No abstract

This paper presents results of a study that examined the perceptions and preferences of identified -responsible, sustainable consumers‖ with respect to functional products. The study is part of a larger research program that looks at material cultures and product design in relation to sustainable production and consumption. Based on empirical data gathered from among citizens attempting to follow sustainable lifestyles, the authors reflect on how the adoption of sustainable consumption patterns can not only be motivated by altruistic and environmental considerations, but also, significantly, by perceived personal benefits, including an expected increase in personal well-being. These motivations, together with how they unfold into preferences for particular product characteristics, are discussed. The paper concludes that the understanding of such motives, along with their implications for the ways in which products and services are conceived and positioned, may warrant further research as it can represent a key incentive for change towards a more sustainable future.

Le risque cancérogène au travail demeure encore largement sous-estimé. Selon plusieurs rapports administratifs, les (anciens) salariés en seraient responsables, pour une part, faute de recourir au droit à réparation en maladie professionnelle. À partir d’une enquête de terrain menée en Seine-Saint-Denis auprès de patients atteints de cancer du poumon, cet article précise les différents mécanismes qui font obstacle au recours au droit : l’information sur le droit ne suffit pas, il faut aussi que les formes de la réparation prennent sens, et ce dans un contexte de maladie grave et mortelle. La gestion purement assurantielle de dossiers individuels apparaît ainsi en complet décalage avec les objectifs de « réparation » des personnes empoisonnées au travail.

This paper explores the relationship between sustainability, and product aesthetic qualities and experience. It presents the result of an ongoing study notably looking at responsible consumption and the resulting visual culture. Initial insights are presented and thoughts that have emerged from this research experience are discussed. The link between eco-ethics, aesthetics, and the intrinsic and extrinsic properties of objects is briefly examined. The paper explores an 'aesthetic attitude' related to the ethical, spiritual and pragmatic facets of sustainability, and proposes the valorisation and celebration of beauty in these terms -as opposed to the surface "aestheticization of everyday life" that we are witnessing in contemporary society.