Material Footprint of Low-Income Households in Finland—Consequences for the Sustainability Debate

Michael Lettenmeier, Tuuli Hirvilammi, Senja Laakso, Satu Lähteenoja and Kristiina Aalto
Additional contact information
Michael Lettenmeier: D-mat ltd., Purokatu 34, 15200 Lahti, Finland
Tuuli Hirvilammi: Kela, Research Department, P.O. Box 79, 00601 Helsinki, Finland
Senja Laakso: Department of Environmental Sciences, P.O. Box 65, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
Satu Lähteenoja: D-mat ltd., Purokatu 34, 15200 Lahti, Finland
Kristiina Aalto: National Consumer Research Centre, P.O. Box 5, 00531 Helsinki, Finland

Sustainability, 2012, vol. 4, issue 7, 1-22

Abstract: The article assesses the material footprints of households living on a minimum amount of social benefits in Finland and discusses the consequences in terms of ecological and social sustainability. The data were collected using interviews and a questionnaire on the consumption patterns of 18 single households. The results are compared to a study on households with varying income levels, to average consumption patterns and to decent minimum reference budgets. The low-income households have lower material footprints than average and most of the material footprints are below the socially sustainable level of consumption, which is based on decent minimum reference budgets. However, the amount of resources used by most of the households studied here is still at least double that required for ecological sustainability. The simultaneous existence of both deprivation and overconsumption requires measures from both politicians and companies to make consumption sustainable. For example, both adequate housing and economic mobility need to be addressed. Measures to improve the social sustainability of low-income households should target reducing the material footprints of more affluent households. Furthermore, the concept of what constitutes a decent life should be understood more universally than on the basis of standards of material consumption.

Keywords: consumption; household; social sustainability; income; sufficiency; ecological sustainability; natural resources; MIPS; material footprint; ecological backpack (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:4:y:2012:i:7:p:1426-1447:d:18623

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