Sustainability and Consumerism

Abstract

The Brundtland Commission report Our Common Future in 1987 gave birth to the concept of sustainable development. The meaning is benefitting the present without compromising the future. It was felt that, unless conventional growth and development are replaced by sustainable development through environmentally friendly actions, doomsday is very near. However, such sustainable development was followed by a global spree of consumerism that only added to the environmental burden. This dichotomy needs to be understood, and for the same purpose, one needs to go back to that point of Earth's history when ecology and economy were synonymous. From then on, the drift between the ecology and economy that has brought us to today's scenario needs to be understood. In this background, the chapter raises questions on how green the green sectors are. Furthermore, can sustainable development and consumerism be captured as one body of ‘sustainable consumerism'?