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ORIGINAL PAPER
Leapfrogging to Sustainable Consumption?An Explorative Survey of Consumption Habitsand Orientations in Southern Brazil
Martina Schäfer & Melanie Jaeger-Erben &
Aguinaldo dos Santos
Received: 29 January 2010 /Accepted: 30 November 2010 /Published online: 11 January 2011# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. 2011
Abstract In current political and scientific debates on sustainable consumption, the low-and middle-income classes of emerging countries are gaining attention. One commonfeature of such debates is the idea that these emerging consumer classes could be motivatedto “leapfrog” directly to environmentally and socially aware consumption patterns and,thereby, avoid adopting the resource-intensive consumption styles of populations inindustrialized countries. To be able to adapt sustainable product development or sustainablecommunication strategies to the needs of low- and medium-income classes, it is necessaryto know more about the basic consumption orientations, current consumption habits, andfuture consumption aspirations of these societal groups. In order to contribute towardsfilling that knowledge gap, an exploratory survey was conducted, taking the example ofemerging low- and middle-income classes in a Southern Brazilian city. The surveyidentified five different consumer types: the Home-Centered Traditionals, the Indifferent,the Up-to-date Privileged, the Wanna-be Materialists, and the Quality of Life-OrientedPostmaterialists. The paper outlines some ideas concerning how these types can beaddressed with target-group-specific products and services as well as differentiatedsustainability communication strategies. We conclude, however, that “leapfrogging” ofBrazilian low- and middle-income classes towards sustainable consumption is not a verylikely option. There are certain consumption orientations that sustainability strategies canlink to, but these trends are not likely to compensate the general tendencies towards aresource-intensive lifestyle following the model of the industrialized countries.
Keywords Sustainable consumption . Lifestyle segmentation . Consumption styles . Low-income groups
J Consum Policy (2011) 34:175–196DOI 10.1007/s10603-010-9150-5
M. Schäfer (*) :M. Jaeger-ErbenCenter for Technology and Society, Technische Universität Berlin, Sekr. ER 2-2, Hardenbergstr. 4-5,10623 Berlin, Germanye-mail: [email protected]
A. dos SantosSustainable Design Research Center, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Rua General Carneiro 460, CEP80060-150 Curitiba, Brazil
Introduction
Sustainable consumption and production has been on the international agenda sinceAgenda 21 identified unsustainable patterns of production and consumption as themajor cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment. In 2003, theUnited Nations-led “Marrakech-process” initiated the 10-Year Framework of Pro-grammes (10YFP), which supports worldwide efforts in this field by governments,Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and industry (UNDESA 2007a). Besides therecognition that industrialized countries have an explicit responsibility to transform theirresource-intensive lifestyles, recently the “new middle classes” of emerging countriessuch as China, India, and Brazil have been gaining attention. Lange and Meier (2009a, b)state that, by adapting to “Western lifestyles,” the new middle classes of these countriesare increasingly being seen as undermining efforts that have been made so far in thehighly industrialized countries. They comment that this criticism is rather ironic, since thelifestyles that are being criticized—owning a private car, high household energy use, andeating large amounts of meat—are nothing other than those which have been consideredin industrialized countries as general wealth standards for decades (ibid.). Parallel to thedebate about the responsibility of the “new middle classes” towards sustainabledevelopment and climate protection, marketing experts have started to focus on low-income classes as being the “main power of the next global phase of economicprosperity” (Kirchgeorg and Win 2006; Prahalad 2005).
It is expected that during the next 10 years, about 800 million consumers of theso-called BRIC countries (Brazil, India, Russia, and China) will enter the formalmarket (da Rocha and Ferreira da Silva 2008). Myers and Kent (2002, p. 4963) proposethat the environmental impacts of consumption “are becoming all the more important nowthat the 850 million long-established consumers in rich countries have recently beenjoined by almost 1.1 billion new consumers in 17 developing and three transitioncountries.”
Despite differences in moral impetus linked to addressing these emergent consumerclasses, there is a rather broad political and scientific consensus that, for example, theambitious reduction goals for carbon dioxide emissions which have been formulated by theInternational Panel on Climate Change can only be achieved in a joint effort ofindustrialized, emerging, and developing countries (Tukker 2005; WBCSD 2008). Thestrategy of addressing emergent consumer classes with sustainability issues is linked toexpectations that they would, in a process of “leapfrogging,” directly adopt sustainableconsumption patterns, instead of imitating the resource-intensive lifestyles of industrializedcountries (Sawyer 2002; Tukker 2005).
To be able to address the needs of the emergent low- and medium-income classes, itshould be recognized that they are not a homogeneous group, but they differ inbehaviour, values, preferences, household types, and other aspects of their livingconditions (Lange and Meier 2009a, b). In many emerging countries, there are still littledata available on the consumption habits and aspirations of different segments withinthese classes. Hence, for the development of a strategy of “leapfrogging” to sustainableconsumption, it is necessary to gain more knowledge about different consumer types anddevelop target-group-specific products, services, and communication measures (Belz andPeattie 2009; Charter 2002).
This paper presents the results of an explorative survey in this field, carried out inCuritiba, a medium-sized city in Southern Brazil. Almost 300 inhabitants were interviewedconcerning their household equipment, consumption orientations, and habits as well as
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future consumption aspirations. These data were the basis for identifying consumptionstyles and developing preliminary strategic ideas on how these segments can be addressedregarding issues of sustainable consumption. Even though this lifestyle segmentationfocuses on a specific urban context in Southern Brazil and cannot be generalized to thewhole Brazilian population, it can be seen as an attempt to increase knowledge ofconsumption orientations and habits of urban populations in emerging countries. Besidesthis, it aims to initiate a debate about target-group-specific sustainable consumptionstrategies in Brazil.
Theoretical and Empirical Background
This section first introduces current understanding in the social sciences on the role ofconsumption in modern societies and some research on consumer segmentation insociology and marketing. It then discusses characteristics of sustainable consumption ingeneral and, more specifically, what is known about sustainability-relevant consumptionpatterns in Brazil.
Consumption in Modern Societies
In modern societies, goods and services are not only consumed to satisfy substantial needs(housing, alimentation, clothing, etc.) but also serve as a means of expressing the societalgroup to which one does or does not belong (Bourdieu 1984). The symbolic value ofconsumption and its function for social distinction as well as self expression are importantto consider in the process of transformation towards sustainable consumption (Lange 2005;Reusswig 1994; Rink 2002; Schulze 1992).
Since the 1980s, there has been a sociological debate about the main drivers forsocial differentiation. Characteristics of social position, like education and income, orvariables like sex and age, which had previously been used for segmentation were nolonger seen to be able to explain the pluralization of lifestyles in modern societies(Brand 2000). Therefore lifestyle research has additionally been considering variablessuch as values, attitudes, and socio-cultural patterns to identify segments with similarpreferences (Berger and Hradil 1990; Konietzka 1997; Reusswig 1994). There is nocommon definition of lifestyles in the scientific literature (Enneking and Franz 2005;Lange 2005). Reusswig (1994) defines lifestyles as relatively stable socio-culturalbehavioural practices which—to a certain extent—can be chosen individually, in contrastto socio-economic resources which depend to a greater extent on familial background andcultural traditions. Based on a comparison of the dimensions commonly used for thedescription of lifestyles, he identifies three main categories: social position (education,income, and profession), mentality (values, attitudes, goals), and performance (consump-tion habits, equipment, every day practices) (Reusswig 2002).
Consumption Styles and Consumer Segmentation
Besides its analytical function in sociology, lifestyle research has frequently been usedas a basis for developing differentiated marketing strategies for specific consumersegments. In saturated markets, consumer segmentation is one of the main marketingtools enabling supply of similarly functional products with “extra” benefits andsymbolic values directed at certain consumer segments (Kotler 1992; Kotler and
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Armstrong 2004; McCarthy 1960; Richers and Lima 1991). As of yet, however, nocommon variable set or methodology has emerged that has gained a broad consensus inmarket research or sociology (Reusswig 2005).
Four examples of tools which have been widely used in Europe and/or the USA are theSINUS milieus (Sinus Lebensweltforschung 1992; SINUS 2009), the Value and Lifestyle(VALS) typology (Mitchell 1983; SBI 2009), the List of Values (LOV) (Kahle 1983; Kahleand Chiagouris 1997), and the Roper Consumer Styles (GfK 2007). VALS segmentationuses resources (material and psychological) and primary motivation (ideals, achievementand self-expression) as the main categories for its segmentation, without taking behaviouralpatterns into account. The LOV also concentrates on values like self-respect, security, self-fulfillment, and sense of belonging but has proven to achieve higher predictive values incomparison with VALS segmentation when it comes to consumer behaviour (Kahle et al.1986). Differentiation in SINUS milieus is based on variables concerning social position,mentality, and performance. The Roper Consumer Styles also covers actual behaviour suchas purchasing decisions, food, and media consumption as well as leisure activities and ismainly designed for marketing purposes.
While other lifestyle segmentations concentrate only on one country (e.g., Schulze 1992;Spellerberg 1996), the above-named approaches have been applied in industrialized aswell as emerging countries. Besides typologies that define general types which can thenbe specified for certain fields of consumption, there are also segmentationsconcentrating only on one field of consumption, like the internationally applied Food-Related Lifestyles (Grunert et al. 1997, 2001) or the Mobility Styles (Götz 2007; Götz etal. 2003).
Consumption Research and Consumer Segmentation in Brazil
As mentioned above, there is a growing interest in consumers of emerging countries notonly caused by concerns about the ecological impact of increasing consumption but alsobecause of marketing considerations. In the case of Brazil, this interest is mainly based onthe fact that lower–middle classes—through market processes and social policies—arebeing more and more included in the market, resulting in an enormous potential forconsumption (Sawyer 2002). Two important socio-demographic changes in Braziliansociety can be related to this development: A growing number of economically active“middle- and high-aged” consumers (Berquó 2001) and a decrease in the averagehousehold size, from 5.0 to 3.8. between 1960 and 2000 (Gois 2002), either due to adecline in fertility and mortality and/or a higher rate of single parents and the tendency ofthe elderly to live separate from their children.
Despite these trends, research on consumer segmentation is still very rare in Brazil. Noscientific survey could be found that representatively describes lifestyle or consumersegments for the whole Brazilian population. Moreover, Veiga Neto (2005) states that thefew existing surveys aiming at segmentation focus on socioeconomic aspects which—in hisopinion—do not sufficiently differentiate Brazilian consumers. Other surveys are restrictedto specific product categories. The VALS typology, for example, has been used for studieson internet use and the preference for private-label products (Lopes et al. 2008; Veiga Neto2005).
Other research focuses on specific consumer groups and some relevant orientations.Concerning preferences in low-income groups, a survey in Southern Brazil reports thatthe most important goods were the house itself, furniture, electric household equipment,and other electronic equipment. This survey clearly shows the symbolic dimension of
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consumption. The house was considered most important and was seen as an indicatorfor not belonging to the very poor, while furniture is part of the housing equipment thatdefines the level of comfort. Newly bought furniture is a symbol of social rise or “abetter life.” Electronic equipment symbolizes prosperity and modernity, integrating itsowners into the world of consumers. Personal computers and equipment for videogames were the most desired electronics. Electronic household equipment is linked tothe symbolic space of women, with basic equipment like a refrigerator and oven beingseen as indispensable and a washing machine being furthermore seen as a symbol ofsocial distinction (Castilhos 2007).
Apart from the significance of certain goods for social distinction, Mariano (2007)points out that the culture of sharing products and services is a very importantcharacteristic in low-income groups. According to this study, sharing is more than acustom; it is an attitude that is oriented towards relationships with parents and closefriends. Products are lent and borrowed among each other, not necessarily out ofsolidarity, but for reciprocity. Barros (2007) observed in her study about cleaningpersonnel that they have established a social network of family members and neighboursin which goods, presents, favours, etc., circulate, creating a universe of reciprocalobligations.
With the above-mentioned examples in mind, the present investigation can be seen as afirst step towards bridging a gap concerning culture-sensitive consumer segmentation inemerging countries, while also contributing towards an increase in knowledge aboutsustainability-relevant orientations.
Sustainable Consumption: General Tendencies and the Case of Brazil
Regarding the transformation process towards sustainable consumption, most political,and scientific publications agree that a transformation of especially housing, nutrition,and mobility patterns should be encouraged and addressed (e.g., Kaenzig and Jolliet2007; Spangenberg and Lorek 2002; Tukker 2005; WWF-UK 2006). Aspects of “greenerproduction” and “corporate social responsibility” have been gaining relevance in industryduring the last decades (Charter 2002). In many areas, such as nutrition, housing,furniture, clothing, cosmetics, and electronic household devices, it is already possible tofind product alternatives following sustainability standards (WBCSD 2008). In the energysector, supply based on renewable energy has increased substantially during the lastdecades in the industrialized countries (BMU 2009). However, at the same time, megatrends like urban sprawl, a growing need for mobility due to globalization andflexibilization, higher demands concerning living space (e.g., caused by a greaterpercentage of single households, etc.) seem to negatively compensate for the positiveeffects of consuming “sustainable” goods (Bilharz 2006; WWF-UK 2006). Oneexplanation for these trends is the “rebound effect” which is well known from studiesin industrial ecology. It means that, for example, the higher energy efficiency ofelectronic household devices has been compensated for, partially or fully, or evenovercompensated, by an increase of households possessing these goods (Holm andEnglund 2009; Jänicke et al. 1989).
Therefore, parallel to a change in infrastructure and supply, it seems to beimportant to directly address consumers with sustainability issues in order to motivatesustainable consumption choices and a less resource-intensive lifestyle. Currentresearch shows that there is no “sustainable consumer” who is taking social andecological aspects into account in all fields of consumption. Most individuals practice
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“patchwork behaviour:” considering sustainability or environmental aspects in somelife areas and neglecting them in others (Brand 2000; Reusswig 1994). There have beensome attempts to use the lifestyle approach to sort out underlying orientations and waysof living that differ in their susceptibility and behaviour concerning sustainability-relevant fields like saving energy (Prose and Wortmann 1991; Reusswig 2005), nutrition(Reusswig 2005; Stieß and Hayn 2005), mobility (Götz 2007), and ecological housing(Niedergesäß and Winkler 2000).
The survey introduced in this paper draws upon an analysis of consumption styles inthe context of sustainable development in Germany (Schultz et al. 2000). This surveyserved as a point of reference concerning the broad categories used for segmentation andcomparison between consumption related lifestyles in industrialized and emergingcountries.
Sustainable Consumption and Production in Brazil
So far, there has been little research on sustainable consumption in Brazil, and asegmentation of consumers concerning orientations and behavioural patterns which arerelevant for sustainability has not been carried out yet. Compared to the objectives ofsustainable development, in Brazil, we can find some not only promising but alsoalarming developments that correspond to some of the observations concerningindustrialized countries mentioned above. For example, energy consumption andgreenhouse gas emission per capita have risen continuously over the last two decades:still remaining, however, on a significantly lower level than in industrialized countries(IEA 2009; Schaeffer et al. 2005).
Since many of the companies that have started to launch “green” or “sustainable”products” are acting on a global level, sustainable product alternatives can also be found inBrazil. National companies are also increasingly adopting international standards, such asISO 14,000, in order to be able to compete globally (ISO Central Secretariat 2008). Anobligatory classification of electronic household appliances regarding their energyefficiency was introduced in 2002 (UNDESA 2007b). A range of organic products canbe found in almost every supermarket, and there are labels for regional products or thosewhich are produced in cooperatives. Comparable to developed countries, Brazil haswitnessed a movement in favour of healthy lifestyles, involving rejection of pesticides andgenetically modified organisms in food, greater physical exercise, and concern with fitness(Sawyer 2001).
On the other hand, there are some trends contradicting sustainable developmentrequirements. The consumption of space, for example, previously concentrated in thelargest cities, now involves extensive horizontal expansion of urban peripheries (sprawl)and the multiplication of medium and small urban centers (Ojima and Hogan 2009). Theupper and upper–middle classes are also building second homes, for weekends or vacations,along beaches and in the mountains (Sawyer 2002). In the area of energy, per capitaconsumption increased significantly during the last decades. By now Brazil is the 10thlargest energy consumer in the world and the third largest in the Western Hemisphere,behind the USA and Canada (IBGE 2006). The annual growth of the national fleet ofvehicles is 4%, more than double than the annual growth of population, with the currentlevel being 133 private cars/1,000 inhabitants (Brasil tem um carro para cada 7,5 habitantes2008), with a fast growing upwards tendency. Investments in public transportation, on theother hand, have been modest in the past decade (Toledo 2002). Regarding nutrition, theconsumption of proteins increased in the last decade, while carbohydrate consumption
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decreased. By 2008, total red meat and poultry meat consumption had risen to 89 kg perperson, 31 kg above the 1993 level (USDA 2009).
Summing up, there is still little known about consumption habits in different segments ofBrazilian society and especially about orientations in favour of sustainable consumption.The data available suggests that the low- and medium-income groups are oriented towards“Western Lifestyle” models and the example of the high-income groups. In order to developpolicies for motivating and increasing sustainable consumption on an individual level, it iscrucial to get an impression about starting points for sustainability issues within thedifferent consumption styles. There is a need for more basic research that enablesidentification of potential target groups in emerging countries. Thus, besides practical andpolicy-oriented objectives within the frame of sustainable development, the study presentedhere also has a theoretical interest in identifying consumption styles in the special case of anemerging country like Brazil.
Design of the Study
Location of the Survey
There are 3.2 million people residing in the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba, the centercontaining 1.8 million inhabitants (IBGE 2008). Curitiba is the capital of the Southern Stateof Parana. The city’s 30-year economic growth rate and the per capita income are higherthan the Brazilian average. Curitiba has a low rate of illiteracy, and its education system isconsiderably better than that of other Brazilian capitals (ibid.). Since it has grownsignificantly during the past years, there has been much building activity and urban sprawl(Ojima and Hogan 2009). The possibilities for sustainable consumption, however, aremanifold. Due to progressive urban planning, high investments have been made in publictransport, providing a relatively fast and effective public transport system. That is why theper capita use of gasoline is significantly lower than that of comparable Brazilian cities,although the per capita car ownership rate is comparably high (607 automobiles/1,000inhabitants in 2008) (Magalhaes and Duran 2009). Curitiba provides a wide range ofshopping facilities and a diversified assortment of products. Organic products can be foundin the municipal market hall as well as in all of the bigger supermarkets and a number ofspecialized stores.
The questionnaire survey was carried out in August and September 2009 by studentswho received prior training. The students were instructed to conduct the survey in theirrespective neighbourhoods and social networks, with participants differing in profes-sional background and income. The participants were approached at their homes and intheir daily life contexts. Due to the character of the survey (low-budget, carried out bystudents over a rather short period of time) validation and random selection was notpossible.
Since some layers of the low-income classes have low literacy levels, the questions wereposed orally, and answers were written down by the interviewers. Completion of thequestionnaire took approximately 30 min.
Sample
Table 1 gives an overview of the socioeconomic characteristics of the sample, whichconsisted of 296 persons.
Leapfrogging to Sustainable Consumption? 181
The low-income group (less than $900/month) and the middle income group (between$900 and $2,200/month) are of similar size, at around 40% of the interviewed, while 17%of the interviewed belong to the high income group (>$2,200). The average totalhousehold income was around $1,300, that is, an income of $420 per household memberon average.
The sample contains a broad range of income groups, people with different educationallevels and professions. Compared with the composition of the population of Curitiba, thesample contained more women and a higher percentage of students. The results obtainedcan therefore only give a first impression about consumption habits in Curitiba and therelation between existing consumption types.
Questionnaire
Our questionnaire was intended to obtain a first impression about consumptionorientations and behaviour of the urban population in an emerging country. The aimwas not only to connect the survey to existing surveys and typologies but also toexplore the specific situation in a new case. Therefore, the questionnaire was developedon the basis of respective literature in the field of sustainable consumption studies andconsumer segmentation, complemented by further aspects. The following consumption-relevant orientations, behaviours, and characteristics were retrieved from the literature:convenience, status, quality, technical, leisure, health, ecological, and social orientation,socio-economic data, household equipment, current consumption habits as well asattitudes concerning current consumption and future consumption aspirations (mainsources: Reusswig 2002; Schultz et al. 2000; SINUS 2009). In order to consider country-and culture-specific aspects, five interviews with experts in the fields of sustainableconsumption and design in Brazil were conducted and further categories were inferredfrom those dialogs, such as attitudes towards sharing (of products and devices), do-it-yourself, upgradeable and reparable products, and second-hand usage, as well as socialaspects like mutual aid.
Table 1 Sociodemographic characteristics of the sample
Sex Female=60% Male=40% Education
Children With children=41% Without=49% Basic education (incomplete/complete) 19%
Household size Medium education 28%
Single households 12% Incomplete superior education 27%
2-person households 19% Superior education 17%
3-person households 30% Post-graduation 8%
>3-person households 29%
Household income/month Profession
<$550 18% Basic competences (e.g. cleaner, doorman): 21%
$550–$900 23% Technical competences (e.g. nurse, mechanic) 25%
$900–$2,200 39% Advanced competences (e.g. banker, engineer) 17%
$2,200–$3,300 8% Freelancers (architect, artist, journalist) 10%
>$3,300 9% Entrepreneurs 5%
No profession (housewife, student) 20%
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For the measurement of attitudes, a five-point Likert scale—from “agree completely” to“disagree completely”—was used. The frequency of behavioural patterns was measuredusing a five-point scale ranging from “every day” through “several times...a week/a month/a year” to “never.” Adjustments regarding comprehensibility and adequacy of items weremade on the basis of a pretest with 10 interviews.
Data Treatment
The questionnaire consisted of 70 items which were related to the household equipment,frequency of consumption activities, related attitudes and preferences as well as aspirationsconcerning future consumption. In order to be able to do a cluster analysis to group therespondents into different consumer types, steps had to be taken to reduce the number ofvariables.
First, a preliminary descriptive and explorative data screening was conducted in whichitems were excluded from further analysis if at least one of two criteria applied: (1) a highnumber of missing responses or (2) low discriminatory power (i.e., almost everybodyagreed or disagreed with the item). Second, in order to condense the data, exploratory factoranalyses (EFA; principal component analysis with Varimax rotation, using standard KaiserCriterion) were conducted with the remaining items.
Because of the substantive differences between attitudes and behaviour items andbecause an EFA showed that there are no substantial cross loadings between attitudinal andbehavioural factors, these items were analyzed separately in two EFAs.
The analysis of items related to consumption behaviour revealed three factors (seeTable 2 below) that were named as follows:
1. Environmental and health behaviour2. Leisure activities3. Purchase of media:
Table 2 Rotated component matrix for the principal component analysis (Varimax rotation and standardKaiser criterion) of items concerning the frequency of behaviour
Components Cronbach’s alpha for the factor
1 2 3
1 Frequency eating wholegrain products 0.782
Frequency eating fruit + vegetables 0.720
Frequency buying organic products 0.374 0.587
Frequency buying ecological goods 0.540 0.64
2 Frequency going to cinema 0.792
Frequency eating outside 0.683
Frequency going to theater/show 0.683
Frequency ordering food 0.673 0.76
Frequency buying books 0.500 0.419
3 Frequency buying CD 0.775
Frequency buying computer game 0.767
Frequency borrowing/buying DVD 0.368 0.628 0.6
Leapfrogging to Sustainable Consumption? 183
Table 3 Rotated component matrices for the principal component analysis (Varimax rotation and standardKaiser criteria) of items concerning attitudes and preferences
Components Cronbach’sAlpha
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 Preference good quality clothes 0.701
Desire good quality clothes 0.698
Pay more for healthy food 0.591
Readiness to pay more forquality
0.564
No preference for cheapfurniture
0.561 0.320 0.71
2 No possibility for savings 0.812
Shortness of money byunforeseen expenditures
0.772
Shortness of money for food 0.305 0.528 0.67
3 Looking for energy efficiency 0.757
Turn off light when leaving 0.666
Preference refill products 0.567
Preference of bike over car 0.538 0.316 0.65
4 Desire supporting others 0.790
Preference joint use of products 0.748
Readiness for joint use ofproducts
0.701 0.69
5 No time because of work 0.684
Lack of time for cooking 0.683
Difficulty balancing familyand work
0.568
Lack of time for information 0.500 0.395 0.60
6 Preference going out for dinner 0.776
No preference of homemadefood
0.671
Desire eating outside 0.657 0.57
7 Interest in technology 0.790
Importance informationon electronics
0.745
Desire mobile and computer 0.515
8 Importance toys and clothesfor acceptance at school
0.765
Importance brand clothes 0.370 0.668
Preference of unique/customized products
0.425 0.509 0.55
Loadings under 0.3 were suppressed since they can be assessed as not reflecting the factor. Explainedvariance=56%; KMO test=0.694
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Cronbach’s alpha for all three factors was calculated taking items that load more on thisfactor than on any other factor. It was above 0.6 in each case, which was assessed as acceptable.
The factor analysis of attitudinal items revealed eight factors (compare Table 3)
1. Quality orientation2. Financial resources3. Energy awareness4. Sharing orientation5. Time resources1
6. Eating-out orientation7. Technology orientation8. Status orientation
Except for the factor “time resources” (see footnote 1), Cronbach’s alpha again wascalculated with items loading most on one factor. It ranged between 0.55 and 0.71 for thedifferent factors which has been assessed as just acceptable.
The WARD method was chosen for the cluster analysis because of its efficiency inbuilding same-sized clusters with high internal homogeneity of clusters (Backhaus et al.2008). The agglomeration schedule showed a “jump” in the coefficients between a four-and five-cluster solution. A five-cluster solution was seen as most appropriate, because: (1)the sample size of the clusters was more equal in a five-cluster solution and (2) the profileof the clusters on the different factors was more discriminative.
When comparing the means of the 11 factors in each cluster, we found that the means oftwo of the behavioural factors (leisure activities, purchase of media) did not vary as muchas the other factors between the clusters, neither in the five- nor the four-cluster solution.Further, an ANOVA revealed that the means differ significantly between clusters for allfactors except the two mentioned behavioural factors.2
Therefore, a second cluster analysis was carried out without these two factors. Again, afive-cluster solution was assessed as best fitting. The clusters were then described andprofiled with regard to other items from the questionnaire and socio-demographiccharacteristics to achieve a richer description of the clusters.
Before introducing the identified clusters, the following section first describes somecharacteristics of the sample with regard to general aspects of household equipment andconsumption.
Empirical Results
First we provide an overview of the distribution of household equipment in the sample aswell as current consumption habits and orientations which are relevant for sustainableconsumption. Afterwards, the identified consumption styles will be introduced.
1 The item “lack of time for information about ecological products” has a comparably low loading on thisfactor. But it was assessed as relevant to the factor as regards content. An additional EFAwith only these fouritems revealed only one factor with all items loading above .58. A comparison of the Cronbach’s alphavalues revealed that it is lower when this item is not included: .57 compared to .6. Thus, it was seen asjustified to include this item in the factor.2 Due to length concerns, the detailed results of the ANOVAs and the cluster analyses are not reported. Theycan be acquired from the authors on request.
Leapfrogging to Sustainable Consumption? 185
Distribution of Household Equipment
The questionnaire asked about the household equipment regarding electronic devices forhousehold, communication, and entertainment purposes. The results were correlated withhousehold income. This was done to get an impression whether the households differ intheir equipment according to socioeconomic variables. Further, it gives a first impressionabout the energy consumption in households.
The majority of households in the sample turned out to be very well equipped: Besidesbasic household devices like oven, refrigerator, and washing machine, over 85% of thehouseholds possessed radio, television, DVD and CD player, and mobile phones. Also low-income households (<900 $/month) showed this equipment level with, for example, only13% having no washing-machine and only 10% having no mobile phone. Owned by 60–85% of the sample are more “advanced” household devices like a microwave and ahairdryer as well as a personal computer. High energy consumers such as a freezer, airconditioner, and heater are found in less than 60% of the sample.
The main difference between the income groups is whether they possess new or second-hand equipment. The low-income groups significantly more often use second-handappliances; for example, around one third uses a second-hand oven or refrigerator, onefourth a second-hand washing machine or TV. Furthermore, low-income groupssignificantly more often share products than medium- or high-income groups: 30% in thelow-income segment compared to 23% in the middle-income and 4% in the high-incomesegments. The household appliance which is shared most is the washing machine.
Furthermore, differences in access to the Internet can be observed: Half of the low-income group has no access to the Internet, a significantly higher percentage than in themedium- and high-income groups. It is also the group with the lowest percentage (onethird) having broadband connection.
Summing up, there is already a rather broad range of “standard” household andelectronic devices in Southern Brazilian households independent of socioeconomic status.
Sustainability-Relevant Consumption Habits and Orientations
Before presenting a rather aggregated picture of sustainability-relevant consumptionorientations within the framework of consumption related lifestyle clusters, some of themost interesting results concerning single questionnaire items will be presented in advancein order to better characterize the total sample in terms of nutritional habits andenvironmental attitudes.
As mentioned above, sustainable nutrition is one of the most important topics in the fieldof sustainable consumption (Tukker 2005). Different authors agree that two maincharacteristics of sustainable and healthy eating habits are low meat consumption and highpercentage of organic products (Carlsson-Kanyama 1998; Carlsson-Kanyama et al. 2003;Pretty et al. 2005).
The empirical results from Curitiba show that the consumption of organic products isalready rather widespread: only 40% state that they never buy this type of product. Thehigh rate of meat consumption (98% indicate that they eat meat every day or several times aweek), however, cannot be seen as evidence for a healthy and sustainable diet. There is alsoa tendency towards convenience products and food-related services, although the majority(68%) agrees with the statement that they prefer homemade food.
To investigate environmentally-relevant attitudes and behaviour, a variety of commonlyused items was chosen that had also been indicated as being important in the Brazilian
186 M. Schäfer et al.
context by the interviewed experts. The highest amounts of agreement can be found in low-cost environmental behaviour like turning off lights, washing dishes without running waterand preferring refill products (complete or partial agreement to these items of more than60% of the interviewed). But also activities with higher behavioural, cognitive, or financialcosts, such as looking for energy-efficient household devices or choosing ecologicalproducts, were agreed to by a relatively high number of the interviewed (more than half ofthe participants agreed totally or partly). Seemingly contradictory to these observations,however, the results concerning daily mobility show a strong tendency towards preferring aprivate car, even though other mobility options are available: 84% of the interviewed agreetotally or partly with the item about purchasing a car if they could afford it and only 28%prefer to go by bike. The responses to several items indicate that there is a widespreaddesire to do more traveling in the future. Also, all items concerning aspirations for a biggerhouse or flat or a refurbishment of existing living space were agreed with by a majority ofthose interviewed.
Consumption Styles
Based on a cluster analysis with nine factors, five consumption styles with differentorientations and habits were identified. Figure 1 gives an overview of the five consumergroups and how they are characterized by the factors. Table 4 contains some socioeconomiccharacteristics and other items that correlate significantly to each cluster.
Fig. 1 The five consumption styles (in order to make differences more visible, values have been upscaled toa range of 0–100)
Leapfrogging to Sustainable Consumption? 187
Tab
le4
Characteristicsof
consum
ptionstyles
inCuritiba
Soci
o-ec
onom
ic c
hara
cter
isti
csH
ouse
hold
Equ
ipm
ent
Add
itio
nal c
hara
cter
isti
cs
The
Hom
e-C
ente
red
Tra
diti
onal
s
(28
perc
ent o
f th
e sa
mpl
e)
•H
ighe
st p
erce
ntag
e of
wom
en (
77 %
)•
Hig
h pe
rcen
tage
of
mid
dle-
aged
per
sons
•
Hig
h pe
rcen
tage
of
coup
les
and
fam
ilies
•
Mix
ed in
com
e, e
duca
tiona
l lev
els
and
prof
essi
ons
•H
igh
perc
enta
ge o
f pe
rson
s w
ithou
t wor
k
•L
ive
in r
athe
r bi
g ap
artm
ents
/hou
ses
•H
ighe
st p
erce
ntag
e of
peo
ple
who
don
`t
have
a p
erso
nal c
ompu
ter,
mob
ile p
hone
or
acc
ess
to in
tern
et
•A
rel
ativ
ely
high
per
cent
age
is e
ngag
ed in
a
soci
al o
rgan
isat
ion
(43
%)
•Pr
efer
ence
for
a g
arde
n an
d fo
r bu
ying
pr
oduc
ts f
rom
coo
pera
tives
The
Wan
na-b
e-M
ater
ialis
ts
(22
perc
ent o
f th
e sa
mpl
e)
•53
% o
f pe
rson
s yo
unge
r th
an 3
0•
Hal
fea
rnle
ss th
an $
900/
mon
th•
20 %
with
inco
mpl
ete
basi
c ed
ucat
ion
•57
% w
ith b
asic
or
tech
nica
l pro
fess
ions
•H
ighe
st p
erce
ntag
e of
sep
arat
ed (
16 %
)
•45
%liv
e in
sm
all a
part
men
ts/h
ouse
s•
13 %
hav
e no
was
hing
mac
hine
and
30 %
hav
e a
seco
nd-h
and
one
•A
re n
ot c
onte
nt w
ith th
eir
old
elec
tron
ics
•A
gree
sig
nifi
cant
ly m
ore
abou
tdes
irin
ga
bigg
er h
ouse
•30
% a
re s
ocia
lly e
ngag
ed, l
ittle
inte
rest
in
polit
ics
The
Ind
iffe
rent
(21
perc
ent o
f th
e sa
mpl
e)
•53
% m
en (
high
er t
han
aver
age)
•
Hal
f w
ithou
t chi
ldre
n, 1
7 pe
rcen
t liv
e al
one
•H
ighe
st a
vera
ge o
f nu
mbe
r of
chi
ldre
n •
Mos
tly lo
w a
nd m
ediu
m in
com
es, l
owes
t ave
rage
in
com
e•
Mix
ed e
duca
tion,
hig
hest
per
cent
age
of b
asic
and
med
ium
pro
fess
ions
(65
%)
•G
roup
with
hig
hest
per
cent
age
of
peop
le w
ith a
sec
ond-
hand
mob
ile (
18 %
)
and
an a
nalo
gue
inte
rnet
con
nect
ion
(1
6 %
)
•L
owes
t per
cent
age
of p
eopl
e w
ho a
re s
ocia
lly
enga
ged
(21
%),
littl
e de
sire
to p
artic
ipat
e in
a
grou
pin
the
futu
re•
Agr
ee le
ss a
bout
inve
stin
gin
chi
ldre
n’s
educ
atio
n, lo
w in
tere
st in
pol
itics
•L
ittle
inte
rest
in g
arde
n, tr
avel
ling,
regi
onal
an
d up
grad
able
pro
duct
s
The
Up-
to-d
ate
Pri
vile
ged
(20
perc
ent o
f th
e sa
mpl
e)
•51
% a
re m
en (
high
er th
an a
vera
ge)
•M
ore
than
half
are
you
nger
than
30
year
s•
Hig
hest
ave
rage
inco
me:
18 %
of
pers
ons
with
hig
h in
com
e >
$34
00/m
onth
•V
ery
high
per
cent
age
of p
erso
ns w
ith s
uper
ior
educ
atio
n(2
9 %
), o
ne th
ird
still
at u
nive
rsity
•19
% o
f si
ngle
hou
seho
lds,
75
% n
o ch
ildre
n
•B
ig a
part
men
ts,h
ighe
st a
rea/
per
son
•81
% h
ave
a ne
w c
ompu
ter
and
90 %
a
new
mob
ile
•74
% h
ave
broa
d ba
nd in
tern
et,
one
thir
d ha
s a
vide
o re
cord
er
•L
ike
to g
o ou
t with
fri
ends
•D
o sp
orts
for
thei
r he
alth
•In
form
them
selv
es s
igni
fica
ntly
mor
e vi
a In
tern
et•
One
thir
d is
soci
ally
eng
aged
•A
gree
littl
e to
hel
ping
oth
ers
in h
ouse
re
furb
ishm
ent
The
Qua
lity
of L
ife-
orie
nted
Pos
tmat
eria
lists
(9 p
erce
nt o
f th
e sa
mpl
e)
•D
ivid
ed in
toa
grou
p of
peo
ple
olde
r th
an 5
0 (3
3 %
) an
d in
a g
roup
you
nger
than
thir
ty (
30 %
)•
Tec
hnic
al a
nd s
uper
ior
form
atio
n•
Mos
tly lo
w a
nd m
ediu
m in
com
e, 3
7 %
stil
l in
educ
atio
n•
Hig
h nu
mbe
r of
chi
ldre
n in
the
hous
ehol
d•
Mor
e th
an 4
0 pe
rcen
t liv
e in
hou
seho
lds
with
5 o
r 6
pers
ons
•R
elat
ivel
y lit
tle s
pace
/ per
son
•27
% w
ith s
econ
d-ha
nd c
ompu
ter
and
high
per
cent
age
ofse
cond
-han
d w
ashi
ng m
achi
ne
•39
% w
ithou
t int
erne
t
•Pr
efer
do-
it-yo
urse
lf p
rodu
cts
and
help
ing
othe
rs in
ref
urbi
shm
ent o
f th
eir
hous
es•
48 %
are
enga
ged
in a
gro
up, p
oliti
cal i
nter
est
•Pr
efer
reg
iona
l and
upg
rada
ble
prod
ucts
•D
on’t
min
d se
cond
-han
d fu
rnitu
re a
nd s
hari
ng
prod
ucts
•D
esir
e a
bigg
er h
ouse
, pre
fer
a ga
rden
•
Lik
e to
go
out a
nd tr
avel
188 M. Schäfer et al.
As Table 4 shows, three groups of comparable size (approximately on the fifth of thesample each) were identified: the Indifferent, the Wanna-be Materialists, and the Up-to-datePrivileged. Two other groups are comparably large (the Home-Centered Traditionals) orsmall (the Quality of Life-Oriented Postmaterialists).
The largest as well as the smallest clusters most clearly show sustainability-related habitsand orientations. The Home-Centered Traditionals, dominated by women, are sociallyengaged and interested in house- and garden-related issues as well as in energy-saving andhealth issues. In this group there is little interest in technology or status products.
The relatively small group ofQuality of Life-Oriented Postmaterialists is the only one thatclearly considers health and environmental aspects regarding nutrition and is also interested inenergy saving. This group also exhibits many facets of a social orientation: expressed bybeing active in social groups, helping others, and sharing products. They are open towardsdo-it-yourself, second-hand, upgradable, and regional products—characteristics that areimportant for sustainable product design. In contrast to the group of Home-CenteredTraditionals, a segment of the Postmaterialists is also interested in new technologies andgoing out with friends. At first glance, these results appear contradictory, since this is also thegroup with the highest percentage of people without an internet connection. The contradictioncan be clarified by looking at the contrasting socio-demographic characteristics: part of thegroup is represented by students, who are still in the process of formation, while another partis made up of the over 50s. These data also explain why this group is partly affected by low-income (but is nevertheless sustainability oriented) and low-time resources.
The most different from the group of Quality of Life-Oriented Postmaterialists is thegroup called the Indifferent. This group does not indicate any clear preferences regardingconsumption habits or attitudes and is mostly characterized by not being interested inpolitics and social engagement, energy and quality issues, the education of their children,etc. The group consists of a comparatively higher percentage of men, contains householdswith low and medium incomes as well as those with an education, and is dominated bybasic and technical professions. The group of the Wanna-be Materialists partly exhibitssimilar characteristics to the Indifferent concerning income, education, and profession, butshows a stronger orientation towards consumption and status products. It contains a ratherhigh percentage of young people and is more clearly characterized by low financial andtime resources. Interest in social engagement and politics is also rather low.
Regarding income, education, and professions, the Up-to-date Privileged group is verydifferent in comparison to the previous two groups, exhibiting all characteristics of a groupwith high resources. This group is characterized by a comparatively high percentage of menand a high percentage of singles or households without children. Concerning consumptionhabits, the group is very interested in the newest technology trends, be it computers ormobiles. Being up-to-date also entails sports activities and going out with friends. Thegroup shows little social orientation, e.g., being engaged in organizations or helping friends,and no clear interest in ecological issues.
The next section discusses preliminary ideas concerning how these different consump-tion styles can be addressed via strategies of product and communication design.
Target-Group-Specific Sustainable Consumption Strategies
The empirical data and the characterization of different consumption styles can be used bydifferent actors—such as designers, entrepreneurs, providers of municipal public services,marketing specialists, as well as activists in NGOs—to more profoundly discuss strategies for a
Leapfrogging to Sustainable Consumption? 189
target-group-specific design of products and services as well as adequate marketing orcommunication strategies. In this section, we outline some preliminary ideas concerning thesepossibilities. To get a clearer idea of the specific preferences of these segments, it would benecessary to carry out additional research including focus groups or qualitative interviews.
The consumption styles described differ in terms of possible starting points forsustainable consumption strategies. The Quality of Life-Oriented Postmaterialists are veryopen to sustainability, social, and ecological issues. In contrast to the other groups, they areinterested in considering background information and the political implications ofsustainable consumption. Members of this group can play an important role as multipliersfor sustainable consumption issues and as vanguard actors for innovative products andservices. However, it needs to be kept in mind that they do not necessarily have highincomes and often have very limited time resources. This group should be very open to abroader supply service with second-hand, upgradable, and do-it-yourself products as well asneighbourhood- or community-organized options for sharing products. Offerings ofecologically produced and healthy food outside the home (e.g., in a university canteen),improvements in public transport, as well as a better infrastructure for cyclists should bevery attractive for this group. Sustainable consumption can be presented as a progressivelifestyle which is closely linked to a high quality of life.
The Home-Centered Traditionals can be encouragingly addressed with social issues andtopics concerning their homes and gardens. Since they are open to sharing products, evengroups with higher incomes could become interested in a high quality service for thecollective use of certain machines and equipment: for example, for refurbishment of thehouse or garden care. They are also open to nutritional and energy-saving issues andproducts with additional value along these lines. Communications addressing this type ofconsumer should rather stress the personal benefit of sustainable consumption patterns andframe ecological and social arguments as an additional benefit. Energy saving, for example,can be linked to the issue of saving money in the household. Organic or regional productsshould be promoted by stressing their health aspects, and the consideration of ecologicalaspects in the refurbishment or decoration of the home could be motivated by using qualityand health arguments.
For a broader diffusion of sustainable consumption patterns, however, it is veryimportant to address the Up-to-date Privileged group. This group represents the (future)Brazilian elite, with high human and financial resources and holding influential positions.Members can be best addressed through innovative technological products which conveythe status of being up-to-date and, at the same time, integrate sustainable designcharacteristics as part of their high quality. Examples are ecologically optimized personalcomputers, mobiles, TVs and other electronics, as well as low- or zero-emission cars. Theycould also be susceptible to innovative housing concepts, such as low-energy houses orsolar panels to produce renewable energy. To be accepted in this group, sustainableproducts of this type need to be presented as being the most modern option, avoiding moralappeals. Issues such as buying organic products or cycling to work could be linked to thedesire to maintain individual fitness and health. In the long run, however, it will beimportant to raise this group’s awareness concerning the sustainability challenges of thecoming decades and to stress its responsibility in this process.
The Wanna-be-Materialists and the Indifferent can hardly be addressed with sustain-ability issues in a direct way. Both groups have rather low human and financial resources; atthe moment, their consumption levels are comparatively low. Primarily, the Wanna-be-Materialists exhibit a clear aspiration to obtain better access to consumption goods. Bothgroups could be tempted with products or services which allow a higher standard of living
190 M. Schäfer et al.
with relatively low financial resources. One option would be a better supply of second-handproducts linked to a repair and upgrading service. In this way, these groups can get accessto modern electronics and electronic household appliances they cannot otherwise afford.However, the Indifferent group is not open to sharing products. The two groups are stronglyoriented towards the lifestyles of the high-income class and will adapt sustainableconsumption patterns if they are visible and communicated as being attractive by the massmedia. As a short-term strategy, the Indifferent and the Wanna-be-Materialists are the oneswho could unintentionally contribute to sustainable consumption if more enterprises offereveryday products (cleaning devices, food, clothes, furniture, etc.), with sustainable productqualities.
Table 5 summarizes the strategies which could be used to address these differentconsumption styles.
This overview makes clear that very different actors need to take up elements of providingsustainable products and services as well as adequate information if a clear shift towardssustainable consumption is aimed at. Taken together, enterprises, city administration, publictransport associations, and housing services are able to contribute towards providing sustainableoptions just as well as the mass media and facilities of further education.
Table 5 Sustainability strategies for different consumption styles
Relevant orientations Information Interest
Products Services
The Home- Centred Traditionals
• Sharing orientation • Saving orientation • Energy awareness
• Social impli-cations of pro-duction
• Energy effi-ciency
• Eco-Gardening • Do-it-yourself • Electronic house-
hold devices • Ecological
Housing • Regional
products
• High quality service for sharing facilities
The Indifferent • Low financial resources
• Cost-efficient public transport
The Wanna-be-Materialists
• Status orientation • Low financial and
time resources
• Electronic devices
• Clothes
• High-quality service for sharing facilities
• Cost-efficient public transport
The Up-to-Date-Privileged
• Technology orientation
• Status orientation • Fitness orientation
• Sustainable innovative and high-quality products
• (Energy efficiency)
• Innovative elec-tronic devices and products
• Lifestyle products • Sustainable / eco-
efficient house investments
• Upgradable high-quality products
• Repair service for high-quality products
The Quality of Life-oriented Postmaterialists
• Environmental and health behaviour
• Energy awareness • Sharing orientation • Quality orientation • Technology
orientation • Low financial and
time resources
• Background information
• Political information
• Social and ecological implications of production
• Trendy Bikes • Second-hand
products • Regional
products • Organic products • Lifestyle products • Ecological
Housing
• Infrastructure facilitating going by bike
• Healthy and organic food in restaurants and canteens
• Neighbourhood/ community ser-vice for sharing products
Leapfrogging to Sustainable Consumption? 191
Discussion and Conclusions
The results of the survey will first be reflected upon with regard to methodologicalimplications for further research in this field and then concentrate on actions to be takentowards implementing strategies of sustainable consumption in Brazil.
Methodological Implications for Research on Consumption Styles
The survey identified consumption styles specific to an urban context in Southern Brazilthat cannot be explained merely by differences in social stratification, such as levels ofincome, education, and profession or variables like age and sex. It was revealed that, forexample, more traditional home-centered people as well as persons with a technologyorientation can be found in all income, educational, and age groups. Sustainabilityorientations are more often expressed in groups with a higher education, but are not linkedto a certain income or age group. It could be confirmed that lifestyle and consumptionresearch, that differentiates groups according to their behavioural patterns as well as values,attitudes and personal aspirations, is also relevant for emerging countries. In fact, theidentified consumption styles exhibit similarities to those of industrialized countries.Compared with target groups identified by Schultz et al. (2000) in Germany, groups like thePrivileged, Traditionals and People who can’t cope could also be found in our case, even ifsome aspects might differ. Other groups, like the Fully organized eco-families and theEveryday life creatives, being subgroups of the ‘Environmentally oriented’ in the Germansample, could not be found in the present study. Another similarity to surveys inindustrialized countries is that only a rather small segment of people has explicitenvironmental and social orientations, comprising for example between 7 and 11% of“Postmaterialists” in the population during the last decade in European countries (SINUS2009). But it should be noted that Southern Brazil is considered to be the country’s mostprosperous and “advanced” region in the sense that infrastructure and lifestyles are verysimilar to European or US standards. It can be expected that in a similar analysis with arepresentative sample of the entire Brazilian population, the percentages of the clusterswould be quite different and a further differentiation would be necessary. Especially clusterswith rural backgrounds have not been part of the current analysis, which focused on anurban environment. To be able to draw further conclusions concerning sustainabilitystrategies on a national level, this type of research needs to be repeated in other regions.Prior to that, however, it is important to further develop the questionnaire and the identifiedfactors in a continuing exploratory and validation phase.
Strategies for Sustainable Consumption in Brazil
As our study has demonstrated, the current household equipment and consumption habits inan urban area in Southern Brazil show similarities with the “Western Lifestyle” model,which includes comfortable housing, a high supply of electronics and household devices, aswell as being personally mobile, with a private car and traveling as a part of modern leisureactivities. Due to financial restrictions, there is a larger part of the population which—thusfar—has not been able to realize these aspirations to their full extent. Despite a small groupwith a tendency towards postmaterial values, the existing orientations and future aspirationsof the majority of the low- and medium-income groups give no hint that “leapfrogging” tosustainable consumption is a very likely option. In the different consumption styles thereare health-, quality-, saving-, sharing-, ecological- and social-orientations that sustainability
192 M. Schäfer et al.
strategies and sustainability marketing can link to (as described for example by Belz andPeattie 2009), but these orientations are not likely to compensate for general tendenciestowards a resource-intensive lifestyle. Especially in the fields of housing and mobility, thecurrent trends do not seem to be in accord with the vision of sustainable development.Therefore, a shift in city planning (e.g., preference for public transport and nearby supplyfacilities) and a radical adjustment of modern architecture and construction (e.g., zero-energy houses, reusable construction materials) are urgently needed.
In contrast to housing and mobility, eating habits are much more influenced by culturalpreferences and socialization. The observed tendencies towards a growing healthorientation in some of the consumption styles are promising for changes of nutritionalpatterns if actors such as public canteens in kindergarten, schools, universities, andenterprises take up these notions accompanied by intensified information campaigns byphysicians, schools, and the mass media.
Besides adopting general framework conditions to facilitate sustainable consumptionin the society as a whole, the survey suggests that it makes sense to address differentsegments of the population with differentiated products, services, and communicationmeasures. Considering the urgency for transformation, strategies of targeting differentsegments could be combined. Considering their function as role models, a priorityshould be set in motivating a change of consumption styles of the elites. While thesmall segment of Postmaterialists can serve as a vanguard, the Up-to-date-Privilegedhave to be motivated by creating an image of sustainable products and services asbeing something “special for special people” closely linked to high quality and status.This strategy could be applied to promote eco-efficient housing and cars as well assustainable investment facilities and high quality eco-tourism. On the other hand, itseems very important to invest in the development of sustainable products and servicesfor those segments which do not show any interest in sustainability yet (the Indifferentand Wanna-be-Materialists). If ecological and social considerations are integrated intothe standards of affordable every day products like clothes, cleaning devices, furniture,household, and electronic devices, it is guaranteed that a considerable part of thepopulation benefits from this strategy.
The points raised make clear that—parallel to developments in the highly industrializedcountries—in emerging countries a more radical shift towards sustainable consumptionpatterns seems possible only if framework conditions (e.g., prices, incentives), infrastruc-ture (public transport, city planning), product supply, and educational strategies are veryconsistently directed towards this target in an integrated effort by government, industry,municipalities, and educational bodies. The necessity for coordinated strategies of actors in“the triangle of change”—policy makers, businesses, and consumers—is also emphasizedby the Sustainable Consumption Research Exchange Network (SCORE) (Sustainableconsumption and production: Framework for action 2008). First steps towards thedevelopment of integrated policies for sustainable consumption are visible in the attemptsof some city councils, like Curitiba, which have begun discussions about “Sustainableurban development” with a broad alliance of actors, including businesses, universities, andNGOs.
The greatest challenge—in Brazil as well as in the highly industrialized countries—is todesign an attractive vision of sustainable lifestyles able to confront the ideal of a resource-intensive lifestyle, which has been –and unfortunately is still being—conveyed by the massmedia and advertisement. The lifestyle of the leading elites in emerging as well asindustrialized countries will play a crucial role in determining whether a sustainable visionhas a chance to spread.
Leapfrogging to Sustainable Consumption? 193
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