Disrupting emerging consumer cultures: the role of ‘avalanche events’ in uprooting and reorganising (un)sustainable consumption practices in Brazil

Amidst the environmental breakdown fuelled by unsustainable consumption practices, attempts to introduce the necessary change have been both slow and insufficient. Providing a potential opportunity to revise existing consumption practices, crises caused by significant events can disrupt existing lifestyles and practices, forcing people to reorganise their daily routines. Drawing on mixed-methods data collected in Brazil at two points during the COVID-19 lockdowns, we interrogate how the pandemic functioned as a disruptive ‘avalanche’ event that uprooted existing consumption practices and prompted shifts towards more sustainable consumption. Our findings show an increased awareness of environmental issues and motivations to change existing practices. However, initial shifts in consumer practices following the breaking and (re-)making of consumption practices were absorbed by emerging online systems of provision that stalled a shift towards lasting, sustainable consumption patterns. We examine how individual agency interacts with new online consumption opportunities, reflecting on the extent to which disruptive events can reshape consumption patterns. Finally, we highlight the need for active structural support from societal actors—such as businesses and legislators—to create the enabling systems required to translate motivation into lasting change.

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