The role of care in creating narratives for sustainability

Narratives based on our capacity to care for others can foster more sustainable interactions in socioecological systems. This article explores the role of care in the stories that we tell about ourselves and how these stories shape our relationship with the more-than-human world. It offers a framework for tilting narratives presenting human nature as self-centered and extractive toward ones characterizing humans as caring and other oriented, aiding the transition to a more sustainable basin of attraction. We bring into dialogue narrative psychology, narrative therapy, ethics of care, and complex adaptive systems theory. Based on this, we propose a framework that can aid in changing narratives in wider social–ecological systems, which is composed of three synchronized phases: (1) identification of the problem and the story that supports it, (2) creation of possibilities for change, and (3) reinforcement of new scenarios. We apply this framework to the topic of consumption and propose that sustainable consumption can be constructed as an act of care rather than a sacrifice. We conclude by inviting readers to act on their concerns about caring for others and for the more-than-human world to strengthen and spread emerging narratives based on care.