Abstract:

The article describes one of the latest trends in the area of consumption, namely investment consumption. Its assumptions stem from the new culture of consumption which is redefining a person’s wellbeing based on non-material values, including the requirements of attending to his/her health and image but also the positive relations with society and the natural environment. The basis for these changes in behaviour result from moving away from the traditional to the pro-investment system of values. In such an approach there is a changed perception of a human being in the category of social capital, which is subject to investment through educating and increasing skills, as well as creating the conditions required for the protection of health and prevention based on observing the appropriate rules of consumption. Thus work becomes an important source of that capital when treated not as an obligation but an opportunity for self-development.Activities regarding protection of the environment, especially those concerning pro-ecological behaviour defined as investment, guarantee the future development of this capital and provide the basis of deconsumption behaviour, thus becoming the alternative in respect of the values of consumption itself. A consumer interpreted in this way becomes a part of the ecosystem and protects instead of degrading it.The author provides examples from her own research conducted in 2018 using the method of a diagnostic survey applying the technique of a questionnaire to 504 respondents, and qualitative research using the technique of an in-depth interview (IDI) on 56 residents from five regions (voivodeships) in Poland: dolnośląskie, łódzkie, śląskie, lubuskie and opolskie. The aim of the research was to verify the research hypothesis concerning the influence of independent variables such as age, education and economic status, etc. on the preferences of the specific system of values and modes deconsumption behaviour.