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A Practice Theory Approach to Sustainable Consumption
Journal
GAIA
ISSN-Digital
0940-5550
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2014-06-27
Author(s)
Jäger-Erben, Melanie
Abstract
Sustainable consumption is often reduced to consumer choices or forms of product appropriation. Such a narrow focus on individual acts neglects their role in reproducing social order and only shows the top of the iceberg of consumption. In contrast, reconstructing consumption as a part of social practices sheds light on the fundament of the iceberg and shows how everyday consumption patterns are embedded in socio-cultural and socio-technical settings. A qualitative study on life course transitions to parenthood is taken as an example to show how changes in a household's consumption patterns is pre-structured by the social construction of parental practices. The paper concludes with a call for a more reflexive, collaborating and experimental policy approach towards sustainable consumption.
Language
English
Keywords
food consumption
life transitions
performance
social order
social practices
sustainable consumption
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
No
Publisher
ÖKOM-Verl.
Publisher place
München
Volume
23
Number
Special Issue on Sustainable Consumption 1
Start page
166
End page
174
Pages
9
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
238829