Reflexive inner conversations: negotiating the shift to reduced consumption

This article explores the role of reflexivity in shaping how individuals engage with consumption reduction. We shed light on how ‘reducers’ -those who deliberately strive to limit their consumption–reflect on their practices, emotions, and identities in everyday life. Building on Archer’s modes of reflexivity and Davidson’s climate emotion framework, we investigate how internal conversations influence both motivations and strategies for reducing consumption. The study draws on a qualitative design involving 25 Swedish participants committed to consumption reduction. The findings reveal that individuals engage in reflexive work to different degrees and in diverse ways. Some rely on communicative reflexivity, seeking external validation and adjusting their practices to align with social expectations. Others demonstrate meta-reflexivity, critically questioning prevailing norms and their own contradictions, while several practice autonomous reflexivity, independently developing and sustaining reduction strategies. These varied reflexive orientations shape how participants balance ethical aspirations, social pressures, and emotional sustainability in their everyday negotiations of consumption.