Toward sustainable consumption: researching voluntary simplifiers.

McDonald, Seonaidh; Oates, Caroline J.; Young, C. William; Hwang, Kumju

Abstract

This article examines and extends the notion of voluntary simplifiers (VS). VS are individuals who have freely chosen a frugal, anti-consumer lifestyle that features low resource use and environmental impact. The article will begin by reviewing empirical work with VS and their mainstream counterparts, non-voluntary simplifiers (NVS). It will go on to identify and locate within this literature an intermediate group: beginner voluntary simplifiers (BVS). BVS may support some aspects of sustainability (such as buying fair-trade coffee or recycling domestic waste) without either embracing a complete lifestyle change like VS, or completely dismissing ethical or environmental features of products and services they consume, like NVS. Insight into the complex decision-making processes of BVS is crucial for the understanding of the concept of voluntary simplification and is therefore important for the advancement of sustainable consumption.

Citation

MCDONALD, S., OATES, C. J., YOUNG, C. W. and HWANG, K. 2006. Toward sustainable consumption: researching voluntary simplifiers. Psychology and marketing [online], 23(6), pages 515-534. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20132

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 1, 2006
• Online Publication Date: May 1, 2006
• Publication Date: Jun 30, 2006
• Deposit Date: May 28, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: May 28, 2015
• Journal: Psychology and marketing
• Print ISSN: 0742-6046
• Electronic ISSN: 1520-6793
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 515-534
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20132
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/1203