Guest editorial: perspectives on sustainable consumption

The typical guest editorial within a special issue of a journal will explain the theme of the special issue, introduce the different contributions that follow, outline the contributions that each makes and identify the common threads that connect them. By contrast, this editorial article seeks to provide an overview which explores the broader context for the challenges that are presented by the pursuit of ‘sustainable consumption’ as a field of scholarship, a form of behaviour and a public policy goal. It explores some of the complexities involved in understanding sustainable consumption, and the ways in which conventional approaches to understanding consumption and consumer behaviour may be insufficient to understand and promote sustainable consumption