Vocabulary for Sustainable Consumption and Lifestyles

"Our society has taught us since birth to consume, and the results include the alienated and overheating world we now experience. So learning a new vocabulary for consumption is a fine first step towards changing that – as this book makes clear, it's a way of learning to actually feel the water through which we otherwise unconsciously swim."

Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

"As humans transgress planetary boundaries at ever-increasing speed, this book could not be more timely. We need to consume within ecological limits. This pathbreaking book – the result of an unprecedented, cross-national and cross-disciplinary collaboration – can help. Ideal for teaching, research, and for anyone who wants to consume sustainably."

Juliet Schor, author of The Overspent American and Four Days a Week

"Given that one of the roots of today's global ecological crises is the profligacy of the Global North, and its cornering of the planet's ecological space, this book is a welcome addition to literature on concepts and practices that the world's rich need to listen to and adopt, complementing other books whose focus is on learning from the Global South."

Ashish Kothari, Global Tapestry of Alternatives, and co-editor of Pluriverse: A Post-Development Dictionary

"Much of the time, our attention goes to the environmental impacts we face as a society. This is logical, since this is what we experience. But to avoid these impacts, more attention should be given to the drivers and pressures leading to them – and here the contributions of the authors of this collection are vital and important."

Janez Potočnik, Co-Chair, UNEP International Resource Panel (IRP)

"A Language for Our Common Future is a treasure trove of timely briefings about concepts that have potential to guide humanity towards a more humane, more sustainable future. It offers much-needed clarity and consistency, and thus the potential to underpin more fruitful conversations and more impactful action."

Katherine Trebeck, writer-at-large, Edinburgh Futures Institute

"This book offers a powerful and timely reimagining of how we think about consumption and lifestyles in a world facing ecological and social crises. With clarity and depth, it weaves together transformative concepts and perspectives, providing an essential guide that will inspire and empower changemakers across disciplines and sectors."

Giorgos Kallis, author of The Case for Degrowth