Sustainability: Conscious shopping is difficult

Status: 12/19/2022 7:07 a.m

Sustainable consumption is difficult for many people – even now in the run-up to Christmas. Although there is a growing awareness of avoiding unnecessary consumption, it is more economic reasons that help to change habits.

By Philipp Wundersee, WDR

In addition to the organic honey, Linda Leidens is currently presenting the new children’s backpacks. In her shop “Tante Lille” in Hoffnungsthal near Cologne she sells selected accessories: children’s bed linen, soap, kitchen boards, candles in Scandinavian design. A small shop that, in addition to coffee and lunch, focuses on sustainable products. “We have great small companies in Germany that produce under good conditions here in the country. I would like to support them in my shop,” says the business graduate. She notices that people want to shop more consciously and think more about the origin of products than they used to.

Buy one less thing

“It’s been very well received. Customers want to buy products that are produced sustainably and have not been shipped all over the world. Our food is additive-free, our products are not from China,” says Leidens. Recently they had invited people to go Christmas shopping in town and the shops on the main street were open until late in the evening. “I’d rather buy one less thing that will last a long time or that supports a good cause,” says Leidens. Of course, one cannot completely absolve oneself of this, but awareness when shopping is important to many of her customers, she says.

Less money for consumption

Hanno Brenner is looking for Christmas presents. Due to the energy crisis and inflation, he notices that he has less money and therefore wants to spend less on gifts and consumption. “I used to order online without thinking too much about myself and gifts for friends and family,” says Brenner. “Meanwhile, I’m doing more research and seeing where the money is going. Of course, not everything can always be sustainable, but the crisis shook me up.”

The Wuppertal Institute examined this phenomenon in a study. 58 percent of those surveyed say that sustainable action is becoming more important to them in everyday life. On the one hand, there are people who consciously shop sustainably for ecological reasons and who can of course also afford this reason to buy. The researchers at the Wuppertal Institute say that, on the other hand, sustainable behavior also increasingly has economic reasons: people are making the decision to buy used items and give them away because of the crisis and less money in their wallets.

Buy used as an alternative

Slightly more than half of those surveyed are convinced that buying a used vehicle is not only more sustainable, but also an economically better alternative to buying a new one in the future. According to the Wuppertal Institute, the ongoing price increases are forcing many people to tighten their belts. 85 percent of those surveyed stated that they had to cut back due to increased prices.

“We see that people need to pay more attention to their spending and are therefore looking for new sources of income or ways to save,” says Dr. Henning Wilts, Head of the Circular Economy department at the Wuppertal Institute. “This is also shown by the results of the study: 19 percent – i.e. around one fifth of those surveyed – state that due to the current price inflation they buy second-hand more often to save money and sell used things more often to make money. Sustainable action is therefore currently also an economic decision for many people,” adds Wilts.

Green Sunday instead of Black Friday

In line with Black Friday and the discount campaigns at the end of November, classifieds portals announced a Green Sunday. The appeal of the industry: Used goods also work well as gifts and as an alternative to new goods ordered without thinking. For Hanno Brenner, this only works to a limited extent: “You always have to find a balance between aspiration and reality. I can’t spend days browsing the Internet for the perfect used gift. I’d rather consciously buy new goods.” Reduce consumption a little, says Brenner, but that is feasible and important at the moment.

source site