Voluntary Simplicity: Characterization, Select Psychological Implications, and Societal Consequences

Sustainability and meat consumption: is reduction realistic?

“…As the issue of meat consumption is a specific part of sustainable food consumption, we could improve our understanding of the characteristics of meat-reducing consumers by taking note of a number of other tripartite classifications. For instance, the three approaches to sustainability as described by Hopwood et al (2005); the three groups of sustainable consumers as divided and defined by Seyfang (2007), McDonald et al (2012), and Verain et al (2012); or the three forms of voluntary simplicity developed by Etzioni (2003) are possibly helpful to further research that tries to gain insight into flexitarians.…”

Voluntary simplicity: an exploration of market interactions

“…Placing the practice of voluntary simplicity as one of living within markets (Etzioni, 1998;Shaw and Newholm, 2002) again serves to highlight the tensions between the anti-consumption ethos often attached to voluntary simplicity (e.g., Zavestoski, 2002a;Cherrier, 2008) and the consumerist market system within which it finds itself.…”

“…It is important to note the varied ways in which individuals within the voluntary simplicity movement manage their own simplified lifestyles, and this is reflected in the existence of so many definitions of the term. Etzioni (1998) distinguishes between three variations of voluntary simplicity, ranging in degree of strength from "downshifting", through to "strong simplification" and "the simple living movement". Shaw and Newholm (2002), on the other hand, use the term "ethical simplifiers" to denote the behaviours of voluntary simplicity adopters that respond mostly to ethical concerns, and McDonald et al (2006) propose that more attention should be devoted to a large segment of consumers, the "Beginner Voluntary Simplifiers".…”

“…We found a range of approaches to, and degrees of voluntary simplification across participants (Elgin, 1981;Etzioni, 1998;McDonald et al, 2006), and careful and wise use of resources was aimed at achieving long-term sustainable consumption goals (Todd and Lawson, 2002).…”

“…Voluntary simplicity helps us view communities and markets as embedded in symbiotic relationships, and avoids the conceptual dualisms made by some of the consumer behaviour literature (Kozinets, 2002) and old sociological theories. Indeed, the practice of voluntary simplicity is one of living within 24 capitalism, and not in complete opposition to it (Etzioni, 1998;Shaw and Newholm, 2002).…”