Reducing consumption or purchasing behaviour

Looking at ways to reduce consumption and purchasing behaviour


  • What behaviour are you trying to change? E.g Planning what food shopping you need as a household on a weekly basis

     
  • Whose behaviour are you trying to change? E.g Families – parents, guardians, carers

     
  • Where are you trying to change the behaviour? E.g At home

     
  • When are you trying to change the behaviour? E.g On a Sunday evening

     
  • How often are you trying to change the behaviour? E.g weekly

What are the drivers/barriers to reduce household waste?

Do your communities have the capability to reduce their household waste? Psychological capability

Do they know that both the clothing and food industries produce a large amount of waste? Do they know how to source food which is not wrapped in plastic, or non-recyclable materials? Do they know where the nearest charity shop is? Do they know how they can donate their old clothes? Do they remember to shop at ethical and environmentally friendly shops and stores, both online and on the high street? Do they know which businesses are ethically and environmentally sound? Do they need to negotiate with a partner or family member to persuade them that a different, more ethical or environmentally minded place to shop is better? Have they created an action plan about what they actually need and when they will purchase or borrow it during the week?

Do your communities have the capability to reduce their household waste? Physical capability

Can they carry items back from ethical and environmentally friendly stores which might be further away from where they live (or further than the standard/mainstream ones)? Do they have the physical capability to walk/cycle that far to get to such shops?

Do your communities have the opportunity to reduce their household waste? Physical opportunity

Are there any ethical shops close to where they live/work? Do they have the money to pay for food purchased from providers who do not wrap their food in plastic and other non-recyclable materials? Can they travel the distance to the more ethical and environmentally minded shop to buy their everyday items? Do they have the time to travel the distance, or go to multiple different stores or shops? Can clothes be borrowed or bought second hand from members of the community?

Do your communities have the opportunity to reduce their household waste? Social opportunity

Do members of the community expect to lend clothing second hand to neighbours and friends? What do others in the community wear? Where do they buy their food from? - Is it the same as others? Do others encourage and support them to buy second hand clothes, or shop from sustainably sourced food outlets? Who do people spend most of their time with and how do they normally acquire clothes? Who do people spend most of their time with and where do they normally buy their food? Is there pressure to conform one way or another? Are peers and local leaders modelling the behaviour of wearing clothes bought from charity shops, or carrying a reusable bag with them to buy fruit and vegetables from the market, for example?

Do your communities have the motivation to reduce their household waste? Automatic motivation Do they worry about running out of essentials? Do they buy multipacks on autopilot? Is checking the expiry date a habit? Do they want or need to shop sustainably?

Do your communities have the motivation to reduce their household waste?

Reflective motivation Do they plan to go to a charity shop for the family’s clothes on Tuesday? Do they plan to go to a farmers’ market on Saturday morning? Do they believe that they should buy clothes second hand to reduce the demand on clothing production? Do they have the attitude that we all need to reduce our consumption of plastic waste? Does the individual or group have a goal to only buy three new pieces of clothing per year, for example? Loss-aversion: big supermarket chains have loyalty programs. Do they fear losing the benefits they get from where they currently shop? Are those benefits important to them or their loved ones?

 

What interventions could you use?

Education

  • Feedback on how much waste you produce and if you are in a high, medium or low waste household (Psychological capability)

Persuasion

  • The environmental consequences of increased buying of clothes – modern slavery, animal welfare (Reflective motivation)

Incentivisation

  • A trip to the charity shops once you have not shopped for clothes in x amount of time – a win win – reusing clothes, and donating to charity (Reflective motivation)

Environmental restructuring

  • Hold a school bring and buy sale of second hand clothes (Physical opportunity)