The minimalist process: An interpretivist study

Abstract

Lifestyle politics express the politicization of everyday life and have emerged in opposition to the discourse, generally reproduced by the media, that consumption is essential to achieve a happy and satisfactory life. This paper investigates one of these lifestyles: minimalism. The adopters of this lifestyle believe that by avoiding overconsumption, they are adhering to conscious consumption and challenging the so‐called consumer society. Nevertheless, the development path for minimalists remains unclear. Through this multi‐method study, we seek to discover how a consumer becomes a minimalist. We targeted self‐proclaimed minimalists and members of Facebook communities related to this lifestyle politics. The findings led us to propose a visual representation of a non‐linear minimalist process, composed by overlapped stages, in which consumers choose to engage. By showing the component parts of minimalism, we indicate a new way to approach the topic. We also contributed to outline how consumers forge their identities through de‐growth in consumption practices and unveiled tensions behind minimalism lifestyle. We concluded by proposing venues for future research.

When less is more: Understanding consumers' responses to minimalist appeals

“…Our research makes several contributions. First, we contribute to the consumer minimalism literature by departing from the focus on individuals' propensity to adopt minimalism as a lifestyle (e.g., Hausen, 2019; Oliveira de Mendonca et al, 2021) or the impact of adopting minimalism on well‐being (e.g., Malik & Ishaq, 2023; Shafqat et al, 2023). We instead examine minimalism as a marketing appeal.…”

Goodbye materialism: exploring antecedents of minimalism and its impact on millennials well-being

“…Up to 60% of greenhouse gas emissions are a result of consumer behaviour (Palafox, 2020 ). Additionally, since goods are produced all over the world, the transportation required to bring them to your door significantly adds to air pollution (Oliveira de Mendonca, 2021 ). Environmental concern on these key issues may help in reducing consumption.…”

Could a minimalist lifestyle reduce carbon emissions and improve wellbeing? A review of minimalism and other low consumption lifestyles

“…Most studies (22) were qualitative, and five were quantitative. Most studies were conducted in Western Europe, North America, or Australia, although two studies addressed post‐socialist societies (Dopierala, 2017; Zalewska & Cobel‐Tokarska, 2016), one was from Brazil (Mendonça et al, 2021) and another from Pakistan (Shafqat et al, 2023). Another 16 papers were found on the broader topic of VS, frugalism and tightwadism, and their relationship to wellbeing and carbon emissions (Table 3).…”

“…Adopting minimalism could present many challenges, but research is limited on how these are navigated. Challenges identified by (Mendonça et al, 2021) include the meaningfulness of nonessential possessions and shifting away from happiness-linked purchasing. Other barriers to adopting minimalism might include threats to self-image and status (Han et al, 2010).…”

“…Feelings of competence may arise from having a small inventory which reduces overwhelm (Martin‐Woodhead, 2022). Increased relatedness may come from having more time to socialize and through opportunities to connect via minimalism networks (Mendonça et al, 2021). Lloyd and Pennington (2020) found that minimalism increased wellbeing because it gave participants autonomy (because they felt less compelled to follow societal expectations), competence (because they had more control over their environment), mental space, more mindfulness, and positive emotions such as joy.…”