This study investigates the environmental impact of anti-consumption lifestyles and compares it to environmental concern and ethically minded consumption. Environmental impact was measured in a sample of 357 individuals with a carbon footprint calculator capturing all greenhouse gases released by an individual’s activities. Three types of anti-consumption lifestyles were considered: frugality, voluntary simplicity, and tightwadism. Results suggest that tightwadism is negatively associated with environmental impact. This negative association is stronger when participants are knowledgeable about the emissions impact of their behaviors. These findings suggest that tightwadism can lead to positive outcomes to achieve sustainability. Surprisingly, frugality and voluntary simplicity, as well as environmental concern, are not significantly associated with environmental impact, whereas ethically minded consumption correlates positively with the latter. This study demonstrates that increasing consumers’ environmental and ethical concerns alone might not be an effective way to lead them towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Such findings have important implications for sustainability and public policy makers.

中文翻译：

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消费生活方式对环境的影响：有道德意识的消费与 Tightwads

本研究调查了反消费生活方式对环境的影响，并将其与环境关注和道德消费进行了比较。在 357 个人的样本中测量环境影响，并使用碳足迹计算器捕获个人活动释放的所有温室气体。考虑了三种类型的反消费生活方式：节俭、自愿简单和狭隘。结果表明，狭隘主义与环境影响呈负相关。当参与者了解其行为对排放的影响时，这种负面关联会更强。这些发现表明，狭隘主义可以带来积极的结果，以实现可持续性。令人惊讶的是，节俭和自愿的简单，以及对环境的关注，与环境影响没有显着关联，而具有道德意识的消费与后者呈正相关。这项研究表明，仅增加消费者对环境和道德的关注可能不是引导他们走向更可持续生活方式的有效方法。这些发现对可持续性和公共政策制定者具有重要意义。