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What is Conscious Consumption?
In a few words, it is consumption with consciousness of its impact and focusing on sustainability.
Every consumer act causes an impact (positive or negative) on the economy, social relations, nature and on the consumer him/herself. When conscious of these impacts at the time when consumers think why they are buying, choosing what to buy, buying from whom, how to buy and defining how to use and discard what is no longer useful, they can endeavour to maximise the positive and minimise the negative impacts, thereby contributing with their power of consumption to building a better world. This is Conscious Consumption.
Conscious consumers seek a balance between personal satisfaction and sustainability of life on this planet, maximising the positive consequences of that act not only for themselves but also for social relations, the economy and nature. The conscious consumer also looks to disseminate the concept and practice of conscious consumption so that small gestures by a very large number of people cause major change.
How important is Conscious Consumption?
Humankind is already consuming 30% more of natural resources than the planet’s renewal capacity. If there is no change in the consumer and production model, then in less than 50 years two planets Earth will be required to meet our water, energy, food and waste dump requirements. This situation is already reflected, for example, in urban pollution and, emblematically, in global warming. We don’t need to say that this situation is a hazard to life on Earth and to humankind. Consumer choice has a lot to do with solving this situation.
The impact of consumer choices determines the characteristics of the world in which we live. When deciding on the six consumer dimensions – why buy, what to buy, how, from whom, how to use and discard what we no longer require – the consumer is “voting” for characteristics of the world in which we live. When consuming, people are empowered to choose to maximise the positive and minimise the negative impacts.
