Sustainable Consumption: Opportunities for Consumer Research and Public Policy

TLDR

Future research on sustainable consumption must be comprehensive, systematic, and draw on diverse perspectives. The essay investigates sustainable consumption, outlining roles for marketing, consumer researchers, and public policy makers, and examines three specific research opportunities. The authors analyze three interrelated opportunities—attitude‑behavior inconsistencies, the role of individual citizens, and macroinstitutional strategies—detailing research directions and policy initiatives for each.

Abstract

This essay explores sustainable consumption and considers possible roles for marketing and consumer researchers and public policy makers in addressing the many sustainability challenges that pervade the planet. Future research approaches to this interdisciplinary topic must be comprehensive and systematic and would benefit from a variety of different perspectives. There are several opportunities for further research; the authors explore three areas in detail. First, they consider the inconsistency between the attitudes and behaviors of consumers with respect to sustainability. Second, they broaden the agenda to explore the role of individual citizens in society. Third, they propose a macroinstitutional approach to fostering sustainability. For each of these separate, but interrelated, opportunities, the authors examine the area in detail and consider possible research avenues and public policy initiatives.