Expanding Research Agenda for Sustainable Consumption and Social Institutions

Abstract

Sustainable development is part of the developmental agenda for developed and developing countries both. For developing countries, growth is critical but resource consuming. Therefore, it is important to ensure equitable growth in these countries without degradation of natural and social environment and resources. Sustainable consumption and production both are part of Sustainable Development Goal 12. Mostly countries focus on the production rather than on the consumption, which needs to be changed. South Africa faces challenges of under-consumption in lower income classes and over-consumption in affluent and aspiring middle classes. Examination of institutional actors highlights the gap, which can be filled by social institutions. Social institutions are active and growing in South Africa and were identified suitable to promote sustainable consumption through cooperation, collaboration, and partnerships. This chapter attempts to expand the research agenda to examine the role and potential of social institutions in facilitating sustainable consumption in a developing country like South Africa.

Sustainable Living: Bridging the North-South Divide in Lifestyles and Consumption Debates

“…Moreover, critics (85) argue that the prevailing narratives in social consumption research are dominated by the perspectives of the global North, and often promote "consuming differently" for those with resources and opportunity to be able to make alternative consumption choices rather than anticonsumption in the form of "consuming less" (86). Furthermore, the focus in much social research in the global North continues to be the individual (or aggregates of individuals in the case of social practice research) rather than the influence of social institutions such as tribes and political or religious institutions on consumer behavior, collective action, and world views (87). Critics of the social practice approach also argue that these perspectives underemphasize the role of individual agency in leading system change and the opportunity for democratic intervention, oversight, or regulation of consumption (56,88).…”