The dynamics of green consumption: a matter of visibility?

Abstract

Over the past decade, the consumption of organic food and use of environment-friendly products have been rising remarkably, while at the same time global warming has made energy consumption an environmental issue. Therefore, it is interesting to inquire into whether alterations in the consumption of environment-friendly products are linked to behaviour in other consumption areas with a negative environmental impact. The main purpose of the study is to investigate the extent to which the increase in green consumption practices within the realm of food consumption is associated with green practices within areas such as recycling, transport and energy consumption. The investigation is set in the theoretical context of identity construction and reflexivity, as discussed in recent sociological theory. Inspired by theory, two sets of expectations are explored. The first anticipates a consistency between pro-environmental behaviour across consumption areas, whereas the second predicts a lack of consistency, as it states that environmental concerns are likely to be accentuated in areas where the environmental impact is visible and tangible. The latter hypothesis finds support in the empirical analysis, which is based on quantitative survey data. The political implication of the variation between consumption areas is that different types of consumption hold different possibilities if the social signalling effect shall be used positively. However, alternative and supplementary explanations for this variation may exist. The article thus calls for further research to investigate the possibility of integrating environmental concerns in different consumption areas by employing a comparative perspective. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.