Buying green in times of social insecurity: the effects of insecure employment on the purchase of organic food

Abstract

The sustainable development goals offer an integrated picture of possible transitions to sustainable development. They include social, economic and ecological goals, as well as goals for countries on various levels of economic development. Thus, they acknowledge that the transition to sustainability is a collective task that must be accomplished by humanity as a whole. They mention both sustainable consumption (SDG 12) and employment conditions (SDG 8). However, the literature linking decent work and behavioural change towards sustainability is still scarce. This paper aims to contribute to filling this gap by looking at the effects of growing employment insecurity on sustainable consumption, as exemplified by the purchase of organic food in the case of Germany.