Green Consumption Practices Research Articles

Faces of sustainability in Italian ecovillages: food as ‘contact zone’

AbstractEcovillages are intentional and experimental communities that embrace ecological values and green consumption practices which result in a sustainable lifestyle considered the best response to the global ecological crisis. The main ecovillages’ goal is to regenerate social and natural environments through communal living, refounding a dimension of proximity with the land and the natural environment. Environmental ecology is primarily pursued focusing on self‐sufficient food production and alternative farming methods, such as permaculture and organic farming practices. The use of these methods represents a way to criticize the economic logic of equivalent exchange, preferring instead a culture of gifting and the establishment of relations of reciprocity and solidarity on a small scale. In this way not just a particular and specific food style is put in practice, but an holistic view of living, characterized by a new political‐aesthetics in which pleasure, conviviality and restoring relationships of trust and sharing become essential in the pursuit of personal satisfaction and in the construction of taste, following a process of individual and environmental renaturalization. The article is based on ethnographic data related to my ongoing doctoral research on the topics of sustainability and food self‐sufficiency in Italian ecovillages. The research adopts a qualitative methodology, involving participant observation and a period of field work in the ecovillages located in Tuscany and in the South of Italy in Apulia region. These ecovillages are part of the Italian Ecovillage Network that interacts with the more broad international web called Global Ecovilaage Network.

A Study on the Perception and Impact of Sustainable Green Consumption Practices of Women in Preserving Ecology with Special Reference to Chennai City

Environmental concerns are gaining prominence with the increased media coverage, increased awareness of environmental issues and increased pressure from environmental groups, stringent legislation thereby making people in general more concerned about their habits and the effect that it will have on the environment. In this study a new dimension is added to the issue of women and ecology and it tries to tap the inner potential of women who in their own way over the centuries have been preserving and conserving nature in their small way and create a reawakening in them that every decision they make for themselves and their family can take them closer to creating a positive impact on the mission to save earth. People are increasingly either purchasing or ignoring products, based on their environmental impact. Many organizations have responded to these changing consumer preferences through the introduction of green products. This study is an effort to impart sustainable practices, and create green consumers, one who is mindful of the environment in their every consumption, and thereby transform the community into a sustainable community i.e. a community that believes today's growth must not be achieved at tomorrow's expense.

Exploring the Gap Between Consumers’ Green Rhetoric and Purchasing Behaviour

Why do consumers who profess to be concerned about the environment choose not to buy greener products more regularly or even at all? This study explores how consumers’ perceptions towards green products, consumers and consumption practices (termed green perceptions) contribute to our understanding of the discrepancy between green attitudes and behaviour. This study identified several barriers to ethical consumption behaviour within a green consumption context. Three key themes emerged from the study, ‘it is too hard to be green’, ‘green stigma’ and ‘green reservations’. There is currently a perception, based on a number of factors, that it is too hard to be green, which creates a barrier to purchasing green products. Furthermore, some consumers were reluctant or resistant to participate in green consumption practices due to their unfavourable perceptions of green consumers and green messages. This article suggests that green perceptions may influence consumers’ intention to purchase green products. Accordingly, it discusses the implications, and suggests avenues for future research.

A processual theory of green identity formation: the case of young environmentalists in Australia

AbstractUsing image‐elicited, depth interviews, this qualitative study explores green consumption practices among 20 young environmentalists, aged between 18 and 25 years, in an Australian city with a view to examine how various identity formations reside in their narratives. The study's findings strongly support the applicability of Cherrier and Murray's four‐stage processual theory of identity (sensitization, separation, socialization, striving) to understand young environmentalist's formation of a green identity. The study also develops an emergent processual theory of green identity formation, which encompasses four main stages of control, create, compromise and customize. Each stage corresponds to how the young environmentalists position and negotiate their formative green identities, including first enacting control about their identity; creating their new identity in relation to existing green identity projects; compromising their new identity as it is practiced and socialized in their lives; and finally, customizing their identity as they frame, situate and align personal, social and cultural influences about consumption and their identity. The findings inform green policy makers and institutions working towards building a green consumer society involving young consumers.

The dynamics of green consumption: a matter of visibility?

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.

The dynamics of green consumption: a matter of visibility?

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.

The dynamics of green consumption: a matter of visibility?

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 i...