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.
