Sustainable Living: The Push and Pull of Everyday Practices
Date
Authors
Yap, Crystal Sheau-Fen
Stewart, Cordelia Rose
Rai, Meenal
Tan, LayPeng
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Emerald
Abstract
Purpose This study aims to investigate the enactment of sustainability practices in everyday life through a “Living Green” campaign. The authors explore how these practices are embraced, challenged or renegotiated in situ within broader networks of routines and sociohistorical understandings. Design/methodology/approach A three-phase sequential qualitative multi-method approach was used. Data were collected through brainstorming workshops, in-depth interviews, digital diaries, participant observation and introspection journal entries. Findings The findings highlight the interplay between historically embedded practical understandings and daily (un)sustainable consumption. The authors develop an empirically grounded typology comprising four practice states – pro-transition, constrained embodiment, negotiated continuity and in-reversal – to illustrate how cultural frames and ontological concerns shape the fluidity of social practices throughout the campaign. Research limitations/implications The five-week duration of the campaign may limit insight into longer-term shifts in sustainable consumption. Study was conducted in New Zealand, often framed by a “clean, green” national identity which may limit generalisability of findings beyond this context. The predominance of younger participants may limit the applicability of findings to other demographics whose routines differ. Practical implications The findings inform the design of public campaigns and policy interventions promoting sustainable behaviours. They also provide guidance for individuals seeking to cultivate more sustainable lifestyles. Originality/value This study advances sustainable consumption research through a practice-theoretical lens, foregrounding the ontological underpinnings of everyday action. It offers theoretical insight into how sociohistorical meanings, teleoaffective orientations and sources of ontological security shape the fluid, contested nature of sustainability practices as they unfold in lived contexts.Description
Keywords
15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services, Marketing, 3506 Marketing, Sustainable consumption, Practice theory, Everyday consumption, Ontological security, Teleoaffectivity, Typology of practice, Sequential qualitative multi-method, Routines, Cultural logics
Source
European Journal of Marketing, ISSN: 0309-0566 (Print); 1758-7123 (Online), Emerald, 60(13), 574-630. doi: 10.1108/ejm-06-2024-0498
Rights statement
© 2026 Crystal Sheau-Fen Yap, Cordelia Rose Stewart, Meenal Rai and LayPeng Tan. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/