Mindfulness for sustainable consumption behaviour - inisghts into consumer culture

Abstract: A large body of research implies that modern human behaviour threatens various life – sustaining resources. The excessive consumption patterns of resources by humans has been identified as one of the main causes of the environmental crisis. Automatic and unconscious decision-making behaviours have become deeply internalized among individuals, resulting in unsustainable and unnecessary consumption patterns. Emerging literature has begun to explore the concept of mindfulness in relation to sustainable consumption, and reports on a positive relation to lower ecological footprints, connectedness to nature and sustainable consumption patterns. This particular study builds upon existing empirical findings and addresses the relationship between mindfulness, impulsivity and consumption. An extensive literature review and primary data collection method based on a convenience sample, were used as methodological approaches for this study. Based on the data gathered through an online questionnaire, the study finds that mindfulness has a negative relation to impulsive buying behaviour, suggesting a decrease in impulsive consumption among individuals with a higher level of mindfulness. Contrary to existing research, this study found no significant relation between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour. However, there are several limitations to this study due to method bias, measurement issues as well as due to the format of the questionnaire approach, that need to be considered when discussing the findings. Overall, this research indicated that by tapping into mindfulness, individuals may become less vulnerable to automatic processing, helping to break routines and make consumers become more aware of negative effects of consumption choices. This paper recommends continued research and suggests possible future pathways.