Literature Review

Environmental activism and the widespread acknowledgment of the impact of pollution from fashion and textile industries have driven an educational sustainability directive that promotes designer, buyer, and consumer awareness. Centered on a long-time approach that encourages cathedral style thinking and the concept of being a good ancestor (Krznaric, 2020), contrasts sharply with current fast fashion practices. Long-time advocates Saltmarshe and Pembroke (2018) state “short termism is rapidly becoming an existential threat to humanity,” while Fletcher (2010) suggests that developing systems’ change for the fashion sector provides an opportunity to promote a slower culture. The co-creation of responses and the promotion of the project, across social media platforms and through physical exhibitions in Leicester, showed that the thought-provoking memorable visual statements created and resonated not only with the student and academic audience but with fashion consumers. First, this chapter sets the environmental and industry contexts, followed by a review of current academic pedagogy and the philosophy of long-time thinking and its influence on education. The paper concludes with an educational case study that argues the value of a long-time thinking as a means of developing both industry professionals and consumer awareness of the environmental challenges posed by current fashion and textile industry practices.

This study explores Kyrgyz citizens' attitudes towards pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) and the potential influence of social media influencers in promoting PEB. Surveying 1,455 respondents in Kyrgyzstan, a nation grappling with air pollution and government corruption, the study employs the theory of planned behaviour to gauge citizens' PEB intentions and how to enhance them. The research reveals that PEB is often driven by self-interest, notably respondents' health concerns. Educating people about pollution's health hazards can boost PEB, given its severe effects, including respiratory infections and premature death. Social norms also shape PEB intentions. Leveraging influencers for PEB promotion can foster a more favourable environmental attitude. Targeting women in future environmental campaigns is advisable, as they exhibit a stronger inclination towards PEB and influencer followings. The study underscores citizen action's significance in driving environmental change, especially in corruption prone nations like Kyrgyzstan. Environmental communication emerges as a potent tool for PEB promotion, underlining the theory of planned behaviour's crucial role in understanding and encouraging pro-environmental behaviour.

Environmental Identity and Biospheric values are both considered to be antecedents of Environmental Activism. Although various authors have suggested a relationship between Biospheric Values and Environmental Identity, this relationship has rarely been empirically studied. Moreover, the role of affect domain in influencing Environmental Activism has received less attention. This paper is aimed at shedding light on the relationship between Biospheric Values, Connectedness to Nature, and Environmental Identity, as well as studying how both are related to Environmental Activism. It was hypothesized that Environmental Identity mediates the relationship between both Biospheric Values and Connectedness to Nature, and Environmental Activism. A sample of 168 Italian young adults completed an online survey designed to gather information about the variables under study. The results provided support to the hypothesis that Biospheric Values and Connectedness to Nature are related to Environmental Identity, and that their relationship with Environmental Activism is fully mediated by Environmental Identity. In light of the existing literature, the results of this study will be discussed.

Rakina bara is a lake about 20 km from the center of Belgrade (Serbia). It represents an exceptional phenomenon as the only natural karst lake on the territory of the city. Until 2019, it was left to decay and the natural processes of the pound areas decline. Since 2019, the local community has started to deal with its revitalization and improvement. The citizens' association that launched the action, in 2022 received the highest recognition of the city of Belgrade for its undertaking, and the residents of the suburb where Rakina Bara is located, received a lake that represents a specific biodiversity niche within the urban environment. The initiative represents a DIY principle of action, and its success owes to a specific set of circumstances defined by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. The presentation aims to show the cultural and demographic processes that led to the deterioration of the lake, and then it aims to present the initiative of the local community...

This report presents findings on the Auckland public’s engagement with a suite of environmental protection initiatives delivered by Auckland Council. It is based on a repeated survey of a large sample of Aucklanders (n = 2348) collected in 2022, with a baseline comparison to 2020. Across the 2022 period, several initiatives were implemented, enabled by increased investment in the environment from the Natural Environment Targeted Rate. The initiatives included diverse campaigns such as encouraging Aucklanders to plant native plants, control invasive weeds, and trap for pest animals, the use of kauri dieback cleaning stations, and responsible pet ownership. This report focused on five outcomes: social capital, environmental activism, conservation at home, community-led conservation, and adherence to biosecurity practices. The results showed a notable increase in conservation at home, while other desired outcomes maintained a consistent, positive, status over the two-year period. Noting the timing of the survey period, COVID-19 public restrictions may have impacted some results. The COM-B framework was applied to interpret the findings and provide recommendations. Four intervention functions (training, enablement, restriction, and environmental restructuring) were identified as the most effective ways to focus future initiatives to enhance Aucklanders' engagement with pro-environmental behaviours.

The environment has become one of the most critical research areas in the twenty-first century. Along with this trend, Environmental Communication (EC) is also becoming popular. EC is the pragmatic and constitutive vehicle for the understanding of the environment as well as the relationships humans have with the natural world. Further, it is the symbolic medium humans use to construct environmental problems and negotiate society’s different responses to them. This chapter examines the role of the New Media in Environmental Communication in the African context. The chapter reveals that the New Media – online sites, blogs, and other social network platforms – presents many advantages and opportunities for advancing Environmental Communication in Africa including increased connectivity and fast communication on environmental issues, raising awareness of environmental issues, facilitating collaborations and participatory environmental communication, facilitating two-way communication and dialogue on environmental matters, facilitating environmental activism, and promoting environmental education. However, the New Media also has some drawbacks in advancing Environmental Communication in Africa, including information overload and decline of the audience on environmental matters, blanket/untargeted messages on matters of the environment, heterogeneity of African online audience, silencing of digital environmental activists by governments, and new digital media technology being anti-environment. The chapter concludes that, while EC is a public and contested practice, the New Media has the potential to transform communication for environmental matters. The New Media is now the new public sphere – a realm of influence where organizations, politicians, government departments, journalists, the private sector, activists, local authorities, and the public engage others in Environmental Communication – through conversation, questions, argument, and debate. All the stakeholders are responsible for making the best out of the New Media to transform Environmental Communication in Africa.

This study examines the identity construction of environmental activists in discourse following a political protest in Stockholm, Sweden. More specifically it aims to understand how environmental activists have been subjected to securitisation, and what underlying ideology supports this perception. It follows the poststructuralist assumption that language is not objective nor fixed and is instead vital in producing and reproducing political and social reality. Hence, through qualitative research of political statements, newspaper articles, and debates this study finds that environmental activists have been depicted as operating ‘outside’ of formal politics in dominant discourse. The portrayal of environmental activists as a ‘constitutive outside’ has also worked as a prerequisite for them to be subjected to securitisation – viewed as posing fundamental threats to hegemonic ideas of what constitutes legitimate protest. Often this notion is guided by deliberative democracy as the rational way of politics. These findings were emphasised using signifying chains to comprehend how environmental activists are seen as ‘deviant’ in dominant discourse. Along with this, neoliberal ideology seems a vital component in the creation of what constitute legitimate political activity.

This study was conducted in the context of political participation, and it investigates the phenomenon of environmental activism in Italy. In recent years, environmental activism has been in the limelight: the impact of climate change has expanded the pool of activists and discussions on environmental issues (Cody et al., 2015). This theme is included in the broad debate on activism and its declinations. Indeed, over the past 20 years, a new type of activism has been developed that uses digital infrastructure to foster change and achieve political, social, and other goals (George & Leidner, 2018). The goal of this study is to explore the phenomenon of environmental activism by specifically examining the relationship between online and offline activism. It is relevant to clarify how online and offline activism have equal status in this study (Sivitanides & Shah, 2011). The hypothesis on which it is based is that the level of commitment (George & Leidner, 2018) and concern for specific environmental issues are conditioned by residence in a particular area (Stedman, 2002) and socioanagraphic characteristics (Schradie, 2018). The framework that supports the analysis of the phenomenon is the one proposed by Milbrath in 1965 and later reworked by George and Leidner in 2019, who studied political participation, respectively offline and online (Milbrath, 1965)(George & Leidner, 2018). The approach used for the methodology is standard (Marradi, 1984): the data collection tool was a web-survey (Veltri, 2019), posted on the main social networks and filled out by 946 users, living in Italy, during the period from June 2022 to January 2023. The web survey proved to be a useful tool for analyzing individual actions taken by people (George & Leidner, 2018), giving us a general overview of the state of activism in Italy. Moreover, it was also useful for making methodological reflections on the limitations and potential offered to us by using digital tools.

Climate change is having increasing impacts on the social, economic and political space across the African continent. The compounding character of such impacts reinforces existing inequalities, raising important considerations around climate justice. Growing awareness has seen the emergence of activists working for solutions and promoting alternative futures, working across scales and sectors to address the complexity of the threats. This article examines environmental activism in Nigeria and South Africa, exploring strategies and claims, and how these are rooted in questions of justice. While environmental movements in Nigeria have generally worked to encourage reform and adaption within the existing political economic system, a more systemic critique and need for fundamental change is observable in South Africa. Drawing on a comparison of Extinction Rebellion in both countries, we argue that understandings of just transitions should take into consideration the unequal abilities of social movements to call for radically transformative and just decarbonisation.

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Green brand advocacy, a unique phenomenon wherein regular customers champion environmentally conscious businesses, constitutes a vital extension of pro-environmental goals. This research extends prior research in green marketing by investigating the interplay between environmental activists and brands. Specifically, this research delves into the influence of attributing human-like qualities to nature and specific emotions evoked by nature on green brand advocacy in the scope of environmental activism. The research adopts the Simulation Theory to frame five pivotal concepts: nature anthropomorphism, ecological injustice, nature love, green trust, and green brand advocacy. Employing purposive sampling, this research gathered data from 303 environmental activists in Indonesia. A two-step analysis, utilizing the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) via SPSS and AMOS software, was conducted to interpret the data. This research yields several theoretical contributions: firstly, nature anthropomorphism indirectly affects green brand advocacy through its positive relationship with ecological injustice and nature love. Secondly, this research uncovers that green trust negatively moderates the relationship between ecological injustice and green brand advocacy, emphasizing the need to effectively manage green trust to foster pro-environmental behaviors. The findings also carry noteworthy managerial implications: Businesses targeting environmental activists should customize their marketing content to align with activists’ anthropomorphic perspective of nature. However, businesses must also consider the potential adverse effects of green trust in their green marketing campaigns. Therefore, a balanced approach is advised, focusing on cultivating customer trust while promoting eco-friendly products. Overall, this research sheds light on the determinants influencing green brand advocacy in the context of environmental activism.

On Sunday 20 August 2023, Ecuadoreans went to the polls to elect a new president, following the collapse of the catastrophic right-wing government of Guillermo Lasso (2021–3). On the same day, two referendums also took place. The first asked voters to decide whether oil production should continue in oil fields located in and around the Yasuni National Park. Yasunidos, the social movement behind the initiative, showed remarkable resilience to force the referendum a decade after the Rafael Correa government (2007–17) blocked it. In the event, 59 per cent of voters supported the referendum, binding the state to cease operations in the oil fields. The second referendum sought to prohibit mining in Choco Andino, a region of extreme biodiversity north-west of the capital city, Quito. The umbrella movement that helped coordinate the initiative (Quito Sin Minería) collected hundreds of thousands of signatures in Metropolitan Quito to hold the referendum, which was backed by 68 per cent of voters.