Work

Getting (un)wasted: How planning failures generate consumer waste across resources: Time, money, goods, and energy

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Past research suggests that people exhibit robust waste aversion. However, many consumers routinely feel that they waste not only goods but also time, money, energy, and emotion and would be hard‐pressed to imagine their lives otherwise. Why does consumer waste persist? In this paper, we first propose a definition for consumer waste. We then identify antecedents of waste generation across the stages of the consumer life‐cycle, arguing that both internal and external forces can give rise to various types of planning failures. These planning failures, in turn, facilitate the experience of consumer waste—and may feed a cycle that can perpetuate the same tendencies. Taken together, this paper thus offers both a conceptual framework for understanding why consumers waste across several resources, from goods to time, and lays out a set of guidelines for the design of future waste‐reducing interventions.

Source: Consumer Psychology Review

DOI: 10.1002/arcp.70011

Authors: Marissa A. Sharif, Cait Lamberton

Institution: University of Pennsylvania

Language: English

Topic: Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability

Subfield: Food Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,470