Experience and Sustainable Consumption

Experience understood as experience-based consumption is by now fairly absent from the research agenda of the different theories on sustainable consumption. On the basis of Colin Campbell’s notion of romantic ethics and emotional sentimentality in modern hedonism, I claim that sustainable consumption may re-enchant ordinary consumption and thereby even become a part of marketing and the experience economy. New layers of meaning are at stake and altruistic motives come into play; doing something good for someone or something, aside from oneself, is a very strong trigger of positive emotions. Very often, however, the actual purchase does not live up to the demands of doing good in the sustainable consumption chain, and the individual might end up with a guilty conscience, which again is a possible trigger for lingering in a sentimental mode of guilt. Emotions of sentimentality may actually convince the individual that she really does care for others and thereby provide a positive experience of feeling good – even if it takes place in the universe of consumption fantasies only.