Living for “Ethics”: Responsible Consumption in Everyday Life

This research studies how current social and environmental concerns about consumption are reviving the topic of meaning in consumption practices. In a postmodern world characterized by symbolism in consumption and a global “crisis of meanings”, ethical and responsible consumption behaviors are studied through their contribution to identity construction. A responsible consumption typology based on the meanings given by the narrators is suggested; it distinguishes the acts of “moral conformity” from the deep critical postures, the latter of which derive either from political essence or a desire for liberation from the consumption “system”.