In the face of the climate crisis and steep inflation, the issues linked to consumption are day-burning. Consumer studies focus on human well-being and sustainable society. Consumers are conceptualized not only as economic, but also as social, political and cultural actors with a variety of resources at their disposal: capabilities, time, money, cultural capital and natural resources. Consumer skills, such as the ability to cook without electricity or manage personal finances under scarcity, are important in the midst of crises.
I am a consumer researcher whose research topic is the role and agency of consumers in the cultural and societal changes that are linked to everyday life. My research interests include, in particular, socio-economic sustainability of consumption, innovation in services and materials, and young people. In my dissertation (2018), I studied consumers in service society and in post-doctoral research I have focused on sustainable and climate-wise (post-fossil) everyday life. I have studied issues such as the inequalities of service encounters, housing of young people, the experiences of wood-apartment dwellers and the consumer appropriation of innovative packaging.
I am currently researching in the Strategic Research Council-funded Decarbon-Home project climate-wise housing on a consumer perspective — with the aim of identifying and developing ways to support consumers in various housing changes, whether water and electricity consumption reduction in everyday life or sustainable choice of materials for renovation. In addition, consumers are analyzed as citizens who participate in dialogue with municipal decision-makers and businesses.
I work as a university lecturer at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry at the Department of Economics and Management and I teach consumption-related courses in the Bachelor’s Programme in Environmental and Food Economics and the Master’s Programme in Food Economy and Consumption.
Please, find more information about Consumer Research Group here:
https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/consumer-studies-research-group
Twitter: @EKylkilahti