This study investigates the relationship between consumers' sustainable consumption behaviour and both gender and generation-related individual differences in a sample of Turkish consumers. A total of 393 participants from different generations and gender took part in the study. To measure sustainable consumption behaviour, we used four-dimensional sustainable consumption behaviour scale. The results showed that generation is associated with unneeded consumption as a dimension of sustainable consumption behaviour. Consumers who are Baby Boomers found to have the highest level of unneeded consumption behaviour while Gen-Zers have fewest. Additionally, data supported the association between gender and sustainable consumption behaviour. Women showed a higher level of sustainable consumption behaviour both in overall behaviour and tendency to reuse products. Taken together, the findings suggest that gender and generation of consumers can differentiate sustainable consumption behaviour. The implications of these findings, as well as the limitations and future directions, are also discussed.
K E Y W O R D Ssustainable consumption behaviour, gender, baby boomers, gen X, gen Y, gen Z
The scarcity of natural resources together with the exponentially increasing world population has made the sustainable consumption of food (SCF) a crucial issue, as it has impacts on a variety of environmental, health, economic, and social dimensions. Considering the rarity of a holistic view in previous studies, this study aims to assess the current situation in sustainable food consumption and develop suggestions from all aspects, depending on the opinions of experts. In this direction, semi-structured interviews are conducted with 25 experts from Turkey to frame the concept of SCF, reveal the level of consumers’ awareness, and provide suggestions to support SCF implications. Experts have considered SCF from ecologic, social, economic, and health perspectives; ecologic aspects being the most important, followed by economic and social perspectives. Deficits on the consumer side are lack of awareness, unplanned shopping, and mistakes in post-consumption behavior. Lack of awareness about the consequences of meat production, difficulties in changing lifestyles and lack of motivation of adults were identified barriers to SCF. Finally, suggestions of the experts for achieving sustainability are mostly relevant to raising awareness on balanced nutrition and food waste, with the help of training programs and the efficient use of communication channels, such as social media.
Consumers are responsible for almost 50 percent of food waste. Consumer-focused interventions are crucial to achieve many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 12.3. There are many factors that cause food waste, and these can be prevented by changing the consumption behavior of adults. Mobile apps are seen as promising tools to change consumer behavior for ensuring more sustainable food consumption. This study describes the development process and examines the perceived quality of MySusCof, an app intended to reduce the food waste of consumers. The uMARS scale was used for collecting data from consumers. Within the scope of the study, two studies were conducted to examine the development process of the application and to determine the user reactions to the mobile application. Results show that gamification elements with hedonic and social components, as well as functional aspects, are important features for user engagement and perceived impact. The qualitative results also supported the user experience in both hedonic and functional value and role of mobile apps to lead behavior change. This study serves as a guideline for future developers of mobile apps intended to lead consumers to a more sustainable food consumption.
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