Thinking habits into action: the role of knowledge and process in questioning household consumption practices

Hobson, Kersty ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4200-9081 2003. Thinking habits into action: the role of knowledge and process in questioning household consumption practices. Local Environment 8 (1) , pp. 95-112. 10.1080/135498303200041359

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Abstract

Despite occupying a central place in the sustainable development paradigm, calls for individuals in high-income countries to adopt patterns of sustainable consumption have failed to gain ground in the past decade. The low uptake of public messages that emphasise links between the environment and the home are caused by a plethora of 'barriers to action', which range from individual circumstances to public norms and structures. This article argues that in addition to these barriers, consideration of how individuals read and react to sustainable consumption information is important. Based on interviews with participants of a sustainable behaviour change programme called Action at Home, this article considers both how, and in what form, knowledge is mobilised when individuals rethink their personal practices. Using Giddens' structuration theory, a framework is presented. This framework emphasises the importance of 'known' or 'local' information, as well as discursive processes, in addressing individual consumption practices and argues that a 'cultural politics' of sustainable consumption needs to be factored into on-going academic and policy debates.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis
ISSN:	1354-9839
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	15 September 2016
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2022 11:20
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/94586

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