Estonian Human Development Report

Figure 5.2.4. Indexes of environmentally friendly
consumption and activeness in protecting the environment
by age groups (percentage of the age group
with “high” or “very high” index value)
35
30
25
20
15
10
21%
20%
22%
21%
34%
17%
15–19 20–29 30–44 45–54 55–64 65–74
Sustainable consumption index
environmentally friendly civic activeness index
Source: Mina. Maailm. Meedia 2005
Figure 5.2.5. Consumer types according to the average
indicators of sustainable consumption (max 19)
and consumerism (max 11) indexes, 2005
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
1.76
3.83
The Saving Type
N=604
0.97
The Indifferent
Type N=418
Consumerism
1.65
Source: Mina. Maailm. Meedia 2005
27%
15%
4.47
The Green
Consumerist
Type N=246
31%
16%
3.83 3.82
Sustainable consumption
1.58
32%
13%
The Lavish Type
N=208
Most characteristics of environmentally friendly consumption
are related to ethnicity, gender, education, income,
and social class. Traditionally, women’s assessments of all
environmentally friendly activities have been higher than
those of men (both in international and Estonian surveys).
In terms of several indicators, there is a positive correlation
between income and environmentally friendly practices,
excluding the habit of separate waste collection, where the
higher income of a respondent does not make them more
likely to be engaged in the practice. People with higher
incomes are more likely to think that there is enough environmental
information available for making consumptionrelated
decisions, and that they are able to affect the environment
through their own consumption behaviour. People with
higher incomes are also more willing to contribute financially
to improving the environmental situation by making
donations, or paying higher taxes or purchasing prices.
Although in terms of ethnic groups, the self-assessments
of the Estonian-speaking population regarding their
environmentally friendly consumption practices were lower
than those of the Russian-speaking population, engagement
in environmentally friendly activities was more widespread
among Estonians. With regard to the separate collection of
waste, the responses of the Russian-speaking population
show that their engagement in the practice is several tens
of percentage points lower than that of the Estonian-speaking
population. Many of the answers provided by Russianspeaking
respondents also indicate their lack of knowledge
or opinion on a given subject (for example, 38% of Russian-speaking
respondents said that they did not know
whether they used organic products, whereas among Estonian-speaking
respondents the percentage of those lacking
knowledge on the subject was half that, i.e. 19%).
There was a considerable difference in terms of environmentally
friendly orientation apparent with regard to different
generations. We differentiated between two aspects of
these attitudes: environmentally friendly consumption and
activeness in protecting the environment (see Figure 5.2.4.).
As a result, we discovered that while activeness regarding
the protection of the environment was somewhat higher in
younger age groups, the opposite was true for environmentally
friendly consumption as the values of the corresponding
index were lower in the case of younger age groups than
in the case of older age groups. Sustainable consumption
was most important for people in the middle age group
comprising respondents aged 30–44.
Typology of consumers
Contrary to popular belief, sustainable consumption and consumerism
are not mutually exclusive phenomena. An analysis
of the corresponding indexes revealed that the relationship
between these two characteristics of consumption behaviour
is complex, although in no way fully contradictory. By classifying
(using the cluster analysis method) the respondents of
the 2005 Mina. Maailm. Meedia survey in terms of these two
aspects of consumption behaviour, we compiled four consumer
types (see Kalmus et al. 2009, forthcoming). The group
with the most respondents is that of the “Saving Type” (41% of
the respondents), whose sustainable consumption level is high
and consumerism level is low (see the average indicators of the
indexes in Figure 5.2.5.). This type most often comprises middle-aged
and older people, as well as more men than women;
consumers of this type usually have a secondary education or
a basic education and a relatively low or average income. In
terms of social hierarchy, consumers belonging to this type
categorize themselves equally in the middle, upper middle
and upper class. This type comprises the largest segment of
Estonia’s small town residents. The “Saving Type” can be considered
the type most representative of the so-called protestant
ethic: they consider it important to be economical and
frugal and do not attribute much value to the individual selfexpression
aspect of consumer culture.
The second largest segment of the respondents belongs to
the “Indifferent” type that is characterized neither by sustainable
consumption nor a consumerist orientation. The average
age of this group is the highest, while their level of education
and average income are the lowest. The most frequent representatives
of this type are men and dwellers of rural regions.
These people are indifferent to the contemporary consumer
society, both with regard to aspects related to shaping one’s
lifestyle through consumption as well as conservation of the
environment. This is probably due not only to the relative
poverty and lack of consumption opportunities of the members
of this group, but also to their natural economy-based
lifestyle and established opinions and attitudes.
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