Consumption

About

Working group formed for the International Conference on Degrowth 2014.

What are the potentials and limits of individual self-providing and life-style changes for the transformation towards a degrowth society?

Papers

S. Abdallah, BRAINPOoL: Lessons from the Beyond GDP world for degrowth, in Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, Leipzig, 2014.PDF icon jeffrey_beyondGDPIndicatorsForADegrowthTransition_Brainpool.pdf (2.19 MB)PDF icon 3464.pdf (89.04 KB)
A. Acosta, Post-Extracivism and De-Growth: Two Sides of the Same Perspective?, in Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, Leipzig, 2014.PDF icon 3792.pdf (50.53 KB)
A. Acosta, Beyond extractivism: Debates and Practices around Post-Extractivism  in Latin America, in Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, Leipzig, 2014.PDF icon 3791.pdf (41.08 KB)
A. Acquarone and Prohias, J. Pàmias, The Foundation Theory, in Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, Leipzig, 2014.PDF icon 3497.pdf (307.73 KB)
J. - L. Aillon, Guindani, M., Dal Santo, E., Zummo, S., Montis, A., and Pallante, M., How to built, organize and manage degrowth movements rooted in the territory?, in Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, Leipzig, 2014.PDF icon Aill.pdf (253.23 KB)
R. Aitken, Building a social and ecological economy through a social accounting model of banking, in Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, Leipzig, 2014.PDF icon 3636.pdf (104.07 KB)
B. Akbulut, Adaman, P. Fikret, Arsel, M., and Avci, D., De-growth as Counter-Hegemony? Lessons from Turkey, in Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, Leipzig, 2014.PDF icon 3737.pdf (70.75 KB)

Results from Leipzig 2014

Proposals for the Transformation

  • Reformation of the standardization processes (p.e. ISO) so that marginalized (especially in the global south) are more effectively involved.

  • Create time and space to build communities (= alternatives to shopping).

  • Mainstreaming of critical thinking across all school subjects towards consumption habits, social practices, social status and advertisement.

  • Discuss basic needs and fulfillment.

  • Teach different social-ecological models.

  • Expand teaching of self-providing.

  • Establish space for children to discover how to make/do things.

  • Create a marketing watch organization with an official mandate to restrict advertisement.

Visions

  • Everyone should get the possibility of “full” awareness about consumption impacts.

  • Find alternative fulfillment for psychological drivers of buying.

Controversial issues

  • One single sustainability label (“single score label”) ?

  • Base education on communal decision of what is liked and needed?

  • Make advertisement spaces public so that everyone can publish ads?

Ideas for Action

  • Ad-busting.

  • Spend a year without buying new stuff (contact: ben[at]goodmatters[dot]net).

  • Inform about manipulation practices.

Open Questions for Research

  • Should advertisement only be restricted or prohibited entirely?

  • What can we learn from the tobacco case?

  • How can we make long-lasting and high-quality products the new normal?

Results from Barcelona 2010

Here you can find the results of the GAP at the Degrowth Conference 2010 in Barcelona that are particularly relevant for this working group. More