Search Results (4)

The fast fashion market is becoming popular, escalating and aggravating the throwaway culture phenomenon. Thus, it is valuable to understand the factors that influence sustainable fashion consumption and the clothing disposal pattern among young consumers in developing countries like Malaysia. Data were obtained from the online survey of 324 young adults aged 18 to 35 and were analysed using the Partial Least Square using SmartPLS (v.3.3.3i). The findings indicate that personal norms, social norms and environmental awareness were the key influencing factors of sustainable fashion consumption. Consequently, sustainable fashion consumption exhibited a positive and significant relationship towards philanthropic and economic reasons for clothing disposal behaviour. The insights from this study will assist practitioners, green manufacturers, business owners and policy makers in giving a clearer picture of what motivates sustainable fashion consumption and the clothing disposal behaviour of today’s young adults. Full article

The apparel industry causes environmental problems, particularly due to the shortening life cycle of garments and fast-fashion’s throw-away culture. The circular economy provides solutions to minimise and prevent these problems through innovative circular business models, which require changes in consumer behaviours. With the lens of environmental psychology, we analyse consumers’ willingness to acquire circular apparel considering four approaches on clothing life-cycle extension. We conducted an online questionnaire among Brazilian and Dutch consumers and tested if the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory can explain the willingness of consumers to purchase circular apparel. Our results indicate that, overall, the variables from the VBN theory explain circular behaviour in the apparel industry and that the paths suggested by the model are supported by our analyses. Additionally, we tested and found that when all of the variables from the VBN theory were controlled for, materialistic values did not explain circular behaviours in the apparel industry among Brazilian respondents. However, they had a positive influence on some circular apparel behaviours among Dutch consumers. Overall, materialistic values did not play an important role in predicting willingness to consume circular clothing. Furthermore, the results suggest that the VBN theory predicts willingness to consume circular apparel better in the Netherlands compared to Brazil, suggesting that this behaviour may be perceived as more effortful for the Brazilian population. However, we highlight the need for future research. Full article

The paper presents the potential of religions, in particular Christianity, in shaping a culture of sustainable consumption (a culture of moderation). It focuses on the contribution of the Catholic tradition, which is, to some extent, complemented by statements representing other Christian denominations. Based on an analysis of relevant sources, it identifies risks arising from the prevalence of a consumer culture, which results in the primacy of “having” over “being” and reduces man to a Homo consumens. Moreover, the widespread culture of consumerism is associated with a so-called throwaway culture dominated by a disposable mentality making use of things and people. It also points to one of the key elements of consumer culture (a culture of overuse) in the form of so-called neophilia, resulting in the weakening of interpersonal relationships, the atomization of societies, and depletion of the Earth’s resources, combined with reckless wastefulness. An analysis of consumer culture leads to the identification of elements that underpin a culture of moderation, being an antidote to dangers arising from the prevalence of consumer culture. The most important elements shaping a model of culture that is man- and environment-friendly include a new model of progress, a mentality of communion, and a new lifestyle. It is a model of progress, which is not limited merely to economics, but takes into account the need for integral human development and appreciates the spiritual and cultural sphere of life. In order to build a culture of moderation, a communion mentality is needed to restore interpersonal relationships and make man aware of his relation to the whole community of life. Another important element of a culture of moderation is a new lifestyle which takes into account all human needs, respects the potential of the natural environment, and is characterized by intra-generational and inter-generational responsibility. There is much to suggest that Christianity has the potential to make a significant contribution to reducing the culture of overuse and promoting a culture of moderation. The influence of Catholic thought on shaping a culture of sustainable consumption is illustrated by the introduction of restrictions on Sunday shopping in Poland in 2018. This case study shows the importance of religious arguments in introducing legal changes and their impact on promoting a culture of moderation. Full article

The rise of new technologies—robotics, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology among them—gave the American computer scientist Bill Joy certain pause for deep concern; these, he cautioned, carry the very real potential to push humankind toward extinction. In this essay, I explore an often understated reference in conversations on the promises and shortcomings of said technologies: the disposability of the human body. The Catholic tradition, in particular, boasts a rich and extensive collection of teachings on the theology of the body, which addresses, among other things, the significance of the body for human identity, its relationship to the soul, our (restrained) rights and mastery over it, its (proper) uses over the course of life, its relationship with other bodies, the value of its limitations, and its postmortem fate. Here, I engage the Church’s understanding of the centrality of the body alongside currents in transhumanist philosophy which champion technologies that neglect, or intentionally seek to discard, the body in the name of progress. Full article