This document discusses the issue of hyperconsumption and unsustainable consumption patterns driven by a culture of materialism and economic growth. It notes that marketing practices like fast fashion, planned obsolescence, and consumerism contribute to this problem by encouraging overproduction and waste. However, it argues that marketing also has a responsibility to address these issues through practices like sustainable business models, managing consumer demand for sustainability, and using social media to promote sustainable lifestyles. It provides examples of how companies like Patagonia have integrated sustainability into their business model.

1. F R O M H Y P E R C O N S U M P T I O N T O
S U S TA I N A B L E C O N S U M P T I O N : A
R O A D M A P
T R A N S F O R M A T I V E C O N S U M E R R E S E A R C H A N D S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
M O N I C A E U G E N I O
S T U D E N T N O . 2 2 1 4 6 9 4 6

2. W H AT I S T H E
S O C I A L I S S U E
• Consumption oriented Dominant Social
Paradigm
• We live in a world with a culture of hyper
consumption and materialism. The growth
imperative (Varey, 2010) which emphasises
economic growth as a measure of progress and
happiness, promotes a materialistic lifestyle and a
vicious cycle of insatiable desires. It increases
pressure on corporations and businesses to
perform according to these measures, and thus
overproduce goods and services to meet or
exceed demand.
• Does shopping really improve quality of life?
Resources are being used to the detriment of
families, communities and the natural
environment. For example, the demand for speed
in fashion and technology makes the industry
attractive to consumers, motivates the speed of
production and emphasises profitability over ethics
(Ertekin & Atik, 2015).

3. M A R K E T I N G H A S A R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y T O
S O LV E T H E P R O B L E M I T H A D A H A N D AT
C R E AT I N G .
FA S T FA S H I O N E N C O U R A G E S
O V E R P R O D U C T I O N O F G O O D S
A N D S E R V I C E S .
P L A N N E D O B S O L E S C E N C E B Y
T E C H N O L O G Y C O M PA N I E S
C O N T R I B U T E T O H Y P E R C O N S U M P T I O N
M AT E R I A L I S M A N D WA S TA G E .

4. S O C I E TA L C O N T E X T
• Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs. Sustainable consumption is consumption that
meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (United Nations,
1987)
• Responsible consumption is an imperative for sustainable
development as resources are finite.
• Environmental problems are social problems or “problems of
people”due to the effects on social, cultural, political and living
conditions (McDonagh, et.al, 2012). Unsustainable consumption poses
a threat to the quality of life of future generations.

5. H O W C A N
M A R K E T I N G
R E D R E S S T H E I S S U E
• Real transformative green marketing through
integrating environmental value in the calculation
and communication of value. (Polonsky, 2011)
• Create and manage the responsible consumer, by
regulating consumer demand, consumption and
production. (Giesler, et.al.,2014) Marketers can
help create products with a view to longevity rather
than planned obsolescence, and promote the use
of sustainable materials and recycling.
• Social media and communities provide a platform
for sustainable change towards a sustainable
consumption lifestyle (Kozinets, et.al., 2012).
Marketers can educate the community through
transparency, communication and dialogue
through communities and by incorporating
sustainability into business models.
• Build sustainable business models. Reduce
materialism through experiential consumption.
(Burroughs, et.al, 2014)

6. – PATA G O N I A
H T T P : / / W W W. PATA G O N I A . C O M . A U / I N S I D E - PATA G O N I A
A BUSINESS MODEL:
“Build the best product, cause no unnecessary
harm, and use business to inspire and implement
solutions to the environmental crisis.”

7. R E F E R E N C E S
Burroughs, J., Nguyen Chaplin, L., Pandalaere, M., Norton, I., Ordabayeva, N., Gunz, A., and Dinauer, L. (2013). Using
motivation theory to develop a transformative consumer research agenda for reducing materialism in society. Journal of Public Policy
and Marketing, 32(1), 18-31.
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Ertekin, Z.O & Atik, D. 2015. Sustainable Markets: Motivating Factors, Barriers, and
Remedies for Mobilization of Slow Fashion. Journal of Macromarketing, 35(1), pp53-69
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Giesler, M and Veresiu, E. (2014). Creating the Responsible Consumer: Moralistic Governance Regimes and Consumer Subjectivity. Journal of
Consumer Research, 41(3), 840-857. 1.
Kozinets, R. V., McDonagh, P., & Belz, F.-M. (2012). Social Media for Social Change: A Transformative Consumer Research Perspective. In D. G.
Mick, S. Pettigrew, C. Pechmann & L. O. Julie (Eds.), Transformative consumer research for personal and collective well-being (pp. 205-223).
New York: Routledge.
McDonagh, P., Dobscha, S., & Prothero, A. (2012). Sustainable Consumption and Production: Challenges for Transformative Consumer
Research. In D. G. Mick, S. Pettigrew, C. Pechmann & L. O. Julie (Eds.), Transformative consumer research for personal and collective
well-being (pp. 267-281). New York: Routledge.
Polonsky, M. (2011, December). Transformative green marketing: Impediments and opportunities. Journal of Business Research, 64(12), 1311
United Nations. (1987). Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. Retrieved April 2, 2016, from
http://www.un-documents.net/FC506673-7BE1-4A25-BE34-8931FD716BF1/FinalDownload/
DownloadId-28FB57B1B90CDAF44B78E8E97101FC76/FC506673-7BE1-4A25-BE34-8931FD716BF1/our-common-future.pdf
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Varey, R. (2010). Marketing means and ends for a sustainable society: A welfare agenda for transformative change. Journal of
Macromarketing, 30(2), 112-126.
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