[…] it is possible that green values do not translate from ordinary individual or household consumption to celebratory gifting practices. Studies of ethical consumption have highlighted the importance of understanding the wide range and combination of values – such as asceticism and hedonism, prestige and nationalism – that can underlie ethical consumption choices (Dombos, 2012 and Isenhour, 2012). Issues of status and solidarity, therefore, may conflict or harmonise with professed environmental concern. If self-identified ‘green consumers’ are not ‘green givers’, there are important implications for our understanding of sustainable consumption. It is important to explore empirically the question of whether there are barriers encountered by those who attempt to minimise their environmental impact in gifting practices within social contexts dominated by commodified goods. Equally, it is important to explore how gifting practices may reveal limitations of professed environmental concern.
Farbotko, Carol, and Lesley Head. 2013. "Gifts, sustainable consumption and giving up green anxieties at Christmas." Geoforum. 50 (1): 88-96. [link]