Responsible Consumption, Consumer Well-Being, and Environment

1. Introduction

Natural resources are the main reasons for the existence of living beings on the planet. However, the rapid extraction of these resources is serious threat for environment and is a cause of grave concerns for us. Increasing population and industrial development of countries like India, China and Brazil are causing burden on already constrained resources by creating more demand for the products. The rate at which current consumption is taking place requires mining of resources 10 times more than what it used to be 30 years ago (SERI,2000). If the consumption happens at the same rate, 100 billion tons of resources would be requiring by 2030 to meet the current demand. The exploitation of resources has a high cost for the society and are reflected in the form of changing climate, reduction in water level and forest coverage, extinction of species and erosion of land (Human Development Report, 1998). The use of resources at the current rate will not let future generation enjoy the resources that we are blessed with.

Consumerism and current lifestyle pattern have soaked the society. Around half of the world, population dwells in developing countries and offer huge market potential. Most of the issues related to the environment today are linked to consumption, according to Gary Gardner, Director of Research for world watch. The globalization has made it easier for people to access goods and services which were earlier not accessible to developing countries (Mayell, 2004). The items that were considered as want that time, has now viewed a as necessities. The increasing population will raise demand for goods which further would lead to the creation of solid waste and emission of carbon. The depleting resources and degradation of environment necessitate the change in current consumption pattern and challenge the assumption that consumer is a rational human being and takes decision rationally. The consumers will have to be more responsible with respect to consumption and need to consume things in a judicious manner.

The term responsible consumption was first given by George Fisk in 1973. It is an outcome of grassroots social movement started in 1960 (Wolfgang Wagner). Responsible consumption is consumption of resources in judicious and efficient manner. The efficient and judicious consumption improve quality of life without sacrificing the environment and does not cause any negative environmental impact. Responsible consumption is making well informed choices. The growing need for responsible use of resources make it necessary for society to rethink their consumption pattern. There have been very few studies in the past which has actually tried to address the responsible consumption and explored its antecedents. The first study on responsible consumption was done by George Fisk in 1973. After that there has been many studies on sustainable consumption, green consumption and environmental friendly consumption but the literature is deficient on responsible consumption. The lack of literature makes it mandatory to understand responsible consumption, its antecedents and its impact of consumer wellbeing. Therefore, the current study attempt to answer the following questions:

• RQ1: Defining Responsible Consumption

• RQ2: What are the antecedents of responsible consumption?

• RQ3: What are the impact of Responsible consumption on consumer wellbeing?

Thus in this paper, section 2 gives brief overview of literature review and section 3 explains the conceptual framework. The 4 section briefs about research methodology followed by analysis and results. The implications and conclusion are presented in the 8 and 9 section of the paper respectively.

2. Theoretical Background And Hypotheses Development

In recent years, responsible consumption has got the attention of academicians, and environmentalist due to consumer awareness about consequences of irresponsible consumption (Gonzalez, Korchia, Menuet and Urbain, 2009). The responsible consumption is one of the seventeenth goal of United Nations Development Program for sustainable development 2030. Since every purchase that consumer make has an impact on environmental and society, therefore, change in consumption practices may bring huge change for society as a whole. The responsible buying will help consumers to contribute towards global sustainability by reducing consumption. Consumers are now required to behave responsibly and be rational in their choices so as to preserve the planet.