Pedro Rodrigues Ribeiro, a researcher at the Human Neurobehavioral Laboratory of the Faculty of Education and Psychology at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto. It is not always possible to ask the consumer to make choices on the supermarket shelf or in the ready-to-wear store based solely on the awareness of the environmental impact of that product.

At the heart of the much-discussed sustainable development is a figure that rarely takes center stage in these debates: the consumer. By exercising their consumption activity and their right to choose, they can have a great influence on the course of economies. However, it is not always possible to ask the consumer to make choices on the supermarket shelf or in the ready-to-wear store based solely on the awareness of the environmental impact of that product. Especially in times of economic hardship, this option often becomes unfeasible.

Ethical Consumerism at the Core of Sustainable Development

However, the act of purchasing is far from exhausting the arsenal of ethical consumption behaviors, which include, for example, repairing, reusing, or practicing upcycling (transforming items that are no longer useful to create value) before considering recycling or, even worse, discarding them instead of trying to extend their lifecycle.