Anti-consumption research has featured in a number of special issues, round tables and conferences since the inception of ICAR (International Centre for Anti-consumption Research) in 2005. Activity, thus far, has primarily discussed conceptual and theoretical issues surrounding the nature and boundaries of this nascent field. This special issue of the Journal of Consumer Behaviour serves a different purpose. It is designed to focus on practical recommendations, so as to see what contribution anti-consumption can make to sustainability.
It is not the place here in this editorial to outline the scientific case for the state of the earth's environment and consumption that does not take sufficient account of the ecological limits of our planet. Instead I simply bow my head to the overall technical consensus on this issue highlighted in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (Solomon et al., 2007). In response to this scientific orthodoxy, there are a plethora of action groups, charities, vivid, emotive youtube videos, wailings from the drivers of the capitalist juggernaut and governments (now of all political shades) simultaneously sounding the standard call of the right wing radio commentator, 'something must be done!'.
But what? As described by English comedian Sean Lock, recycling your jam jars can feel like turning up to help at the aftermath of hurricane Katrina with a dustpan and brush. We need to consider more powerful alternatives than this, and as is pointed out by Jackson (2009) in Prosperity without Growth?, the most powerful and immediate mechanism we as individuals control is to not consume. Therefore, as a subset of non-consumption, anti-consumption has, potentially, a very important role to play in the doing of this 'something'.
Well, in this issue I asked authors to consider, what can be done, what can anti-consumption research teach consumers, businesses, governments, charities, etc., to do? From the overall aim of providing an outlet for research into anti-consumption topics that could contribute to our understanding of how to develop