Introduction

This chapter introduces the environmental challenges connected to affluent consumption by discussing income/consumption correlations vis-á-vis the concept of planetary boundaries. Affluent consumption is defined in relative terms based on two intertwined dimensions – access to resources for consumption purposes and consumption objects as symbols for social desirability. Statistics for ecological footprints and GHG emissions per capita for affluent countries are presented. Consumer goods sale statistics are used to illustrate the abstract notions of ecological footprints and GHG emissions. The embodied stress perspective on affluent consumption is discussed in relation to cognitive and individualized theoretical perspectives where the consumer body is missing.