Gender and sustainable consumption: policy implications

Cynthia Isenhour and Matilda Ardenfors

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2009, vol. 4, issue 2/3, 135-149

Abstract: This research finds that women are more likely than men to consume sustainably based on a case study of Swedish families. Sustainable consumption includes activities such as buying green and fair trade products, reducing travel, eating organic foods, and recycling. According to this research, women express more interest in sustainable living and spend more time seeking information on sustainable consumption and sustainable alternatives than men. But women also bare a disproportionate burden for maintaining sustainable lifestyles. While Sweden has consistently ranked high in measures of gender equity, household and family duties remain a female responsibility in most Swedish families. As such, women are often pressed for time, making the pursuit of sustainable consumerism and lifestyles difficult. While Swedish gender equity policies have supported the development of greener lifestyles, sustainable development may not be realised if policies emphasise the role of consumers rather than producers while relying disproportionately on women.

Keywords: gender equality; female roles; sustainable consumption; sustainable development; sustainability policies; Sweden; women; sustainable living; sustainable lifestyles. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=28068 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijisde:v:4:y:2009:i:2/3:p:135-149

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development from Inderscience Enterprises Ltd
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sarah Parker ().