Sustainable lifestyles in an urban context: towards a holistic understanding of ethical consumer behaviours. Empirical evidence from Catalonia, Spain

Abstract

AbstractEthical consumer behaviour has been gaining increasing attention in recent times. Nevertheless, most empirical research tends to focus on specific expressions of ethical consumer behaviour such as fair trade shopping and disregard other ethical projects that a consumer might be involved in. The main implication of this is a lack of a holistic understanding of ethical consumer lifestyles. This work adopts a qualitative approach, which, together with a combination of research techniques, makes it possible to observe the ethical consumer experience as a whole. The findings suggest that a wide diversity of behavioural strategies can fit under the same ethical lifestyles. Furthermore, an answer is provided for the ongoing debate as to whether ethical consumerism should be considered a means for change in the guise of political pressure or it should be seen as immoral.