Green Consumption For Sustainable Lifestyle

Futures 37 (2005) 481–504 www.elsevier.com/locate/futures

Green consumption or sustainable lifestyles? Identifying the sustainable consumer Andrew Gilg*, Stewart Barr, Nicholas Ford Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK Available online 25 January 2005

Abstract This paper examines green consumption in the context of an increasing focus on sustainable lifestyles. The authors argue that green buying must be seen in the context of wider debates surrounding the development of sustainable ways of living that incorporate other environmental actions in an holistic conceptualisation of sustainable lifestyles. This framework is operationalised in a study of environmental action in and around the home, in which 1600 households in Devon were asked questions concerning their everyday environmental actions. These results were manipulated so as to investigate how the different behaviours related to each other and also whether different groups of individuals could be identified, conforming to different lifestyles. The results suggest that conventional forms of green consumption can indeed be related to other forms of environmental action and that at least four different types of environmentalist can be identified. The implications of these results for policy makers are discussed at the end of the paper. q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. The green consumer debate Green consumption is a term that has come to mean all things to all people. In any one context, there are alternative discourses that surround alternative forms of green buying, which might pertain to a range of activities, from purchasing fairly traded tea bags to buying organic meat. In some cases, these behaviours appear to be in conflict: buying local food to support local producers (a brand of defensive localism identified by Winter [31]), as compared to purchasing organically farmed produce (a choice based mainly on ecological principles, as described by Ilbery et al. [11]). This ever-expanding liturgy of

* Corresponding author. Tel.: C44 1392 26 3350; fax: C44 1392 26 3342. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Gilg). 0016-3287/$ - see front matter q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.futures.2004.10.016

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activities and products, which can be used as proxies for green consumption has necessarily diluted the environmental dimension and incorporated numerous alternative discourses that relate more readily to sustainability in general. This paper seeks to examine these diverse set of green behaviours within the context of research that has examined the social and psychological bases of sustainable lifestyles, relating not merely to consumption practices, but also to habitual behaviours within the home. By evaluating such activities in this way, it is anticipated that a more efficacious understanding of progress towards sustainable lifestyles can be achieved in line with similar research aims. For example, work by Green and Vergragt [8] who are examining how consumers might alter their attitudes via a series of stakeholder workshops. Our research however, is based on a major questionnaire survey of households and thus provides a better indication of how widespread the adoption of green behaviours might be. This paper thus examines a study of forty environmental actions and examines how activities conventionally defined as green consumptive behaviours interact with other activities, and whether individuals can be categorised according to these interactions.

2. The green consumer Putting aside for a moment the arguments relating to the definition of green consumption, previous research into green consumerism has been dominated by rural sociologists and geographers. In the UK this work has mostly been focused on the links between agricultural production and consumers, particularly the new food economy (e.g. Gilg and Battershill [7]) and the growth in sales of organic produce (Ilbery et al. [11]). However, considerably less work has been undertaken on the social and psychological bases of green consumption. In other words, who buys what, when and why? Researchers have identified three sets of variables that appear to be influential in classifying the green consumer. These focus around environmental and social values, socio-demographic variables and psychological factors. 2.1. Environmental values and concern This is a relatively recent area of research in green consumerism and as such definitive results and conclusions regarding the role of concern and values are lacking. Research examining other environmental actions has examined the impact that underlying values have on behaviour. For example, Steel [27] found compelling evidence to suggest that high levels of environmental activism were strongly linked to values that considered the natural environment to be of great importance in someone’s life. Work on the conceptualisation of environmental values has been given extra impetus in recent years by the pioneering work of Schwartz [22] who examined the structure of social values in various nations. He argued that there were essentially two social value dimensions, pertaining to ‘altruistic—egoistic’ (or pro-social and pro-self) and ‘conservative—open to change’. Stern et al. [28] argued that environmentalists were more likely to be both altruists and more open to change. This theme runs alongside Inglehart’s [12] theory of post-materialism, where environmentally concerned individuals are more likely to hold non-material values.

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Fig. 1. Conceptualisation of social and environmental values.

Indeed, Leonard-Barton [15] has drawn the distinction between those who like an ‘indulgent’ lifestyle and those who are more frugal. These themes are shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1, running from top left to bottom right. However, these continua reflect general social values, rather than specific environmental concerns. Two further continua can be identified. Firstly, the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) which relates to Dunlap and Van Liere’s [4] and Dunlap et al.’s [5] measure of environmental values. These range from the notions of ‘spaceship earth’ and ‘nature as delicate’ at one end of the spectrum to ‘no limits to growth’ and ‘man over nature’ at the other end. These fundamentally relational values (that is, the relationship between humans and nature) can also be related to a continuum, reflecting O’Riordan’s [18] concepts of ecocentrism and technocentrism. In this continuum actions taken towards the environment are evaluated according to whether individuals believe environmental protection is achieved via working with nature or by changing it by the use of technology. Within this context, only a small number of research projects have examined the role of values on green consumer behaviour although there is a growing interest as exemplified by Thogerson and Olander [29] who tested the hypothesis that sustainable consumption is influenced by individual value priorities. There is evidence from a study by Karp [13] that those engaged in green consumer activities were more likely to hold altruistic values. Stern et al. [28] also examined Schwartz’s [22] value orientations, although they only found a relationship between green consumption and a general measure of environmental concern. More compelling evidence has come from studies by Chan [2] and Roberts [20]. In the former study, Chan [2] found that those who shopped regularly for ‘green’ products and spent more on green produce in relation to other products, were more likely to score highly on his measure of biospherism, which related to a ‘man-nature’ orientation. In the latter study by Roberts [20] there was evidence that those who scored highly on his ‘Ecologically Conscious Consumer Scale’ were more likely to believe in ‘limits to growth’, a ‘spaceship earth’ and an ‘equality with nature’. This provides further evidence

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that those more heavily engaged in green consumption are more likely to hold ecocentric and biospheric values. 2.2. Socio-demographic variables Although research into the impact of socio-demographic variables on green consumption has led to the over-simplification of causative relationships, there is still the stereotypical view, if not a whole truism, that green consumers are young, female, well educated, liberal and wealthy (Hines et al. [10]). This evidence is partly substantiated by specific research studies that have examined the impact of age (Roberts [19]; Hallin [9]; Olli et al. [17]), gender (Eagly [6]; Roberts [19]; Olli et al. [17]), education (Olli et al. [17]) political affliction (Dunlap [3]; Olli et al. [17]) and long working hours (Sanne [21]). Such research suggests that those in older age groups, who are female, well educated, have a good income and are politically liberal are more likely to engage in green consumption. These studies therefore provide general support to the general view of the environmentalist as a fairly well off mature individual, although there are debates that surround both the impact of age and income, with research projects varying in their conclusions. 2.3. Psychological factors Thirdly, there are what can be termed psychological factors that are personal attitudes held by the individual concerning the behaviour in question. The psychological influences relating to green consumption can be categorised into the following groups: † Perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE). This examines the extent to which any one consumer can have an impact on the environment. It has generally been found that a high level of PCE results in greater levels of green consumerism (Kinnear et al. [14]; Tucker [30]; Roberts [20]); † Self efficacy, relating to one’s own ability to take part in green consumption (Schwepker and Cornwell [24]; Sparks and Shepherd [26]); † Social responsibility. The extent to which an individual feels morally responsible to take part (Tucker [30]; Schwepker and Cornwell [24]; Mainerei et al [16]); † The interaction of the effects of price, quality and brand loyalty (Schuhwerk and Lefkoff-Haguis [23]; Shrum et al [25]; Mainerei et al. [16]). Given the different factors that potentially influence green consumer activities, the research reported in this paper sought to examine these influences within the context of sustainable lifestyles and the way in which different groups of individuals may form behavioural types that relate to some or all of the qualities listed above.

3. Sustainable lifestyles research in Devon The research on which this paper is based was undertaken in the summer of 2002 as part of a large ESRC-funded project examining environmental action in and around the home

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in Devon, UK. The research sought to examine how different types of environmental action, such as energy saving, water conservation, waste management and green consumption were related and what factors influenced different levels of behavioural commitment. The study was focused around a fourteen page questionnaire that asked respondents how often they undertook a series of pre-determined environmental actions, scoring their responses on a five point scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Respondents were also asked questions relating to their socio-demographic profile, attitudes and values. The questionnaire was hand-delivered to 1600 households and collected two to three days later. Of the 1600 surveys, 400 each were delivered to households in Plymouth, Exeter, Barnstaple and Mid-Devon, in order to provide a representative sample from both urban and rural areas. Households were selected by a random procedure developed for sampling from the Electoral Register. If no response was received at a property, or the householder declined to participate, the next house was selected. The response rate was 59%, indicating the number of households originally selected who participated in the survey, but rose to a 79% return rate from respondents who agreed to take part and returned usable questionnaires.

4. Results The findings of the research are divided into three sections. First, the relationship that conventionally defined green consumer behaviours have to other environmental actions is considered. Second, an analysis of the frequency with which individuals undertook such activities is examined. Finally, the different levels of behavioural commitment are examined in the context of the various factors that have been linked to green consumerism, such as environmental values, socio-demographics and psychological factors. 4.1. Behavioural linkages: what is green consumption? Given the premise that green consumption has become so widely defined that its efficacy as a term has become somewhat meaningless, the research was concerned with examining the extent to which traditionally defined green consumer behaviours were linked empirically to other activities. A ‘conventional definition’ refers to the behaviours that are most regularly referred to as being examples of green consumption. In the case of this research, these were selected from specific advice provided by the county authority in Devon (Devon County Council), alongside recommendations from district authorities (Plymouth City Council, Exeter City Council, North Devon and Mid Devon District Councils). These focused on the following activities: † † † † †

Purchasing products, such as detergents, that have a reduced environmental impact; Avoiding products with aerosols; Purchasing recycled paper products (such as toilet tissue and writing paper); Buying organic produce; Buying locally produced foods;

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† † † †

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Purchasing from a local store; Buying fairly traded goods; Looking for products using less packaging; Using one’s own bag, rather than a plastic carrier provided by a shop.

The frequency results for the total sample (N 1265) were compared to those for alternative behaviours by means of a factor analysis, in order to examine whether green consumer behaviours were both related to each other and different activities. Factor analysis is commonly used amongst social scientists in order to evaluate the empirical links between large numbers of questionnaire items and to establish whether items in a questionnaire represent an underlying theme or pattern. Table 1 provides the results of the factor analysis. Of the three distinct factors to emerge, only one (Purchase decisions) contains the green consumer items. The other two factors relate either to habitual activities within the home or recycling behaviour. However, the purchase decisions factor contains not only green consumer items as one might expect by convention, but also items pertaining to energy saving, waste management and also waster conservation. Accordingly, if one accepts that the factor analysis provides an accurate representation of the empirical relationships observed, there appears to be a wider behavioural dimension to green purchasing than merely those activities which have conventionally been classified as green consumption. This has particular relevance with regard to the inclusion of energy saving behaviours (looking for energy efficient appliances and light bulbs). It would appear that behaviours that relate to a given form of consumption activity are related, which can cross into other realms, such as energy conservation. This model evidently does not fit as well with the two items relating to composting activities in the immediate sense. However, this apparently habitual activity may be related more to consumptive behaviours by virtue not of the activity itself, but rather the conscious purchase decision that might be required to buy the materials for composting organic waste. This is different to the relatively unconscious habitual activities in the habitual factor, relating to switching off lights or heating. These data have two significant implications for research on green consumerism and sustainable lifestyles. First, they suggest that different forms of behaviour are linked such that traditional boundaries relating to energy saving, water conservation and so on are inappropriate in the study of sustainable lifestyles and that a more holistic approach is required. Second, they provide evidence that green consumption encompasses even more behaviours than even those mentioned by policy makers. Accordingly, given this finding, it may be more appropriate to refer to such activities as either sustainable consumption (referring as this can to purchases from a local shop, for example, which are not intrinsically green) or sustainable purchasing. 4.2. Sustainable purchasing: who’s buying what? Although there was a clearly definable ‘purchase decisions’ factor evident in the data, this did not imply that everyone who undertook these activities did so with the same

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Table 1 Factor solution for behavioural data Factor

Variables included

Variance (eigenvalue)

Per cent variance (%)

Cronbach’s alpha

Purchase decisions

High efficiency bulbs Energy efficient appliances Buy organic Buy fairtrade Avoid aerosols Compost garden waste Compost kitchen waste Avoid toxic detergents Reuse glass Reuse paper Buy recycled writing paper Buy recycled toilet paper Buy locally produced foods Buy from a local store Use own bag when shopping Less packaging Use plants that need less water Turn off tap when soaping up Reduce the number of baths/showers Reduce toilet flushes Turn tap off when cleaning teeth Turn off tap when washing dishes Reduce heat in unused rooms Reduce hot water temperature Keep heating low to save energy Use a shower rather than bath Wait until there’s a full load for washing More clothes instead of more heating Lights off in unused rooms Use a sprinkler less in the garden Recycle glass Recycle newspaper Recycle cans Recycle plastic bottles Donate furniture to charity Donate clothes to charity

4.4

13.3

0.83

3.9

11.7

0.81

3.5

10.5

0.78

Habits

Recycling

36 Green consumer behaviours shown in bold type.

regularity. Fig. 2 provides data on the frequency with which individuals undertook each of the behaviours within the purchase decisions factor. As can be seen, there was wide variation between the particular activities, with the purchase of energy efficient light bulbs being the most popular, whilst composting of kitchen waste was the least popular. Nonetheless, despite these variations, there is one overriding pattern, which is defined by the low levels of activity in almost all cases. For example, fewer than 5% of the sample always purchased organic foods and fairly traded products. Although some 20% sometimes did, almost 60% of the sample either rarely or never did. This is in the context

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Fig. 2. Purchase decisions, Purchase decisions (item order relates to the order in the factor solution in Table 1), EN1, Purchase high efficiency light bulbs; EN2, Purchase energy efficient items; GC1, Buy organic food; GC2, Buy FairTrade goods; GC3, Do not purchase aerosols; W1, Compost garden waste; W2, Compost kitchen waste; GC4, Purchase less harmful detergents; W3, Reuse glass; W4, Reuse paper; GC5, Buy recycled writing paper; GC6, Buy recycled toilet tissue; GC7, Buy Local produce; GC8, Buy food from a local store; GC9, Use own bag when shopping; GC10, Look for less packaging; WA1, Use plants that need less water.

of a range of supermarkets, most notably Iceland, promoting organics. Indeed, the Co-op group has also been keen to promote fairly traded produce, such as tea, coffee, bananas and chocolate. Even for the more widely available products, such as recycled toilet tissue, only just over 10% reported always purchasing this. More individuals were engaged in purchases of local produce and buying from local shops, although it is acknowledged that both of these could indeed cover a range of (not necessarily sustainable) behaviours. Whichever way one interprets the data, there is little doubt that sustainable consumption is not on the minds of the majority of individuals. In order to investigate whether there were differences between individuals in the sample according to their consumption habits and to attempt to classify these lifestyles, a cluster analysis of the data was undertaken. Cluster analysis is a technique that is used by social scientists in order to classify individuals into a manageable set of groups. The procedure is based on the premise that at the beginning of the analysis, all individuals in the sample can be paired into clusters. Individuals are paired and paired again according to the similarity of their scores on a range of items until there is only one cluster left. At some point that seems appropriate, a given number of clusters are retained for analysis, This is usually based on how the data have grouped together and is interpreted using a dendrogram. In the case of the current research, four clusters were chosen. The behavioural qualities of these four groups can be seen in Fig. 3. Compared to Fig. 2, there are significant differences. Committed environmentalists were the most enthusiastic group, who were the most likely to always compost their waste and were far more likely to ‘usually’ undertake sustainable

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purchase activities, especially the purchase of local produce and from buying a local store. However, although this group were indeed more likely to buy organic produce and fairly traded products, there were still a minority of individuals involved in these activities. Mainstream environmentalists undertook the range of behaviours with the same regularity on the whole as committed environmentalists, although they were considerably less likely to compost their waste.

Fig. 3. Behavioural types, Please see Fig. 2 for explanation of labels, (a) Committed environmentalists (Group 1), (b) Mainstream environmentalists (Group 2), (c) Occasional environmentalists (Group 3), (d) Nonenvironmentalists (Group 4).

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Fig. 3 (continued )

This is in contrast to occasional environmentalists who were more likely to either never or rarely undertake sustainable purchasing behaviours. This was especially the case in respect of buying organic or fairly traded produce, alongside local purchases. However, non-environmentalists were the least active, with the majority of individuals never undertaking almost all of the activities listed. These individuals were clearly not inclined to undertake any of the behaviours in question.

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These four groups represent clear behavioural boundaries that may assist policy makers to more accurately focus policies that seek to promote green consumption. However, to do this, they must appreciate the nature and characteristics of the individuals involved. 4.3. Who are the sustainable few? 4.3.1. Demographic profile of the four groups Table 2 presents demographic information relating to the four groups and the whole sample. Statistically significant differences between the clusters are indicated by a relevant test statistic in the far right column. As can be seen from Fig. 3, the major differences between purchase behaviour types appeared to focus around a definitive split between nonenvironmentalists and other groups, with the qualification that there were notable changes from the ‘committed’ to ‘occasional’ groupings, with lower frequencies in the latter groups. Briefly, the demographic profile of the different groupings can be summarised as: † The mean age of committed environmentalists is highest, with the mean age of nonenvironmentalists being the lowest; † There were significantly more males in the non-environmentalist cluster. The gender balance remains relatively stable in the three remaining clusters; † Committed and mainstream environmentalists tended to have smaller household sizes than occasional or non-environmentalists. A significantly large number of households in these latter groups had more than five individuals in the home; † Car access fluctuated according to the cluster examined, although this was not statistically significant; † Committed environmentalists tended to own their home, whilst a greater proportion of non-environmentalists were either private tenants or rented their home from a local authority; † Committed individuals tended to live in terraced properties, whilst mainstream environmentalists were more likely to live in semi-detached homes; † Non-environmentalists were on significantly lower incomes. This was the case for the lowest income band of under 7500 a year. However, a significantly higher proportion of committed environmentalists earned between 7500 and 10,000 pounds. The higher income brackets were equally spread between groups; † Committed environmentalists were less likely to have received any formal education, but at the same time, were also more likely to have a degree. In the case of nonenvironmentalists, a large proportion had received no formal education, with low levels of GCSE, A-level and degree qualifications. Mainstream and occasional environmentalists tended to have GCSE qualifications; † Non-environmentalists contained a large amount of Labour voters as well as a significant proportion that did not vote. There were markedly fewer Liberal Democrat voters amongst this group. Committed environmentalists were more likely to vote Green and Liberal Democrat. They were also the most likely to vote. Mainstream and occasional environmentalists represented what one might expect to be the national situation, with Labour the dominant party of choice, followed by the Conservative’s and Liberal Democrat’s;

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Table 2 Demographic characteristics of behavioural clusters Variable

Sample

Cluster 1

Cluster 2

Cluster 3

Cluster 4

Committed environment’l 294

Mainstream environment’l. 412

Occasional environment’l. 505

Non-environment’l. 43

49

55

52

46

43

Gender

Male 35%

Male 35%

Male 31%

Male 38%

Male 50%

No. in home (all residents)

1 16% 2 37% 3 18% 4 19% 5C3% 0 20% 1 51% 2 24% 3C5% Owned 74% Private Tenant 11% LA 15% Detached 9% S-Detached 24% Terrace w pass 9% Terrace 36% Flat 22% !7.5 k 20% 7.5–10 k 9%

1 17% 2 40% 3 18% 4 17% 5C8% 0 19% 1 51% 2 25% 3C5% Owned 83% Private Tenant 5% LA 12% Detached 4% S-Detached 16% Terrace w pass 8% Terrace 43% Flat 29% !7.5 k 20% 7.5–10 k 20% 10–15 k 11% 15–20 k 15% 20–30 k 19% O30 k 15% None 51% GCSE 20% ‘A’ level 18% Degree 21%

1 21% 2 40% 3 15% 4 15% 5 9% 0 24% 1 52% 2 20% 3C4% Owned 74% Private Tenant11% LA 15% Det 12%

1 13% 2 34% 3 21% 4 22% 5 10% 0 17% 1 52% 2 26% 3C5% Owned 71% Private Tenant 13% LA 16% Det 10%

1 11% 2 29% 3 26% 4 17% 5 17% 0 27% 1 37% 2 32% 3C4% Owned 62% Private Tenant 19% LA 19% Det 10%

S-Det 34%

S-Det 24%

S-Det 26%

Terr/p 7%

Terr/p 10%

Terr/p 14%

Terr 28% Flat 19% !7.5 k 23% 7.5–10 k 10% 10–15 k 20% 15–20 k 18% 20–30 k 20% O30 k 9% None 41% GCSE 30% ‘A’ level 15% Degree 14%

Terr 38% Flat 20% !7.5 k 15% 7.5–10 k 8%

Terr 36% Flat 14% !7.5 k 35% 7.5–10 k 6%

10–15 k 15% 15–20 k 22% 20–30 k 23% O30 k 17% None 35% GCSE 29% ‘A’ level 18% Degree 18%

10–15 k 9%

Cluster label No. in cluster Age (mean)

Car access (number) Tenancy

House type

Income (Pounds)

Education (formal)

10–15 k 17% 15–20 k 19% 20–30 k 21% O30 k 14% None 38% GCSE 27% ‘A’ level 17% Degree 17%

Test statistic and significance

15–20 k 12% 20–30 k 21% O30 k 18% None 53% GCSE 19% ‘A’ level 16% Degree 12%

Kruskall-Wallis HZ59.6 (p!0.05) c2Z8.8 (p!0.05) Chi-SquareZ25.9 (p!0.05)

Chi-SquareZ15.1 (pO0.05)

Chi-SquareZ23.3 (p!0.05)

Chi-SquareZ63.4 (p!0.05)

Chi-SquareZ29.9 (p!0.05)

Chi–SquareZ21.6 (p!0.05)

(continued on next page)

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Table 2 (continued) Variable

Sample

Cluster 1

Cluster 2

Cluster 3

Cluster 4

Test statistic and significance

Political allegiance

Con 16% Green 3% Lab 22% LD 14% Oth. 2% No vote10%

Con 16% Green 6% Lab 18% LD 17% Oth. 2% No vote 6% Pass Q 35% Yes 17%

Con 15% Green 2% Lab 25% LD 12% Oth. 2% No vote 12% Pass Q 32% Yes 8%

Con 15% Green 0% Lab 32% LD 5% Oth. 2% No vote 22% Pass Q 24% Yes 8%

Chi–SquareZ43.3 (p!0.05)

Pass Q 33% Yes 11%

Con 16% Green 4% Lab 22% LD 17% Oth. 1% No vote 10% Pass Q 30% Yes 10%

Membership of a community group

Chi–SquareZ16.0 (p!0.05)

† Committed environmentalists were significantly more likely to be a member of a community organisation, whilst occasional and non-environmentalists were least likely to be. Evidently there are more trends that can be described from the table, but for the purposes of brevity it is interesting to note that those most committed to sustainable consumption were older, tended to own their home, lived in a terraced property, voted Green/Liberal Democrat and were members of community groups. In contrast, those who were non-environmentalists tended to be younger, male, on low incomes, who had received less formal education, were less involved in the community and were more likely to be politically apathetic. These assertions are clearly generalisations. However, they are based on discernible statistical patterns. What must be noted is that there are not clear distinctions that can be drawn along a continuum, from ‘committed’ to ‘non-environmentalist’. There are variable demographic characteristics depending on which cluster one examines. Nonetheless, there are clear trends that have significant implications for policy makers. 4.3.2. Social and environmental values The review at the beginning of this paper examined the likelihood that those who were more likely to engage in sustainable consumption would have more altruistic values, be more open to change and be more likely to hold both biospheric and ecocentric environmental values. Questions relating to these were posed in the questionnaire and were factor analysed in the same way as the behavioural items. For social values, Table 3 reveals that four factors emerged, relating to altruism, openness to change, conservative values and egoism. Fig. 4 shows the scores for each cluster according to the item in each factor. A test statistic (Mood’s median test) is provided for each factor to signify whether there was any statistically significant difference between the scores between each group. Although for the altruistic and openness to change grouping there appeared to be no statistical difference between the clusters, a general

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Table 3 Social value factors Factor

Variables included

Variance (eigenvalue)

Per cent variance

Altruistic

Loyalty Honouring parents Equality Social justice Enjoying life Helpful Varied life Exciting life Curious Social order Obedience Authority Unity Wealth Social Power Influential

3.1

20

2.5

16

2.1

13

1.8

11

Openness to change

Conservative

Egoism

Total variance

59

Individuals were asked how important each value was to their own life, rating each from 1 (very unimportant) to 5 (very important).

pattern emerges relating to apparent differences between clusters 1–3 and cluster 4. For example, those in cluster 4 (non-environmentalists) were least likely to regard being helpful as an important principle in their lives. However, it is with regard to the conservative and egoism factors that substantive differences are observed. Committed environmentalists were the most likely to feel that unity was important, along with obedience, alongside placing little emphasis on wealth and personal influence. With regard to environmental values, Table 4 shows the factorial structure of the three factors that emerged, conforming to well-known concepts. Fig. 5 provides data on each of the factors and the scores for each group. Non-environmentalists in this case were the most likely to believe that there were no limits to growth for the UK and that humankind was created to rule over nature. Indeed, they were least likely to believe that the balance of nature is delicate, that the Earth was like a spaceship, or that plants and animals were not solely for human use. These findings are significant, as they show that those individuals who are less involved in sustainable purchasing behaviours share significantly different values to those who are more heavily involved. These range over both social and environmental values and a variety of these in turn. Clearly, the environmentalist is less concerned with material wealth and personal influence, alongside holding values that place nature in an equal position with humans and believing that nature has critical limits which must not be crossed by human developments. 4.3.3. Psychological variables Given the nature of the research, a wide range of variables were measured, some of which are not relevant to sustainable consumption. As before, these were factor analysed to provide a smaller set of variables with which to work. Four of the factors that emerged

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contained variables that have previously been found to influence green consumer behaviour. These related to response efficacy or perceived consumer effectiveness, the influence of responsibility, the effect of price sensitivity, and health and safety concerns. As for environmental and social values above, the individual scores for each variable are given for every one of the four behavioural groups. Fig. 6a provides data relating to the outcome beliefs and response efficacy of the sample. It is immediately apparent that there is a discernible trend in the data, with committed

Fig. 4. Group properties for social values, Figures on the X-axis refer to cluster membership (Fig. 3), Mood’s Median statistic computed for each factor, denoting whether there was a statistically significant difference between the four cluster groups. (a) Altruistic (MZ5.8; pO0.05), (b) Openness to change (MZ2.6; pO0.05), (c) Conservative MZ7.8;p!0.05), (d) Egoistic (MZ9.8; p!0.05).

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Fig. 4 (continued )

environmentalists the most likely to believe that environmental actions will have a positive outcome, whereas non-environmentalists are significantly less likely to have faith in their actions. This conclusion should be qualified by noting that although statistically there was a significant difference between the four groups, the majority in all cases agreed that their actions would be effective. This is encouraging, but also highlights the difficulties policy makers face in engaging citizens in participation, given that even individuals who are the least committed report fairly high levels of perceived consumer effectiveness. Fig. 6b provides evidence for a more discernible difference between committed environmentalists and non-environmentalists. Whereas 90% of committed environmentalists rejected the idea that environmental problems were the government’s responsibility, only 43% of non-environmentalists agreed with this notion. This is significant, since previous research into green consumption has made explicit the links between personalisation of responsibility and effective environmental action. These data therefore support this assertion. Differences may also be seen with regard to the trust that individuals

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Table 4 Environmental value factors Factor

Variables included

Label (Fig. 5)

Variance (eigenvalue)

Per cent variance

Faith in growth: anthropocentrism

There are no limits to growth for nations like the UK Modifying the environment seldom causes serious problems Science will help us to live without conservation Humans were created to rule over nature The balance of nature is delicate and easily upset The Earth is like a space ship, with limited room and resources Plants and animals do not exist primarily for human use One of the most important reasons for conservation is to preserve wild areas Technology will solve many environmental problems Exploitation of resources should be stopped

No limits to growth Modifying environment

2.3

24

2.2

22

1.2

12

Spaceship Earth: biospherism

Ecocentism-technocentrism

Total variance

Scientific solution Humans over nature Balance of nature Spaceship earth

Value of nature Preservation

Technological solutions Stop exploitation

58

Individuals were asked to rate their agreement with each statement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

placed in the different sources of information provided. Whilst three of the four groups believed that environmental groups provided trustworthy information, more than twice the number of non-environmentalists stated that they disagreed with this. This might point to a link between the level of trust in specific information providers and the efficacy of the arguments in changing behaviours, which that organisation promotes. The impact of price on sustainable consumption can be seen in Fig. 6c, where it is clear that committed environmentalists were more likely to purchase products on their environmental credentials, with price being less of a factor in the purchase decision. In this case, the trend is almost uniform between the four groups, with attitudes changing incrementally from committed to non-environmentalist groups. Such data indicate the different perceptions of price that impact on personal attitudes towards purchasing in a sustainable way. Finally, Fig. 6d provides data relating to green consumer beliefs. In this case, the difference between the committed and non-environmentalist groups are distinctly uniform, with committed environmentalists stating that health issues, safety concerns, buying locally and believing that green consumption helped the environment all scoring over 70% agreement. Non-environmentalists were the least concerned with these issues, with under 40% stating that

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they felt buying locally was important and only 49% agreeing that green consumption helped the environment, compared to 83% of committed environmentalists. These data therefore clearly demonstrate the impact of health and safety concerns in purchase decisions made by individuals who choose to participate in sustainable consumption.

5. Discussion The data presented in this paper provide compelling evidence to support the assertion that green consumption may be more appropriately termed sustainable consumption or

Fig. 5. Environmental Values (please see Table 4 for statement wording) Figures on the X-axis refer to cluster membership (Fig. 3) (a) Faith in Growth (MZ12.6; p!0.05)), (b) Spaceship Earth (MZ10.2; p!0.05), (c) Ecocentrism-technocentrism (MZ3.9; pO0.05).

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Fig. 5 (continued)

a component of any move towards sustainable lifestyles. Incorporating issues conventionally conceived as green consumer actions within a framework of environmental action has demonstrated how sustainable consumption is likely to be a component of a wider shift in lifestyles that invokes both purchase-related and habitual behaviours in an holistic conceptualisation of everyday living. This is manifested within distinctive behavioural groups that have their own social, attitudinal and behavioural qualities, ranging from committed environmentalists, who partake in a considerable variety of environmental actions, to non-environmentalists who generally never participate in such behaviours. In regard to the specific qualities of the different groups, reference can be made to existing research in this field. 5.1. Social and environmental values The evidence provided in this research supports the work of Stern et al. [28], Roberts [19] and Chan [2] in their assertions that green consumers tend to hold more proenvironmental and pro-social values. The data in Figs. 3 and 4 clearly demonstrate that committed environmentalists valued wealth, personal influence and power less than unity and other aspects of altruism. In contrast, non-environmentalists scored the lowest on these measures. Indeed, committed environmentalists were more likely to hold biospheric and ecocentric values, emphasising equality with nature and a need to work with the environment, rather than relying on technological solutions. Such data provide a good basis on which to argue that sustainable lifestyles may be formulated around a distinctive pro-social ethic, which is open to change and values nature intrinsically. From the perspective of policy, this may provide certain difficulties, since values are not easily manipulated by conventional policy measures, as perhaps attitudes can be.

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Fig. 6. Selected social-psychological factors, Figures on the X-axis refer to cluster membership (Fig. 3), (a) Outcome beliefs (MZ45.1; p!0.05), Good economics, It makes good economic sense to help the environment, NZ1245; Energy beliefs, Energy saving in the home helps reduce global warming, NZ1242; Response efficacy, Each person’s behaviour can have a positive effect on society and the environment, NZ1245; Waste beliefs, Reducing household waste and recycling saves rubbish being buried in landfill, NZ1241; (b) Trust and responsibility (MZ12.3; p!0.05). Government responsibility, Environmental problems are the government’s responsibility*, NZ1234; Trust in information, The information I receive about environmental issues is trustworthy, NZ1233; Environmental group information, Environmental groups provide the most accurate information about the environment, NZ1241; (c) Price (MZ32.5; p!0.05), Price of eco-friendly products, Unless environmentally-friendly products come down in price, I will buy normal brands*, NZ1235; Importance of nature, The price is uppermost in my mind when I buy products*, NZ1241; Prefer eco-friendly produce, I’d rather buy environmentally-friendly products than purchase cheaper alternatives, NZ1238; Willing to pay more, Paying higher prices for environmentally-friendly products is worth the extra cost, NZ1241; (d) Green consumer beliefs (MZ84.9; p!0./05); Health concerns, The health benefits of certain foods are a key priority when I go shopping, NZ1241; Safety concerns, Food safety is important when I go shopping, NZ1239; Importance of local produce, Buying local produce is very important, NZ1238; Green consumer beliefs, Buying green produce helps the environment, NZ1241; For all items marked * the raw scores (measured on a scale of 1Zstrongly disagree to 5Zstrongly agree) were reverse coded so that in all cases agreement/strong agreement reflects a proenvironmental position; Mood’s Median test was used to examine any statistically significant differences between the cluster groups.

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Fig. 6 (continued)

5.2. Socio-demographics Some of the conclusions reached by workers in this field can be substantiated from this research. Roberts’ [20]) finding that age had a positive impact on green consumption is supported by the evidence in Table 2, where there was a difference of 12 years in the mean age of committed and non-environmentalists. Such a finding may support Hallin’s [9] hypothesis that older age groups are more likely to save and ‘make do’, given that they are from the Second World War generation. Nonetheless, the incorporation of other variables, such as fairly traded goods and recycled products may hint at another hypothesis that is as yet poorly understood. Although gender does not show significant differences except for the nonenvironmentalist group, this finding is significant, as it supports Roberts’ [20] assertion

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of some gender imbalance. The male dominance (relatively) of this group supports evidence from other environmental behaviour research (e.g. Barr et al. [1]; Hines et al. [10]) that males may be less environmentally active. This may relate to Eagly’s [6] theory of gender role expectations in which males and females seek to aspire to commonly perceived gender roles and would have to be placed in the context of the division of labour in households relating to the consumption of certain goods. Olli et al.’s [17] thesis relating to the effect of income is partly substantiated by this paper, in which a large proportion of committed environmentalists earned between 7.5 and 10 thousand Pounds. However, a larger proportion of non-environmentalists earned under 7.5 thousand Pounds. Such a position is difficult to interpret and does not appear to fall within conventional thinking on environmental action (Hines et al. [10] that relates to a general trend for higher income earning individuals to be more environmentally conscious. Finally, in regard to political attitudes, this research supports Dunlap’s [3] initial assertion that liberal individuals were more likely to support environmentalism. More Green and Liberal Democrat voters were committed environmentalists. However, more concerning is the level of political apathy that non-environmentalists demonstrated, with a larger proportion not voting. A further finding that has not been reported in the literature includes the high proportion of owner-occupiers in the committed environmentalists group and the high amount of nonenvironmentalists in the renting/local authority sector. From the perspective of policy, these results are important, as they may be able to provide a means by which to focus specific measures to encourage sustainable living. These might be demographically based, with emphasis being placed on younger individuals, such as males. They may also be spatially distributed, focusing on individuals in certain areas with high levels of renting/local authority tenancy. 5.3. Psychological factors The literature reviewed above concerning perceived consumer effectiveness, responsibility, price and health and safety issues can all be substantiated in this paper. This is not to state that other factors might be significant in differentiating between the four behavioural groups, but rather that there is strong evidence to support previous evidence. Consumers are likely to purchase in a more sustainable way if they perceive that what they are buying, be that organic food or fairly traded coffee, is actually going to impact on the environment and influence future policy. Similarly, personalisation of environmental issues and a trust in the information provided on the environment is also more likely to engage citizens. The priorities that are given to various purchases are also likely to be significant, relating to trade-offs pertaining to price, health, safety, buying locally and helping the environment. These findings suggest that policy makers need to market products specifically at particular market segments, so as to emphasise how a particular product will have a tangible effect, be that on the natural environment, a developing nation’s economy or the local farmer. This information needs to be clear, scientifically presented and ‘believable’. Indeed, where price is an issue, other credentials of the products should be emphasised,

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such as the health and safety benefits, be that for organic produce or locally produced foods.

6. Conclusion Any move to sustainability and sustainable lifestyles will be a gradual process, but must be seen in the context of an holistic move towards new lifestyles, incorporating purchaserelated and habitual elements that cross conventional behavioural boundaries. The challenges for policy makers wishing to engage in this move relate to both a realigning of the language of consumption, away from ‘green’ and towards ‘sustainable’, so as to incorporate activities that do not necessarily have green credentials, but also a greater focus on who does what. This research has clearly shown that specific demographic groups, with particular behavioural qualities and attitudes, are engaging in a varied way in sustainability. If policy makers can use this approach, which can be utilised to target specific groups, then the move to sustainable lifestyles will be achieved with greater efficacy.

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thanks the Economic and Social Research Council for financial assistance in undertaking this research (Grant No. R000239417).

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