2003;Jackson et al. 2004). ...
Industrial Ecology as coined by Frosch and Gallopoulos (1989)1 has proven to be one operational and holistic concept for successfully implementing more sustain able policies. However,
like many other concepts that have become popular in the post-Brundtland era during the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as
Cleaner Pro duction (Baas et al. 1990), Ecological Modernisation (Jänicke 1988) and Industrial Metabolism (Ayres 1989), it
has been open to criticism, due to the failure of en vironmental policies to achieve many of their ambitious goals set out
during the Rio process. The shared pathology has usually been the technocratic approach and supply-side bias, as most clearly
laid out in the sustainable consumptiondebate (UNEP 2002; Princen et al. 2002).2
Researchers have responded to this criticism by adjusting their policy approaches. Much more emphasise has recently been given
to the study of household behaviour and demand side issues (e.g. Gatersleben 2000; Jackson 2004); socio-institutional and
demographic concerns have been integrated with environmental-economic ones (e.g. Cogoy 1995; Madlener and Stagl 2001); and
more and more effort has been devoted to understanding and disclosing the com plex relationship between consumption activities
and well-being (Hofstetter and Madjar 2003; Jackson et al. 2004).
This volume addresses current concerns about the climate and environmental sustainability by exploring one of the key drivers of contemporary environmental problems: the role of status competition in generating what we consume, and what we throw away, to the detriment of the planet. Across time and space, humans have pursued social status in many different ways - through ritual purity, singing or dancing, child-bearing, bodily deformation, even headhunting. In many of the world's most consumptive societies, however, consumption has become closely tied to how individuals build and communicate status. Given this tight link, people will be reluctant to reduce consumption levels – and environmental impact -- and forego their ability to communicate or improve their social standing. Drawing on cross-cultural and archaeological evidence, this book asks how a stronger understanding of the links between status and consumption across time, space, and culture might bend the curve towards a more sustainable future.
Bu araştırmada, hane halklarının sürdürülebilir tüketim davranışlarını bütünlüklü bir yaklaşımla ele alan, kavramın kuramsal temelini ve teorik alt yapısını kapsayan ve geçerlilik ve güvenilirlik kriterlerini sağlayan bir ölçek geliştirilmesi amaçlanmıştır.
Böylelikle literatürdeki önemli bir boşluğun doldurulması hedeflenmiştir. Araştırma dört bölümden oluşmaktadır. İlk üç bölümde araştırmanın kuramsal ve teorik alt yapısına; son bölümde ise ampirik araştırma bulgularına yer verilmiştir. Dünyada sürdürülebilir olmayan tüketimin en fazla gelişmiş ülkelerde, özellikle de ABD’de olması nedeniyle araştırmanın ana kütlesini ABD’de yaşayan hane halkları oluşturmaktadır. Araştırma süreci, madde havuzunun oluşturulması, ölçeğin yapılandırılması ve ölçeğin değerlendirilmesi şeklinde üç aşamada ele alınmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda “Hane Halklarının Sürdürülebilir Tüketim Davranışları Ölçeği” adı verilen, beş alt boyut ve 27 maddeden oluşan bir ölçek geliştirilmiştir.
The aim of this study is to develop a scale dealing with a holistic approach to the sustainable consumption behaviour of households, covering a hypothetical base of concept and a theoretical basis, and providing validity and reliable criteria. Thus, it is proposed that an important gap in literature will be filled. The study consists of four chapters. It focuses on institutional and theoretical infrastructure in the first three chapters; and is concerned with emprical research findings in the last chapter. The realm of research consists of household living in the USA, owing to the fact that unsustainable consumption in the world is prominent in most developed countries, especially in the USA. The research process is discussed in three stages as the creation of the item pool, the exploration of the scale and the confirmation of the scale. In consequence of the research, a scale called "Households' Sustainable Consumption Behaviours Scale", consisting of a total of 27 items and 5 sub-dimensions, has been developed.
Feral animals are commonly constructed as the scourge of the Australian landscape. The transgressive act of introduced, domestic animals going wild elicits strong emotive responses within the community, often conceived in a kind of Freudian spectre of das unheimliche (the uncanny/unhomely), as the once familiar becomes uncontrolled, strange and frightening. Meanwhile, exponential global growth in human populations, and the resulting strain on the environment and food security, is necessitating the rethinking of meat consumption. In Australia, while the stigma surrounding feral animals has historically inhibited their consumption, feral meat is regarded by a growing body of advocates as an environmentally favourable alternative to farmed meat, allowing not only the avoidance of animal suffering within the industrial agriculture model, but also benefitting ecosystems through the removal of damage-wreaking interlopers. This paper explores the feral turn and its contemporary manifestations as a growing food movement in Melbourne.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how consumers dispose of fashion products and how it might be possible to increase sustainable consumption of textiles.
Design/methodology/approach
– Increasing volumes of textiles are being produced, purchased and disposed of in landfill sites, which affect the environment. Research has identified the influences in increased purchase behaviour and the tendency to keep clothing for a shorter time. The primary research, undertaken in three stages, is an exploratory examination of the experiences of UK consumers and charity shops managers. Focus groups and key informant interviews were undertaken to achieve the objectives.
Findings
– This qualitative study identifies consumers' lack of understanding of how this behaviour affects the environment and key informant interviews explore how clothing can be re‐used and recycled. The conclusions assess what can be learnt from the data and offer suggestions for future research.
Originality/value
– The paper is a new area of research which has global implications.
Cars are the most complex of consumer durables, yet they are not as durable as one may expect. Each year, millions of cars are scrapped, many still roadworthy or easily repairable. As with other consumer durables, consumers increasingly lose their emotional attachment with their old car in favour of a younger model. Is it possible to remedy this failure of consumer–product relationships in the interest of greater product durability and hence greater environmental sustainability? This paper explores this question in the context of the classic car market and suggests there may be some lessons there that could lead to a more sustainable new car consumption culture.
The research, undertaken in two different stages, was aimed at establishing an understanding of how consumers dispose of fashion products and how to increase sustainable consumption. Increasing volumes of textiles are being produced, purchased and disposed of in landfill sites, which affect the environment. Research has identified the influences in increased purchase behaviour and the tendency to keep clothing for a shorter time. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used to undertake this exploratory research. Consumer focus groups and interviews were conducted initially to identify the main themes relating to fashion consumption and disposition. These were followed by a survey administered to young females to ratify the qualitative findings and to ascertain the extent of textile reuse and recycling. This study identifies consumers' lack of understanding of how this behaviour affects the environment and suggests ways of addressing the growing problem of textile waste and how fashion consumption could become more sustainable.
Globalisation, changing patterns of consumption and production and increased environmental concerns are creating new challenges
for companies in developing countries and countries with economies in transition to stay competitive in the global market.
Integrated and multidisciplinary approaches are required to face the dramatic rises in the intensive use of natural resources
and over-reliance on the ability of the natural environment to absorb the wastes generated by economic activity.
Satisfying an ever-increasing consumer demand puts a strain on the environment as increasing amounts of space, material and
energy are needed (Guinee 2002; Princen et al. 2002; Redclift 1996; Stern et al. 1997; Shove and Warde 1998). Material intensive
consumption is accompanied by increasing amounts of waste and emissions. According to our own assessment, about 19 million
tons of industrial CO2 emissions (25% of the total) can be attributed to direct lifestyle and consumption related human activities, most of which
occur in the industrialized world, but with a growing share from rapidly developing countries such as China or India (Reusswig
et al.).1 Despite their still (very) low level of material consumption and related emissions on a per capita basis, the total carbon
footprint of these emerging economies has reached significant levels. 2 Due to catch-up processes and globalization effects, the dynamics and the environmental effects of modern consumer society
is no longer confined to its historical region of origin: the United States (US), Western Europe, and – more recently – Japan.
Economic growth, political modernization and cultural globalization do not only lead to the overall growth of resource use and emissions, they also change the internal composition of societies. Myers and Kent (2003) account for 1,059 million additional people having joined the global consumer
class. This includes the expanding middle class in countries such as China, India or Brazil (Bhalla et al. 2003; Consumers
International 1997; MGI 2006, 2007; Robison and Goodman 1996; Sridharan 2004; van Wessel 2004). Global studies show that the
propensity to consumerism and the associated dreams and hopes – often fuelled by advertising and other global mass media products
– of the emerging consumer class fuel future production and consumption processes especially in countries with a higher proportion
of poor people (Environics 2002).
In this paper I consider the concept of responsibility within sustainable consumption. The paper was inspired by interviews with individuals engaged in community action for sustainability, where respondents held a rather individualistic conception of responsibility. In order to develop a deeper understanding of responsibility I compare sustainable consumption, environmental justice and ecological citizenship literatures. This leads me to develop a new conceptual framework which explains responsibility in relation to the ecological footprint. This framework recognises both the responsibility of the individual for sustainable practice and the limitations on individual action due to their context. It also allows for differentiation between individuals' responsibilities given people's circumstances and their ability to engage with change.
The mating mind' revives and extends Darwin's suggestion that sexual selection through mate choice was important in human mental evolution - especially the more 'self-expressive' aspects of human behavior, such as art, morality, language, and creativity. Their 'survival value' has proven elusive, but their adaptive design features suggest they evolved through mutual mate choice, in both sexes, to advertise intelligence, creativity, moral character, and heritable fitness. The supporting evidence includes human mate preferences, courtship behavior, behavior genetics, psychometrics, and life history patterns. The theory makes many testable predictions, and sheds new light on human cognition, motivation, communication, sexuality, and culture.
The second volume of the collected papers of W D Hamilton, each one introduced by an autobiographical essay. Hamilton is the most important theoretical biologist of the 20th century and his papers, not especially numerous, have had, and continue to exert, an enormous influence. Many were originally published in obscure and inaccessible places. Volume 1 (OUP, still in print) was devoted mainly to selection for social behaviour, the first half of Hamilton's life's work; Volume 2 is on the other half, on sex and sexual selection, and it includes the 18 papers published between 1980 and 1991. Each paper is accompanied by a specially written introduction describing why the work was done, how the paper came to be written, and its eventual fate. The introductions, written in an accessible, non-technical style, include history, opinion, and excerpts from Hamilton's life.
Taking the 1992 Rio Summit as its point of departure, this book examines what we now need to know, and what we need to do, to live within sustainable limits. One of the key issues is how we use the environment: converting natural resources into human artifices, commodities and services. In the process of consuming, we also create sinks. Today, these sinks - the empty back pocket in the global biogeographical system - are no longer empty. The fate of the global environment is indissolubly linked to our consumption: particularly in the energy-profligate North. To understand and overcome environmental challenges, we need to build the outcomes of our present consumption rates into our future behaviour: to accept sustainable development as a normative goal for societies; one that is bound up with our everyday social practices and actions. The way we understand and think about the environment conditions our responses, and our ability to meet the challenge, and discusses tangible policies for increased sustainability that are grounded in recent research and practice.
In this chapter, I intend to elaborate some of the key elements in recent Green critiques of economic growth. In fact, in the following sections, I delineate several progressively radical attacks on the conventional equation of GDP with quality of life. The first of these resides more or less entirely within the boundaries of neoclassical economics; the second extends the boundaries of conventional accounting to include environmental and social costs (and benefits); the third challenges more fundamental aspects of the orthodox rationale. In the final section of the chapter, I attempt to elucidate some of the challenges those critiques present for modern social (and economic) policy.
Confronting Consumption places consumption at the center of debate by conceptualizing "the consumption problem" and documenting diverse efforts to confront it. In part 1, the book frames consumption as a problem of political and ecological economy,. emphasizing core concepts of individualization and commoditization. Part 2 develops the idea of distancing and examines transnational chains of consumption in the context of economic globalization. Part 3 describes citizen action through local currencies, home power, voluntary simplicity, "ad-busting", and product certification. Together, the chapters propose "cautious consuming" and "better producing" as an activist policy response to environmental problems. The book concludes that confronting consumption must become a driving force of contemporary environmental scholarship and activism.
***Winner of the International Studies Association's Harold and Margaret Sprout Award for best book on international environmental affairs
This revised edition, first published in 1977, contains a new introductory section by Tibor Scitovsky. It sets out to analyze the inherent defects of the market economy as an instrument of human improvement. Since publication, it is believed to have been very influential in the ecological movement and hence is considered to be relevant today. The book tries to give an economist's answer to three questions: Why has economic development become and remained so compelling a goal even though it gives disappointing results? Why has modern society become so concerned with distributional processes when the great majority of people can raise their living standards through increased production? Why has the 20th century seen a universal predominant trend toward collective provision and state regulation in economic areas at a time when individual freedom of action is widely extolled and is given unprecedented reign in non-economic areas? The book suggests that the current impasse on a number of key issues in the political economy of advanced nations is attributable, in part, to an outmoded perspective on the nature, and therefore, the promise of economic growth. The critique has some important implications for policy and opens up a range of policy issues. -after Author
The four-volume set assesses social science research relevant to global climate change from a wide-ranging interdisciplinary perspective. Taking human choice within social institutions as the starting point, noted researchers examine climate change issues in the context of societal issues such as population and consumption; cultural, institutional, and economic arrangements for human well-being; and the social processes by which decisions are made from local to global levels. This four-volume assessment is intended to complement the work of the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
John Manoochehri raises concerns about over-consumption of resources and analysis of changing consumer behaviour at the heart of the current international debate on sustainable consumption. He proposes that the terms of the debate were set by Agenda 21 and the concerns of sustainable development. He explores both the conceptual coherence of sustainable consumption and its relationship with sustainable development as a way to explain the lack of action on consumption since Rio.Development (2002) 45, 4753. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1110378