Responsible consumption in Europe: causes and habits

Abstract

Purpose: The main reason to do the research of consumption of society in Europe is the ever- increasing consumption, not sorting enough, which leads to problems on a global scale. Responsible consumption can be described as the behaviors and attitudes of the consumers to consume or less consume products and services that have the potential to directly or indirectly harm to society, economy, the world, and all living and nonliving things. The aim of the paper is to investigate the habits and causes of responsible consumption in Europe. Design/methodology/approach: Analysis of research literature sources, systematization, synthesis, generalization, quantitative research and data processing methods was used. The collected empirical data were processed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) program. In the data processing, descriptive statistics was used, such as percentiles, mean, mode and standard deviation. Research was done using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was compiled by the authors, based on the scientific literature. In the research, respondents participated from Lithuania (373 respondents) and other European countries (444 respondents from Latvia, Poland, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Bulgaria, France). Findings: Results showed that the main reason why people choose to consume responsibly are taking care of their own and their family's well-being and a sense of responsibility for what is happening in the world. The results of the study revealed that, in principle, the respondents who took part in the survey consume quite responsibly, but do not volunteer much and participate in community activities. These activities would help to share both food and other goods without throwing them away. Research limitations/implications: Only those respondents who use an internet connection could participate in the study. It was also a random selection of the respondents, so in the future it would be useful to do research that would cover all age groups and other demographical characteristics. Practical implications: Although there are no direct recommendations for consumers on how to use responsibly, the results show what kind of responsible consumption methods they use, what inspires them to be responsible. This should help readers change their consumption habits to be more responsible. Social implications: The results of this study will undoubtedly contribute to more responsible consumption and encourage people to act more responsibly. Research results shows that there is a relatively large part of people who care about the ecological situation of the whole world, volunteer, their answers give encouragement, even in small steps, but to be responsible consumers. Originality/value: The paper reveals the buying habits of consumers, which will help the readers of the paper (managers of organizations and, of course, consumers) to understand the meaning of responsible consumption in the world and encourage them to be more responsible consumers. This paper explains how sustainable consumption is compatible with the goals of sustainable development. The paper is also interesting that it compares the answers of respondents from quite different European countries. The results have both theoretical and practical implications for the search for measures for responsible consumption. Keywords: causes, habits, responsible consumption, sustainable development goals, Europe. Category of the paper: research paper.