Changes In Consumption Practices Research Articles

Hybridization of human–nature relationships and shifts in consumption practices: An analysis through the lens of Descola’s ontologies

This research investigates how individuals connect with nature and how different perceptions of continuity or discontinuity with nonhuman entities influence their consumption habits. Drawing on Descola’s critique of the traditional distinction between nature and culture, this study empirically examines the concept of “ontological hybridity” introduced by the authors. Through qualitative data collected from 25 consumers, the analysis reveals the process by which non-naturalist ontologies infiltrate the dominant ontology, which serves as a critical backdrop for them. Amplified by triggering events, these infiltrations give rise to hybrid ontologies that drive changes in consumption practices. We discuss the opportunities presented by these ontological infiltrations for both the marketing field and society at large.

Consumer interest and willingness to pay for in-bulk products with reusable packaging options

Consumers are looking for solutions to reduce waste at source, especially plastic waste from single-use packaging. Simply recycling packaging will not be enough and reduction at the source must be emphasized as part of a sustainable circular economy. Selling products in bulk using reusable containers is one of the emerging paths of the zero waste movement. To achieve this, it is necessary to change consumption patterns and behaviors. Our goal is to better understand how source reduction of plastic packaging can be an asset in a zero waste objective. Using a contingent valuation method, we conducted a large pan-Canadian survey on the purchasing preferences of 2002 Canadian households to analyze the willingness to pay (WTP) for different food and household products. Results indicate that most consumers do not appear to be willing to pay more for bulk products with reusable packaging even if they are interested in buying more bulk products. Different socio-demographic and attitudinal parameters, such as age, gender, sense of convenience, and pro-environmental behaviors, influence willingness to buy and pay. The originality of this work is to provide an economic perspective on the reduction of single-use containers and changes in consumption practices in the context of the zero waste movement and the circular economy.

Consumer Practices at the Junction of the Digital Era and COVID 19 in Ali Mendjeli New Town, Constantine, Algeria

Abstract Nowadays, beyond the spatial practices operated by inhabitants of Ali Mendjeli new town (Constantine) to build a new urbanity in a new framework, we note that the mode of consumption, consequence of globalization, also participates in this quest for identity formation. The health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic that the whole world experienced in the last two years has changed the parameters of consumption practices among individuals. However, in this difficult situation, the inhabitants and commercial operators of the new town have shown their ability to adapt their consumption patterns and services. This study will attempt to identify the changes in consumption practices caused by COVID-19 and to determine adaptation capacities by mobilizing ICT-based means. The data show that most respondents are a young population predisposed to digital technology. Therefore, inhabitants have come to terms with home delivery and online shopping, which have grown significantly and have proven to be a viable purchasing option during this crisis. In this study, we projected the consumption practices and behaviours of inhabitants of Ali Mendjeli new town during the crisis of COVID-19 on Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs. The results constitute evidence that this theory has been proven in reality. The management of the pandemic COVID-19 has found a facilitating context in Ali Mendjeli new town that has allowed it to adapt with the effects of this crisis.

Fast Fashion, in the Context of Changing Consumption Practices

Örtünmenin, yerini giyinmeye bıraktığı dönemlerden yalnızca yüz yıl gibi yakın bir zamana kadar seçkinlerin tekelinde olan moda ve moda tüketimi, alt sınıflar ya da sıradan vatandaşlar için ulaşılması zor olan hatta çeşitli şekillerdeki yaptırımlarla kısıtlanan bir davranış kalıbı olmuştur. Ancak, üretim yapısındaki değişim ve bunun sonucunda tüketim pratiklerin de değişmeye başlamasıyla, moda ürünler de diğer tüketim nesneleri gibi nispeten ulaşılabilir bir hale gelmiş ve toplumdaki tüm kesimler tarafından kullanılmaya başlanmıştır. Süreç içerisinde modaya dair metalar, kavrama yüklenen anlamın da değişmesiyle birlikte en çok kullanılan ve en sık değiştirilen ürünler olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Bu dramatik değişim, tüketimin genel yapısındaki farklılaşmadan ve içerisinde bulunduğu toplumsal değişim dinamiklerinden soyutlanarak anlaşılamaz. Bu çalışmanın amacı, tüketimi eleştirel bir bakış açısıyla ele almaktan öte, tarihsel perspektifte tüketim pratiklerinin değişimine ortam sağlayan gelişme ve olguların neden sonuç ilişkileri ile değerlendirilmesidir. Böylelikle günümüzdeki moda tüketiminin dinamikleri hakkında bakış açısı sunulmuş olacaktır.

Broadening the Collective Turn in Marketing: From Consumer Collectives to Consumption Agencements

Broadening the Collective Turn in Marketing: From Consumer Collectives to Consumption Agencements

Sustainable Food Systems Sustainable Diets

This Special Issue seeks to contribute to the debate around less resource-intensive sustainable diets demonstrating just how critical a social science perspective is in problematising and enriching the terms of that debate. There is general consensus that the global dietary transition towards westernized diets with high intakes of meat, refined fats, sugar and salt are unhealthy for people and the planet. Healthier and more sustainable diets are widely recognised as necessary to mitigate climate change, reduce the pressure on natural resources including aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and lower the global burden of disease. This editorial introduction presents eight articles selected from papers presented at the Conference ‘Sustainable Food Systems Sustainable Diets’ held in October 2019 at The American University of Rome. Representing a diverse range of social science perspectives, the articles demonstrate the complexity in developing a shared understanding of what constitutes healthy and sustainable diets and which are likely to be inherently inter-connected with regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems. To different degrees the articles also reflect upon policy experiences to date and identify obstacles to the introduction of measures that would facilitate changes in consumption practices. Demonstrating the vital role of critical social analysis in deepening our understanding of the institutional, social, and cultural dimensions of food systems, this Special Issue will fill an important gap in the literature around sustainable diets.

The Pandemic of Productivity: A Narrative Inquiry into the Value of Leisure Time

This study explored narratives derived from in-depth interviews to demonstrate how an increase in leisure time could positively affect both our subjective well-being, through a better balance of work and “self”, and the environment, through a change in consumption practices. Firstly, the analysis of the interviews provided insight into the social function of work. Work creates feelings of connection and belonging; however, it can also create the opposite, negatively affecting our experience of leisure time, our productivity, and our well-being. Participants described how paid work provided structure and routine, which resulted in an increased feeling of subjective well-being. However, a lack of structure and routine during the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected feelings of “usefulness” and “productivity”. Secondly, an increase in leisure time created more opportunities for autonomy, leading to more unforced leisure activities and a better balance between work and self. Moreover, an increase in autonomy could be achieved through both increased work flexibility and a shorter working week. Lastly, this study aimed to demonstrate that more leisure time during lockdown periods can change how we spend our free time, therefore resulting in more pro-environmental consumer behaviour. This study intended to contribute to a gap in the literature: effects of leisure time on the balance between work and the “self”. The research setting offered limited opportunities for researching intentional, sustainable consumer behaviour, which provides an opportunity for further research.

Temporal, spatial and gender-based dietary differences in middle period San Pedro de Atacama, Chile: A model-based approach.

To explore the possible emergence and lived consequences of social inequality in the Atacama, we analyzed a large set (n = 288) of incredibly well preserved and contextualized human skeletons from the broad Middle Period (AD 500-1000) of the San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) oases. In this work, we explore model-based paleodietary reconstruction of the results of stable isotope analysis of human bone collagen and hydroxyapatite. The results of this modeling are used to explore local phenomena, the nature of the Middle Period, and the interaction between local situations and the larger world in which the oases were enmeshed by identifying the temporal, spatial, and biocultural correlates and dimensions of dietary difference. Our analyses revealed that: 1) over the 600-year period represented by our sample, there were significant changes in consumption patterns that may evince broad diachronic changes in the structure of Atacameño society, and 2) at/near 600 calAD, there was a possible episode of social discontinuity that manifested in significant changes in consumption practices. Additionally, while there were some differences in the level of internal dietary variability among the ayllus, once time was fully considered, none of the ayllus stood out for having a more (or less) clearly internally differentiated cuisine. Finally, sex does not appear to have been a particularly salient driver of observed dietary differences here. While we do not see any de facto evidence for complete dietary differentiation (as there is always overlap in consumption among individuals, ayllus, and time periods, and as isotopic analysis is not capable of pinpointing different foods items or preparations), there are broad aspects of dietary composition changing over time that are potentially linked to status, and foreignness. Ultimately, these stand as the clearest example of what has been termed "gastro-politics," potentially tied to the emergence of social inequality in the San Pedro oases.

It's the product not the polymer: Rethinking plastic pollution

AbstractMismanaged plastic waste poses a complex threat to the environments that it contaminates, generating considerable concern from academia, industry, politicians, and the general public. This concern has driven global action that presents a unique opportunity for widespread environmental engagement beyond the immediate problem of the persistence of plastic in the environment. But for such an opportunity to be realized, it is vital that the realities of plastic waste are not misrepresented or exaggerated. Hotspots of plastic pollution, which are often international in their source, present complex environmental problems in certain parts of the world. Here we argue, however, that the current discourse on plastic waste overshadows greater threats to the environment and society at a global scale. Antiplastic sentiments have been exploited by politicians and industry, where reducing consumers' plastic footprints are often confused by the seldom‐challenged veil of environmental consumerism, or “greenwashing.” Plastic is integral to much of modern day life, and regularly represents the greener facilitator of society's consumption. We conclude that it is the product, not the polymer that is driving the issue of plastic waste. Contemporary consumption and disposal practices are the root of much of the anthropogenic waste in the environment, plastic, or not. Effective environmental action to minimize plastic in the environment should be motivated by changes in consumption practices, policies, and product design, and should be informed by objective science and legislation.This article is categorized under:Science of Water > Hydrological Processes

Uncertain New Middle Classes: Changing Consumption Practices and State Policies in Russia

This article explores the reactions of Russia’s new middle classes to the embargo and import substitution and their changing consumption practices against the background of the economic crisis. It serves as an entry point to look at the interplay of the new middle classes’ socio-economic positionalities and affiliations with the state within a particular political economy. Drawing on fieldwork data collected in 2015–2018, the article traces the subjectivities and orientations that enable the new middle classes’ coping strategies. It demonstrates how their responses are mediated by their imagination of the state and the global hierarchies in which they feel situated to a significant extent through their state membership. The analysis examines how the arrangements of Russia’s political economy come into conflict with the image of a “proper” state, which the new middle classes associate with productive capacity and technological advancement. It invites us to revisit the idea of the eclipse of “production” by “consumption” in assessing the performance of a nation-state, which, as the article shows, is reversed in Russia’s context. Furthermore, it highlights how the reactions to these new policies become a medium to criticize Russia’s post-socialist development and to articulate aspirations for its repositioning in the global system, which is translated into negotiations of the new middle classes’ relatively privileged positions.

Mobile Payments, Social Money: Everyday Politics of the Consumer Subject

ABSTRACTHow should we think about mobile payments systems such as Apple and Android Pay? We argue that mobile payments should be understood in the context of changing consumption practices and the wider problematic of the consumer subject in International Political Economy. One (managerialist) view of these changes suggests that certain ‘immaterial’ values in brands, logos or networks can become an important element in economic growth. Thus, businesses increasingly craft user experiences to realise brand value as the indicator of future consumption, for example, Facebook, Netflix. Against this view, the critical literature has underlined how the customer relationship should be understood as an element in corporate power; enticing consumer subjects to dedicate their social lives to the task of monetisation. Rather than choose between sides of this dichotomy, we suggest it may be more fruitful to reflect upon the unanticipated potentialities of mobile payments. By reflecting on the sociality of money, we move beyond a simple cost-benefit analysis, or a structural determinism, to emphasise the contingency of market subjects, questioning how to think about the relationship between consumer subjects, on the one hand, and and a putatively impersonal (yet palpable) global economy, on the other.

Female consumers as agents of change for transforming the environmental sustainability landscape

AbstractFaith in others (FIO; governments and businesses) can be seen as society's predisposition to handle environmental problems. The article examines whether women, who undertake a large majority of household purchases, can influence change in consumption practices so as to contribute to sustainability initiatives. Understanding women's character in this manner is informative, it helps us to consider how a women's role as a household purchasing agent is an important nexus to environmental sustainability. The study found that FIO has an influence on women's purchasing decisions. The study provides additional support to strengthen women's role in environmental matters. Not all women were found to be sustainability‐minded. In the challenges faced by women with respect to their influence, evidence from this research suggests that if women have more faith in governments and businesses it would make them more eco‐savvy to act as agents of change for transforming the environmental sustainability landscape.

La televisione trasformista: come cambia la tv nell'età della convergenza

In the last twenty years, the Italian television environment has changed deeply as a result of the digital revolution and the media convergence: the contemporary television is a complex phenomenon encompassing several changes in consumption practices, in textual features and in the industrial strategies of broadcasters. The essay will explore the principals dynamics that characterize the complex relationship between Tv and its audience today: the proliferation of screens and texts, the multiplicity of production and consumption practices, the variety of touchpoints to connect TV content and viewers.

Cosmet'eau-Changes in the personal care product consumption practices: from whistle-blowers to impacts on aquatic environments.

The Cosmet'eau project (2015-2018) investigates the "changes in the personal care product (PCP) consumption practices: from whistle-blowers to impacts on aquatic environments." In this project, the example of PCPs will be used to understand how public health concerns related to micropollutants can be addressed by public authorities-including local authorities, industries, and consumers. The project aims to characterize the possible changes in PCP consumption practices and to evaluate the impact of their implementation on aquatic contamination. Our goals are to study the whistle-blowers, the risk perception of consumers linked with their practices, and the contamination in parabens and their substitutes, triclosan, and triclocarban from wastewater to surface water. The project investigates the following potential solutions: modifications of industrial formulation or changes in consumption practices. The final purpose is to provide policy instruments for local authorities aiming at building effective strategies to fight against micropollutants in receiving waters.

Elusive Practices: Considerations on limits and possibilities of environmental policy for sustainable consumption

AbstractThe Earth Summit on Sustainable Development in 1992 brought about a fundamental shift in the mandate of environmental policy. How to protect the environment and nature from citizens was no longer the main issue. Rather, the focus was how to organize majorities among citizens for a collective effort on a societal transformation towards sustainability. The environmental effects of citizens’ everyday routines of consumption came into focus and ways of influencing them were sought. In this paper, one of the strategies German environmental policy employs for observing the everyday consumption of citizens is analyzed. How this approach has evolved during the last decades will be shown, as well as shortcomings of the current approach. Drawing on considerations from theories of social practice, three kinds of reason for these shortcomings are discussed. The first one lies in an ambivalent (or paradoxical) relation of environmental policy‐makers to consumers’ ‘rationality’. The second reason is related to the first and refers to the different horizons of consumers’ everyday practices and practices of environmental policy. The third reason is rooted in the excessive and unrealistic demand on environmental policy that accompanies the sustainability mandate. The paper concludes by suggesting a social innovation‐oriented policy as a way of connecting political goals to actual changes in consumption practices. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Surveys on Household Consumption: An Overview of the Most Common Surveys

1. The sociology of consumptionThis paper presents an overview of some of the most common surveys of household consumption. The number of sociology studies addressing household consumption has increased greatly over the last twenties years. The reasons for this growth are numerous, with the three most influential factors being: i) Bourdieu's (1984) analysis of consumption behaviour, a study which emphasised the importance of consumption practices in social differentiation; ii) the studies by Castells (1977), which have provoked an increased use of the concept of collective consumption; and iii) the diffusion of the culture of studying the consumption of goods, their use and significance. Consequent to these developments, sociologists have started to analyse many aspects of consumption. Some studies have focussed on the consumption behaviours of individuals - the micro-sociological perspective, while others have focussed on the consumer behaviours of an aggregate of individuals - the macro-sociological perspective; for example, some people buy certain products to indicate that they live in a particular way or that they believe something.The study of consumption is not merely the analysis of consumed products. Indeed, this field of research addresses many different elements of product consumption, including: the decision processes involved in choosing one product over another; consumer practices; the quality of goods consumed; the price of goods; the strategies used to promote specific products; and a variety of other features. The analysis of these factors can be carried out in relation to the individual or on the societal level.Moreover, changing consumption practices have undeniable characterised the development of society and can be been correlated with the level of social status in people. Indeed, nowadays we can affirm that consumption is also associated with the diffuse use of information technology within society. Thanks to the widespread availability of the Internet, an increasing portion of society is starting to buy and even exchange products online. What is more, consumption practice has become a method through which people use to communicate with others.In some countries, the current economic crisis has reduced as well as modified both individual and family consumption practices, thus the need to study these practices has become increasingly important. The present overview, does not helps us understand the changes in individual and family behaviours and identify new strategies for combating the economic crisis, rather it presents a summary of the most common surveys about household consumption. The surveys addressed in this essay consider household consumption as well as general family finances. Some other surveys are also considered that do not specifically regard consumption, but which are nevertheless useful here because they address variables associated with household finances or general consumption. All of the surveys considered were funded by public institutions, public utility foundations or consumer organisations; none were sponsored by private companies.In some cases, especially for some international surveys, like the Household Budget Survey (HBS) and the Household Finance and Consumption Network (HFCN), survey information is difficult to recognise accurately because such supranational surveys collect their data from nationals' survey, which may be carried out in different ways. For example, in some countries the HBS is carried out every year and in other countries only every five years. Of consequence, it is only possible to perform an international comparative study every five years.The surveys described here concern the European area and they are classified into three groups: surveys that regard the European area, national areas or local areas. Here, the last cluster is relative to Italy. As much information about each survey is provided as was possible to obtain, including items such as the name of the principal investigator, the sponsoring institution (and thus owner of the data), the surveyed topics, the sampling procedure and interview techniques used, the frequency of data collection and the survey's website address. …

The Diasporic Pursuit of Home and Identity: Dynamic Punjabi Transnationalism

This paper examines the pursuit of home within a diasporic British Indian Punjabi community. It is argued that the British Asian transnational pursuit of home is significantly shaped by the dynamic social context of South Asia as well as social processes within Britain and across the South Asian diaspora. Drawing upon a decade of original, transnational, ethnographic research within the UK and India, I analyse the rapidly changing social context of Punjab, India, and the impact of this upon the diasporic Punjabi pursuit of home. I particularly argue that increasing divisions between the UK diasporic group studied and the non-migrant permanent residents of Punjab, which are intrinsically related to processes of inclusion and exclusion within Punjab, especially the changing role and significance of land ownership and changing consumption practices therein, in turn connected to the increasing influence of economic neoliberalization and global consumer culture within India, significantly shapes the (re)production of home and identity amongst the Punjabi diaspora. Recent manifestations of these social processes within Punjab are threatening the very lived Indian home of some diasporic Punjabis, their Indian ‘roots’.

Experiencing the “West” through the “East” in the Margins of Europe

Globalization often assumes a directionality that is associated with a one-way flow of commodities and ideas from the “West” to the “East.” As a result, Western food practices and symbols such as McDonald's and Starbucks have become symbolic markers of globalization. Non-Western commodities such as Chinese food or Japanese sushi, however, have also been associated with globalization. In postsocialist Bulgaria, Chinese food has become very popular and has been considered “exotic,” and paradoxically a symbol of “Western-ness.” This paper traces the changing consumption practices of Chinese food in Sofia, Bulgaria over the past decade to show that the experience of eating “other” cuisines is not simply to imagine and romanticize the experience of the “other.” Rather, Bulgarians use Chinese food to evaluate their political and economic position within the global hierarchy during intensive social transformation. Chinese food consumption in Bulgaria, therefore, engages with debates on normalcy and authenticity that offer more nuanced understandings of globalization.

Disruption and change: drought and the inconspicuous dynamics of garden lives

It is now widely agreed that there is more to sustainable consumption than persuading individuals to make green their brand of choice. Instead, the focus is on how to understand the processes of change, particularly in relation to the transformation of inconspicuous habits. A dominant approach within sustainable consumption research suggests that changing embedded habits and practices requires making them visible and subject to overt decision-making and discussion. An alternative practice-based perspective suggests that enduring change emerges through the amplification of existing social orientations and does not necessarily depend upon explicit contestation and debate. We examine these positions with reference to a detailed study of changing outdoor domestic water consumption habits during the 2006 drought in south-east England. Our analysis of variable responses to the hosepipe ban leads us to suggest that the manner in which disruption generates change in consumption practices is mediated by pre-existing social orientations and by diverse configurations of garden infrastructures and water institutions.

Apples, Quality Signs and Trademarks for Local Products

Abstract The interest for food quality is one result of the changes in consumption practices and of the food crisis that generated customers’ distrust. The latter became more and more interested not only in the food’s properties, but also in the conditions of its production (hygienic security, fairly paid labor and proper work conditions) and distribution (product’s origin, traceability control). In this context, the attention has moved to food production and distribution and to economic practices, focusing on the economic and social dimension of the food system. In this article, I have analyzed how food quality is built, both culturally (through signs such as authenticity, hygiene and ecology) and politically (through official labels such as protected designation of origin - PDO, protected geographical indication - PGI). I also analyze how Voineşti apples achieved commercial notoriety as an example of the food products known in the Francophone literature as ‘terroir’ products, in order to highlight specific practices of quality performing and different types of quality discourses related to them. I touch upon the economy of quality, the quality standards, signs and marks, the European and Romanian legislation regarding local products, the process of quality certification and the local products as quality products.