Sustainable Consumption: How Do We Encourage Consumers to Purchase Sustainably?

Organization

Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention

Published

2009

Summary

Sustainable consumption (SC) requires the consumer to consider issues that may be less personal, such as the impact of products or services on our environment and on the well-being of others. This report summarizes a longitudinal study of Canadian purchasing patterns and the degree to which environmental considerations figure into their decisions. Data are reported from a panel study of 1,036 participants from across Canada. The participants were drawn from the Harris/Decima panel and surveyed three times over the course of a year. Detailed findings are reported from each of the three waves of survey data and also from the longitudinal element of the study. Unlike previous studies of sustainable consumption, our goal was to examine the degree to which environmental intentions affect subsequent purchasing decisions - a topic which can only be addressed with longitudinal data.

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OCA Funded Research
This research received funding support through the Office of Consumer Affairs' Contributions Program.

Contact information

Source: Consumer Policy Research Database