The practice of minimalism has the potential to enhance living standards, and work output, change consumer consumption behaviour, and ultimately lessen the problem of domestic waste to the environment and create a better world for all people. Minimalism encourages consumption reduction, which lessens its negative effects on the environment. Today's youth perceive themselves as being more environmentally friendly in their daily actions. Therefore, the goal of this study is to identify the variables that can affect young consumers' intentions to adopt a minimalist lifestyle. One hundred and twenty young consumers living in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia were chosen using the mall intercept approach. They were questioned about their environmental concern, intentions to live minimally, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behaviour control concerning minimalism. The respondents indicate a strong desire to live a minimalist lifestyle in the future, but a moderate level of environmental concern. Only perceived behaviour was determined by the study to be a reliable predictor of the intention to live a minimalist lifestyle. Interestingly the study shows that environmental concern did not show a significant relationship with minimalist lifestyles. Therefore, more need to be done on creating environmental awareness among younger consumer and relating it to a minimalist lifestyle.
Hashim, A. H., Xi, H. C., and Sein, C. W. (2018). Young Malaysian consumers’ perception towards zero waste. Malaysian Journal of Consumer and Family Economics. Vol. 21, 65-77.
Ajzen, I. (2012). Martin Fishbein legacy: The reasoned action approach. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 640 (1), 11-24.
Arya, R. (2020) The philosophy of minimalism: All you need to know. https://www.minimalray.com/philosophy/
Bedford, T., Jones, P., & Walker, H. (2004). "Every little bit helps”. Overcoming the challenges of researching, promoting, and implementing sustainable lifestyles. Centre for Sustainable Development. University Westminster.
Bradshaw, E. (2019). Intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations and psychological well-being: a meta-analysis and latent profile analyses of life goals (Unpublished Thesis), Australian Catholic University.
Crofts, C. (2017). Minimalist living: An Introduction to minimalism. https://www.goodreads.com/book/shows/35270228-minimalist-living
Cole, C. (2010). Overconsumption is costing us the Earth and human happiness. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/21/overconsumption-environment-relationships-annie-leonard
Cross, G. R., Flores-Pineda, C., & Hindin, E. (1990). Expert system for hazardous waste remedial action decisions. Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Materials. Jan 1990. http://doi.org/10.1089/hwm.1990.7.185
Dimock, M. (2019). Defining generations: Where millennials end and generation Z begins. Pew Research Center. 17 (1), 1-7.
Dittmar, H., Bond, R., Hurst, M., & Kasser, T. (2014). The relationship between materialism and personal well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107 (5), 897-924. doi:10.1037/a0037409.
Dursun, I., Kabadayi, E. T., Koksal, Cg., and Tuger, A. T. (2016). Pro-environmental consumption: Is it really all about the environment? Journal of Management Marketing and Logistics. 3 (2), 114-134.
Dunlap, R. E., Van Liere, K. D., Merting, A. G., & Jones, R. E. (2000). New trends in measuring environmental attitudes: Measuring endorsement of The New Ecological paradigm: A revised NEP scale. Journal of Social Issue, 56 (3), 425-442.
Ebreo, A., Hershey, J., & Vining, J. (1999). Reducing solid waste: linking recycling to environmentally responsible consumerism. Environment and Behaviour, 31, 107-134.
Eccleston, P. (2007). Public concerned on the environment, survey says. https:// www.tel.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/3312688/Public-concerned-on-environmental-survey-says.html
Edwards, A. (2017) An introduction to minimalist living. http://www.upcyclist.co.uk/2017/01/introduction-minimalist-living/
Gwangdi, M. I., Muhammad, Y. A., & Tagi, S. M. (2016). The impact of environmental degradation on human health and its relevance to the right to health under international law. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 12 (10).
Hardin-Fanning, F., & Ricks, J. M. (2017). Attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control factors influencing cooking skills programs in rural central Appalachia. Global Health Promotion, 24(4), 43-52.
Hook, J. N., Hodge, A. S., Zhang, H., Van Tongeren, D. R., & Davis, D. E. (2021). Minimalism, voluntary simplicity, and well-being: A systematic review of the empirical literature. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1-12.
Horowitz, A. (2013). Adopting the minimalist lifestyle. https://books.google.com.my/books?id=9Wm_AAAAQBAJ&printsec
Houghton, J. (2003). Global warming is now a weapon of mass destruction. The Guardian, 28. 14.
Jain, V. K., Gupta, A., and Verma, H. (2003). Goodbye materialism: exploring antecedents of minimalism and its impact on millennials well-being. Environmental Development Sustainability. Jun 8, 1-27. doi:10.1007/s10668-023-03437-0
Javaid, M. (2022). Press Release. The Younger Consumer and Path to Sustainability. Credit Suisse Research Institute.
https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us-news/en/articles/media-releases/the-2022-path-to-sustainability-report--75--of-young-consumers-w-202107.html
Kang, J., Matrtinez, C. M. J., and Johnson, C. (2021). Minimalism as a sustainable lifestyle: Its behavioral representations and contributions to emotional well-being. Sustainable Production and Consumption, vol. 27, 802-813.
Karg, C, (2015). New fashion minimalism in an affluent society: A paradigm shift? Thesis. The Swedish School of Textiles, University of Boras.
Kumar, B. (2012). Theory of planned behavior approach to understanding the purchasing behavior for environmentally sustainable products. Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad-380015. Research and publications.
Kondo, M. (2014). The life-changing magic of tidying up: The Japanese art of decluttering and organizing. Ten Speed Press.
Larson, J. (2020). How Gen Z is embracing minimalism and reinventing prosperity. https://sustainablelivingassociation.org/how-gen-z-is-embracing-minimalism-and-reinventing-prosperity/
Maichum, K., Parichatnon, S., & Peng, Ke-Chung. (2016). Application of the extended theory of planned behavior model to investigate purchase intention of green products among Thai consumers. Sustainability, MDPI, Oct. vol. 8(10), 1-20.
Millburn, J., & Nicodemus, R. (2016). Minimalism. Live a meaningful life. Asymmetrical press.
Ofei, M. (2023). Why is minimalism so popular? 10 reasons why it's here to stay. https://theminimalistvegan.com/minimalism-popularity/
Paoletti, A. (2022). Gen Z and Environmental Issues: How to earn young consumer trust. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2022/06/01/gen-z-and-environmental-issues-how-to-earn-young-consumers-trust/?sh=1d53fc1533ab
Par, T. (2021). Materialism to minimalism. BU Well, 6 (1).
Rathour, A., and Makame, G. (2021). Decluttering the future: An analysis of Indian minimalism. International Journal, 1(3), 1744-1765.
Robin, N., & Roberts, S. (1998). Consumption in a sustainable world. (WWW document). URL http://wwww.iied.org/smg/pubs/work-bk2.html.
Sharifah, A. H., Laily, P., & Nurizan, Y. (2005). Towards sustainable consumption: An examination of environmental knowledge among Malaysians. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 29 (5), 426-436.
Sasaki, F. (2015). Goodbye things, hello minimalism: Can living with less make you happier? https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/12/goodbye-things-hello-minimalism-can-living-with-less-make-you-happier
Sheth, J. N., Newman, B. I., & Gross, B. I. (1991). Why we buy what we buy: A theory of consumption values. Journal of Business Research, vol.22, no.2, pp. 159-170.
Smith, P. (2019). Four earth-friendly reasons to embrace minimalism. https://www.sparefoot.com/self-storage/blog/14439-4-earth-friendly-reasons-to-embrace-minimalism/
Team Lewis. (2022). The world is changing. How will you help? TEAM LEWIS Foundation X HeForShe – IWD 2022, March 8. https://www.flipsnack.com/teamlewis/team-lewis-foundation-x-heforshe-iwd-2022-report.html
Travers, M. (2021). Can Minimalism Make You Happier? New research praises the psychology of the minimalist movement. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-instincts/202111/can-minimalism-really-make-you-happier
United Nations. (2015). Sustainable development goals. 17 goals to transform our world. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/
Van Lange, P. A. M., Joireman, J., Parks, C. D., Van Dijk, E. (2013). The Psychology of social dilemma: A review. Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Process. Vol 12 (2), 125-141.
Vincent, B. E., & Othman, M. N. (2012). The role of religiosity in family communication and the development of materialistic value. African Journal of Business Management, 6 (7), 2412.
Yuanita, L. (2003). Overview of consumptive behaviour occurrence in purchasing of cellular phone. Jakarta: Fakultas Psikologi, Universitas Atma Jaya.
Yamane, T., and Kaneko, S. (2021). Is the younger generation a driving force toward achieving sustainable goals? Survey experiments. Journal of Cleaner Production 10 April, vol. 292.