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Emerging Social Movements for Sustainability: Understanding and Scaling Up Upcycling in the UK

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The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainability

Abstract

Social movements have campaigned for environmental sustainability, most notably in relation to sustainable food production and climate change. Past research on these social movements has paid attention mainly to the relatively well-organised and established initiatives. Less attention has been paid to emerging collective actions by citizens. This chapter therefore aims to provide analyses of one such case, the upcycling movement in the UK, and considers its potential implications. The contributions to knowledge made through research in design for sustainable behaviour, upcycling, and sustainability science are outlined. Challenges for upscaling the upcycling movement are discussed, and further challenges concerning sustainability are raised.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by Nottingham Trent University with support from the RCUK Energy Programme’s funding for the Centre for Industrial Energy, Materials and Products, grant reference EP/N022645/1. Data collection activities were partly funded by Design Research Society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. De Montfort University, Leicester, Leicestershire, UK

    Kyungeun Sung

  2. Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK

    Tim Cooper

  3. Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, UK

    Sarah Kettley

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  1. Kyungeun Sung
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  2. Tim Cooper
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA

    Robert Brinkmann

  2. Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA

    Sandra J. Garren

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Sung, K., Cooper, T., Kettley, S. (2018). Emerging Social Movements for Sustainability: Understanding and Scaling Up Upcycling in the UK. In: Brinkmann, R., Garren, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71389-2_15

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