The New Economics of Sustainable Consumption Seeds of Change

About this book

Climate change is forcing us to rethink our lifestyles, but green consumerism won't save the planet. Mainstream approaches simply cannot deliver the radical changes we need for a sustainable society. The New Economics of Sustainable Consumption: Seeds of Change offers a fresh look at sustainable consumption, presenting a holistic 'New Economics' approach. It explores how grassroots community actions for sustainability are experimenting with new ways of working, measuring value and progress, and expressing ecological citizenship.

Local organic food systems, low-impact eco-housing, and complementary currencies are examined to measure their success at delivering localized economies and inclusive communities, enabling people to reduce their ecological footprints, harnessing collective energies and building new forms of social organization. Viewing these activities as innovative 'green niches', The New Economics of Sustainable Consumption: Seeds of Change explores the opportunities for grassroots innovations to spread and influence wider society, and the barriers preventing them achieving their potential.

Contents

- Introduction: A Consuming Issue
- Sustainable Consumption: A Mainstream Agenda
- Sustainable Consumption and the New Economics
- Grassroots Innovations for Sustainable Consumption
- Sustainable Food: Growing Carrots and Community
- Sustainable Housing: Building a Greener Future
- Sustainable Currencies: Green Money from The Grassroots
- Conclusions: Seedbeds for Sustainable Consumption
- References

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Biography

Gill Seyfang is an Environmental Social Scientist at the University of East Anglia, UK, working on sustainable consumption. She currently holds a Research Councils UK Academic Fellowship and is developing a research programme in Low-Carbon Lifestyles. She is co-editor of Corporate Responsibility and Labour Rights.