The tension of living sustainably

Regular insights and exclusive content from the 85%.

As people show more and more willing to change their behaviours to live more sustainably, it’d be easy to assume everyone now has this at the top of the list when it comes to buying behaviours.

But life isn’t that simple, with 52% of people agreeing that adopting a sustainable lifestyle is just too expensive. And this a number taken before inflation really started to rise.

When we chatted to Adam in Glasgow, these tensions formed part of the conversation we had with him.

Adam is a recent law graduate. We chatted in his shared flat in Glasgow, but he was soon to be moving to Edinburgh to start his first job.

This comment below summed up his overall thoughts regarding living sustainably and making choices based on sustainability.

This wish of wanting to be able to live more sustainably, but it costing more and therefore being selective about the choices he makes is common.

He was very clear about not judging those who can’t afford to be sustainable, however, and understands the prevalence and accessibility of less sustainable goods.

Even given the fact that he’s yet to start his first job, and therefore money is a little tight, it’s an easy decision for him to avoid brands he feels aren’t doing good things - such as Wetherspoons - even if it costs him more personally.

This behaviour of spending just a little more on products that are a little more sustainable or ‘better’ permeates other aspects of his life too.

It’ll be interesting to see how this behaviour changes and evolves as the economic headwinds grow stronger. Will inflationary pressures, pressure on discretionary spending and recession change the beliefs and buying behaviours of people like Adam?

Will being a more sustainable brand lead to brands becoming a ‘signifier of stability’ that we have discussed previously? And ergo if a brand is more sustainable, that brand becomes a visible symbol to family, friends, visitors that everything is OK in the home, and there is nothing to worry about because they can afford to spend a little more to do a little good?

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