Understanding responsible consumption : to reduce waste and foster sustainable consumption habits among adolescents

Irresponsible consumption habits are a major factor in the generation of waste that is unmaintainable and detrimental to our ecosystem and natural resources. This paper examines the impact irresponsible consumption has on our environment and links this to the spending habits of adolescents to find solutions to how best through sustainability education, these spending habits and mindset can be adjusted to achieve sustainable consumption. I examine literature related to what sustainable consumption involves from journal articles, books, United Nations (UN) documents, websites, including a training kit designed with youth in mind to guide and aid them towards sustainable lifestyles, marketing data that is available on adolescents spending habits, and research that has been conducted on both adolescents spending and on responsible and irresponsible consumption. The findings indicate that adolescents are an influential group of consumers, aware of global issues affecting our environment, and are keen to act; however, there has not been enough academic research done linking adolescent spending habits and sustainability education. The conclusion is, sustainable education needs to actively involve relatable hands-on experiences (experiential learning) with visible results to capture and maintain the attention of youngsters to develop sustainable lifestyles. Additionally, more needs to be done to fill the gap in research on adolescents’ consumption habits, to further develop learning strategies and materials to facilitate their sustainability education