Sustainable Consumer Behaviour: A Field Analysis of Italians’ Attitudes Towards Sustainable Consumption

Sustainable consumption is a specific type of regular consumption, less self-directed and self-regarding, as consumers act as social actors more concerned about the impact of their behaviour on the planet. It is impossible to ignore that our lifeways affect the environment in different ways; indeed, the production of goods may have a very powerful influence not only on the environment, but also on how consumers use the same goods. This paper aims to shed a light on the consumption decision-making process in order to promote more sustainable consumer practices. We present the results of a quantitative research project aiming at understanding the proneness of Italian people towards sustainable products. The research is a joint project involving four Italian Universities. Primary data have been collected through an online self-completion questionnaire over a period of two months, from April to May 2019. Specifically, the empirical study wants to understand the actual Italians’ position towards sustainable consumption by focusing on different elements: 1) Attitude towards sustainable products; 2) perceived Knowledge on the topic; 3) feeling of Responsibility to become a more sustainable consumer; 4) the idea of sustainable consumption as a Fashion trend. Results show that our participants appear to have a general positive attitude towards sustainable products, a moderate sense of responsibility to become «greener» consumers, as well as a mild perceived knowledge on the topic.