Assessing Socially Responsible Consumption from a Consumer Perspective

For many years, the free-market economy has promoted consumerism, which has been closely linked to rapid economic growth. Growing social exclusion, climate change, air pollution, rising landfill, and poverty are all linked to reckless and irresponsible consumption. These problems affect consumers' decisions, as consumers have become more critical of businesses, more reflective, and more responsible in their purchasing and consumption decisions. Based not only on corporate social responsibility but also on personal interests and the long-term benefits for the environment and society, consumers are determined to change their consumption behaviour towards a more socially responsible one. A questionnaire survey was carried out to find out how socially responsible consumption manifests itself in Lithuania and which stages of consumption are dominated by socially responsible consumption. Therefore, in this research, based on a devised theoretical framework and questionnaire, we attempt to reveal the concept of socially responsible consumption by identifying the stages of consumption as a process and assessing the expression of socially responsible consumption at different stages of consumption in Lithuania from the consumers' point of view.