Abstract:

Enviro-materialism refers to the phenomenon that individuals who hold materialistic values engage in pro-environmental behaviors. Unlike previous views on the contradiction between the materialistic values and pro-environmental behavior, the phenomenon emphasizes that the pursuit of material possessions can coexist harmoniously with concern for the natural environment. We systematically discuss the mechanisms and boundary conditions of enviro-materialism. Specifically, the psychological mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of enviro-materialism can be understood from five perspectives: crossvergence theory, costly signaling theory, impression management theory, compensatory ethics theory, and goal-framing theory. First, from the perspective of crossvergence theory, the emergence of enviro-materialism is the result of the interaction between cultural change and commercial ideology. Second, according to the cost signaling theory, pro-environmental behaviors that convey the signal of concern for the environment may be an effective means for materialists to gain high status and recognition from others. Furthermore, impression management theory suggests that the goal of pursuing high social status is closely related to the impression left by materialists on the audience, and they may choose pro-environmental behavior as a strategy for constructing positive impressions. In explaining the phenomenon of enviro-materialism, the compensatory ethics theory emphasizes that materialists’ pursuit of wealth and material goods has caused serious negative impacts on the environment, and in order to maintain moral balance, they may choose pro-environmental behaviors as compensation. Finally, the goal-framing theory states that if the materialists’ hedonic or benefit goal frame is activated, they may be guided to engage in more pro-environmental behaviors to achieve positive emotional experiences or personal gain. In addition, certain individual, situational and cultural boundary conditions are required for the enviro-materialism phenomenon to occur, including global cultural identity, environmental knowledge level, public-private attributes of decision-making situations, types of benefit appeals, nature contact, market context and generations. In other words, individuals who identify with global consumer culture or have a higher level of environmental knowledge are more likely to live in a materialistic mode while also maintaining concern for the natural environment. Second, materialists may exhibit their environmentally-friendly tendencies in public situations, when exposed to self-interest appeal messages, or when in contact with nature. Moreover, consumers living in emerging markets and younger generations are more likely to place equal importance on material possessions and environmental sustainability. By sorting out the connotation, occurrence mechanisms and boundary conditions of enviro-materialism, we make clear the fact that individuals holding materialistic values may also exhibit pro-environmental behaviors, which further deepens the academic understanding of the “green side” of materialism. At the same time, our work also provides new ideas for addressing the practical problem of the depletion of natural resources caused by materialistic consumption views. For instance, more environmental projects can be developed to stimulate materialists’ internal and external motivations (such as the pursuit of social status, good reputation, etc.) to encourage their pro-environmental behaviors. Also, contextual factors can be used to promote the green behavior of materialists, such as making environmental decisions in public places, engaging in more activities that involve exposure to the natural environment, and so on. However, there are still many issues that need to be addressed in future research regarding the emerging phenomenon of enviro-materialism. First, the connotation of enviro-materialism is relatively vague, and future research needs to further investigate whether the pro-environmental choices of this phenomenon are more likely to be reflected in indirect environmental behaviors such as green consumption. Second, it is necessary to explore more boundary conditions from the perspective of materialism, such as the socioeconomic status of the materialists themselves. Third, it is crucial to find ways to promote the stable occurrence of enviro-materialism, and we believe that focusing on “second-hand luxury goods” may be an effective strategy.

Key words: materialism, pro-environmental behavior, enviro-materialism, psychological mechanisms, boundary conditions.