Meanings and Motives for Consumers’ Sustainable Actions in the Food and Clothing Domains

The concept of sustainability has been widely discussed in the public arena by public entities and companies; however, consumers express inconsistency and confusion around the meaning of sustainability. This study aims to provide insights into consumers’ associations with the concept of sustainability in general and within two behavioural domains that represent daily necessities (i.e., food and clothing), in addition to exploring the motivational drivers behind sustainable behaviours. A total of 23 semi-structured interviews were conducted with young consumers in Denmark to address this aim. Consumers perceived the concept of sustainability as complex and mainly related it to environmental aspects, whereas social and economic aspects were less emphasised. The interviewees used examples of sustainable behaviours, which cover the whole consumption-cycle, when interpreting sustainability. Consumers had various motivations to engage in sustainable behaviours and these varied by the stage in the consumption-cycle and domain. The interviewees displayed external motivation (e.g., save money, better taste), introjected motivation (e.g., impress others, public self-consciousness), internalised motivation (e.g., reflection of self) and even intrinsic motivation (e.g., pure interest) to engage in different types of sustainable food or clothing behaviours across the consumption-cycle. Different types of motivations drove the same behaviour, suggesting potential synergies or internal conflicts.