today's facts & tomorrow's trends - SPREAD Sustainable Lifestyles ...

The voluntary simplicity movement – where people leave their business-asusual
jobs to focus on local, small-scale activities – is also gaining momentum
in the United States and Western Europe (Alexander 2011). Moreover, new
low impact lifestyle trends are emerging including the Slow Living movement,
the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) and voluntary downshifting
(McDonald, Oates et al. 2006). There is also a resurgence of public campaigns
against materialistic ways of life such as the “Buy Nothing Day” campaign.
Concerns about materialistic lifestyles among the young generation and a high
environmental and social awareness are all positive trends that suggest that
alternative lifestyles have the potential to proliferate in the future.
Despite the diversity of initiatives, there are similarities on the perceptions of
what constitutes a high quality of life. Many young people do not define life quality
in terms of money or material status, but rather in terms of a healthy balance
between work and private life with time to spend on one’s own health, connecting
with other people, or exploring new personal development paths and accomplishments.
Another form of “sufficient consuming” can be seen in the phenomenon of consuming
less. As our lives become more complex, a growing number of people
prefer to shape their life in a simpler way to reduce the pressure created by an
over abundance of “stuff” or to reduce the adverse impacts of over-consumption
(Promising practice 7). As American author Francine Jay puts it “minimalism
isn’t about owning 100 things, or 50 things, or less – but rather what’s just
enough for you”. 4
The practices outlined above can help reduce household environmental and social
impacts by reducing the material consumption and ecological footprints of
those involved. People in turn tend to be more satisfied with their lives often as
a result of the collective nature of these schemes.
Concluding remarks
This section has provided a snapshot of current consumption patterns, the related
impacts and has illustrated what sustainable consumption represents
within the framework of the SPREAD Sustainable Lifestyles 2050 project. The
information presented here is based on the latest available literature and on
inputs from participants of the SPREAD project launch conference held in May
2011 (SPREAD consortium partners 2011).
4 www.missminimalist.com
Promising practices
Promising practice 7: Reducing meat consumption
The aim of the Weekly Veggie Day is for cities to encourage
citizens to have one day a week without meat or fish. The
objective is to encourage consumers to eat less meat with
an appealing, realistic and tasty message (Stad Gent 2010).
A major reduction in meat and dairy consumption (accounting
for 50% of the ecological footprint of our food), generated
by eating local, seasonal food, and through improved farming
efficiency and reduced food waste could cut the ecological
footprint of food by as much as 60%. (Bio-Regional and
CABE 2008).
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SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES: TODAY’S FACTS & TOMORROW’S TRENDS