HS4012: Sociology of Green Transformations Week 3 Green Consumption Content 01 Recap 03 Green Consumption: Strategies 02 Green Consumption: Importance Green Consumption: Politics 01 Recap The green transformation imperative Growth-based economy Green growth The politics of green transformations • • • Green transformations are both top down and bottom up, and go beyond these binaries in different places, and in different ways Need a more multi-dimensional understanding of politics, with more questions around power, knowledge, social justice and inequality There are also multiple transformations – often, simultaneous, sometimes, in contestations with one another 02 Green Consumption: Importance What is ‘Green Consumption’? Green consumption, or green consumerism, refers to a state in which consumers demand products and services that have undergone an ecofriendly production process or one that involves recycling and safeguarding the planet’s resources 02 Green Consumption: Strategies Zero-waste • • • Zero-waste is a set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so that all products are reused It is both a philosophy and design principle, and includes recycling, but also goes beyond it by taking a ‘whole-system’ approach The goal is for no trash to be sent to landfills, incinerators or oceans Organic Fairtrade Tech & Innovation 1. 2. 3. Technology is being increasingly used to help enable sustainable consumer habits Some examples of this are communication technologies – e.g. who needs to buy a car when they can use smartphones to hire one instead? Consumption in tech-enabled times can look a lot more collaborative Do consumers even care? 1. 2. 3. People say they want sustainable products, but they don’t tend to buy them – the elusive “green consumer” In one recent survey, 65% said they want to buy purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability, yet only 26% actually do so (HBR 2019) This is called the “intention-action” gap 03 Green Consumption: Politics Demographics: Class, Race, Age 1. 2. 3. Consumption is a primary tool of distinction and upward mobility in many societies Sustainable consumption should not normalize existing patterns of oppression – there should be acknowledgement that in an unequal world, most cases of sustainable consumption are made possible by privilege and inequity in the first place Geographically, a majority of sustainable consumption movements have been located in the Global North Scales of ‘green’? Supply The individual Demand Corporations/ Organizations/ Institutions Local/ Global Do consumers really matter? 1. 2. 3. Political inertia on environmental policymaking in the national and international level and the pervasiveness of neo-liberal ideas on governance also precipitated a turn to the individual as a key actor in sustainability BUT the consumer alone cannot be “scapegoated” in discussions around sustainability Larger institutions, structures and organizations also matter – sometimes much more so than individuals How to think of it all together 1. 2. 3. How does green consumption challenge the idea that there will be ONE green transformation? Are there transformative pathways we should be more critical about, despite their benefits? How should we think about modes of governance when thinking about green consumption? The Ugly Truth of Fast Fashion: Patriot Act https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGF3ObOBbac Thank you Do you have any questions? Amillin nahussain@ntu.edu.sg 05-47 CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, and includes icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images by Freepik Please keep this slide for attribution