Most consumers are aware that western lifestyles consume too many resources. In a survey by the AK consumption monitor, 85% of all respondents in Austria stated that people in our society have too many things that they actually don’t need.
–
Many are already trying to reduce their own consumption footprint, for example through environmentally conscious behavior – for example, 65% (at least rather) buy specifically regionally and 91% of those surveyed usually use their own carrier. Around every second person boycotts, so avoids certain products for political reasons (and turns to others). “When buying large household appliances, the vast majority of consumers pay attention to sustainable product properties; the willingness to repair is between 40 and 70%, depending on the large household appliance. At least 30% have already adapted their travel behavior to climate change (even if it should be noted that not everyone has the same behavioral leeway here and the most common reason for not traveling at 69% is still a small budget). Approval for consumer policy measures is very high overall, especially for the promotion of longevity and repairability in the household area.
Consumers do not only see the responsibility for sustainable consumption in themselves, but also see structural problems. Across different areas of consumption, many people are annoyed that they are given too much responsibility because they can only act within certain framework conditions. For example, the AK study “Sustainable Consumption” shows the anger of consumers about flights that are too cheap and train journeys that are too expensive. The lack of cost truth is the biggest obstacle to sustainable consumption in the travel sector.
–
Johanna Burger
…is a consumer researcher and consultant for sustainable consumption at the Chamber of Labor Vienna in Austria.
–
Once again, a realistic consumer picture is needed: Consumers’ time and money are tight, as is the attention span in consumer routines. Consumers sometimes find product labels to be non-transparent, for example when they cannot see where the raw materials used come from in the case of finished products. Overall, 52% of respondents are annoyed by contradictory and misleading indications of origin. Many consumers who try to consume sustainably find themselves in dilemmas – as a consumer, for example, I find myself in a situation where I have to choose between an organic but plastic-packaged cucumber and an unpackaged conventional cucumber.
The AK consumption monitor shows that very few want a general expansion of the product range in the supermarket, but the majority want an expansion of the organic range. That is why sustainable consumption must above all become more attractive and simpler. In addition to the question “What am I buying and how do I use it?” the question “What is there to choose from?” must also be considered.
–
Guest commentary: Johanna Bürger
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
This article appeared in our issue 1–22 on the subject of resources.
–
–
