Themes
  • Consumer
  • Donation and resale
  • Remanufacturing
  • Repair
  • Sobriety
Amount granted
$15,000

Description

The research project is part of the literature on sustainable consumption, the relationship to objects and daily life. It aims to explore how everyday objects (e.g., clothing, computers, furniture, books, decorations, etc.) gain a second life after falling out of common use.

The objectives are three-fold:

  1. Understand the process by which objects fall out of common use and are reappropriated in relation to, among other things, the symbolic aspect, the culture and social norms, the spaces in which they circulate and stakeholders, as well as the broader social context, including institutions and regulations.
  2. Identify levers to transform consumption practices, extend the service life of objects and reduce material resource consumption.
  3. Formulate recommendations to promote different ways of optimizing the use of everyday objects and ensure concerns about sustainable consumption and circular economy research initiatives are aligned.

An ethnographic survey will be conducted in different spaces where objects are repaired, sold, exchanged or donated (e.g., fab labs, garage sales, online ads, stores, repairers, etc.) and follow the journeys of the objects themselves.

Affiliated research axes

Axis 1: Change and Transition Management

1.2 – Conceptualize the intended transition to a circular Québec 2026–2050
1.3 – Identify means to mobilize all societal stakeholders for the circular economy

Axis 4: Policy levers

4.1 – Monitor new knowledge, create an inventory and carry out priority-setting exercises for levers and strategies

Member(s)

  • Laurence Godin

    Assistant Professor

Collaborators

Oumayma Aghzere

Student at Université Laval

Amélie Zarir

Student at Université Laval

Link.s

  • Summary of project results

  • Integrating the principles of the circular economy into everyday life : the case of used objects

    Conference at the 91st ACFAS Congress
  • Grandparents' tips for saving the planet (or avoiding waste)

    Interview for Le Devoir
  • Buy Nothing movement : Don't buy is gaining in popularity

    Interview for La Presse
  • What resources are available to engage consumers in the circular economy ?

    Presentation at the 16th Conference of the European Sociological Association
The RRECQ is supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec.
Fonds de recherche - Québec