While Australian alcohol consumption continues to remain high by world standards (WHO, 2011), recent national statistics show a polarisation in drinking patterns. Australians overall are drinking less in 2010 as compared with 2007 and young Australians, particularly those under the legal drinking age, are choosing to delay onset of their first alcoholic beverage (AIHW, 2011a). Nonetheless, these positive trends are accompanied by continued high levels of sessional consumption. The number of Australians consuming alcohol in risky quantities has increased from 3.5 million in 2007 to 3.7 million in 2010, with one in three 18-29 year olds more likely than other age categories to drink at risky levels regularly (AIHW, 2011b). Male risky drinking outnumbers that of females (i.e.: more than 2 standard drinks a day), however risky drinking behaviour among young adult females is trending upwards (AIHW, 2011b). Consequently, alcohol consumption among Australians, particularly young adults, remains a key concern for public health, policy makers and researchers. Extant literature discusses the problematic associations of binge drinking, the normalised practises around heavy drinking, and the extent to which binge drinking is prioritised as a consumption experience among young adults (Hutton 2012; Lyons & Willott 2008; Szmigin et al., 2008). Less well understood within alcohol research are the contexts and consequences that influence young adult preferences for drinking responsibly. Critically, little attention has been directed towards understanding how individuals transition from risky drinking to responsible levels of consumption. Through the lens of social practice theory the objective of this case study is to leverage insight into approaches and practices consumers engage to co-create their own responsible drinking, and the role of the social collective in sustaining behaviour change practices. The context is Hello Sunday Morning (HSM). HSM is an online community space originating in Australia where individuals share, through blogging, their experiences of enacting behavioural change and responsibility for changing their own drinking behaviour.Griffith Business School, Department of MarketingNo Full Tex

Food waste is a significant environmental, economic, and social issue. In many cases, packaging protects food and prolongs its shelf life, reducing the overall environmental impact by reducing food waste. This research focuses on consumer perceptions of the role of packaging and on-pack labelling in reducing household food waste. The following research questions provided the framework for the study: (1) could packaging play a role in decreasing food waste; (2) what are labelling and packaging designs’ impacts on consumer decision-making about food waste? This research draws on two qualitative studies. Study One focuses on journey mapping—following food waste throughout the consumer’s engagement with food ‘journey’ from planning to disposal. Study Two comprises a series of in-depth interviews in consumers’ homes focusing on how consumers engage with food packaging and food waste. Results indicate that there are at least two streams of consumer perceptions to consider when determining the relationship between food packaging and reducing food waste: the first is how practically useful packaging is for consumer needs; the second is consumers’ perceptions about food packaging itself. There are tensions and trade-offs between these two sets of considerations. The results of the studies show consumers are unlikely to consider food packaging or reducing food waste as a primary motivation in their food purchasing decisions. The studies also show reducing packaging, including plastic packaging, is seen as more important than reducing food waste. Our results also highlight important elements to consider when designing food packaging. These results suggest that a fundamental review is needed for many aspects of packaging and storage information and that this review should account for consumers’ information needs at different points: purchase, storage, during consumption, and between instances of consumption. Furthermore, our results suggest packaging designs that provide clear information and instructions for consumers to reduce food waste are needed.

Consumers are vital stakeholders in creating and reducing food waste. However, limited research into consumers’ perceptions of food waste and food packaging is available to inform research, packaging design or policy so that sustainable consumption practices among consumers might be better encouraged and enabled. By applying multivariate linear modelling to a sample of 965 Australian consumers, this study investigated consumers’ perceptions of packaging and packaging’s relationship to food waste. Overall, consumers perceived packaging waste as a more serious environmental issue than food waste. Most consumers did not consider food waste as an extreme environmental issue. Consumers’ perceptions of the seriousness of food waste also influenced their perceptions of packaging designed to reduce food waste. Significant differences between men and women and older and younger consumers were found regarding the relationship between packaging and food waste as well as food waste as an environmental issue. This study provides a detailed understanding of consumers and packaging, and it alerts designers and decision-makers to the differing attitudes towards food and packaging waste as well as the likelihood of consumers taking up more sustainable consumption practices.

Summary: Community sport organizations promote beneficial health outcomes such as social connection and physical activity, yet they can also facilitate the consumption of unhealthy food and beverages. To provide a foundation for future research and to inform intervention efforts in this context, this scoping review summarizes existing knowledge of the factors that contribute to unhealthy food and beverage consumption in the community sport setting and explores the interventions to promote healthier choices. Using a qualitative process aligned with the nature of our aims, 228 articles were initially identified and subjected to a systemized appraisal, resulting in 45 articles pertinent to the review. The findings identify that the two key factors contributing to unhealthy food choices are the limited availability of healthy options within the sport setting and the presence of unhealthy food and beverage sponsorship. These factors contribute to the normalization of unhealthy eating in this context and health promotion interventions have had limited success. Barriers to change primarily stem from the revenue implications of removing unhealthy food sponsors, lack of organizational capabilities and resources, and consumer preference for unhealthy options. Public health practitioners seeking to intervene in this setting should consider adopting practices used in other settings outside of the sport environment, including the use of technology, the role of peers and mentors and the co-production of impactful material. Community sport plays a vital role in delivering health benefits but must do more to stem its facilitation of a potentially unhealthy consumptive environment.