This open access book seeks to understand why we consume as we do, how
consumption changes, and why we keep consuming more and more, despite
the visible damage we are doing to the planet. The chapters cover both
the stubbornness of unsustainable consumption patterns in affluent
societies and the drivers of rapidly increasing consumption in emerging
economies. They focus on consumption patterns with the largest
environmental footprints, including energy, housing, and mobility and
engage in sophisticated ways with the theoretical frontiers of the field
of consumption research, in particular on the 'practice turn' that has
come to dominate the field in recent decades. This book maps out what we
know about consumption, questions what we take for granted, and points
us in new directions for better understanding--and
changing--unsustainable consumption patterns.