For a long time, vision dominated scientific research related to consumption. However, in the past 15 or so years there has been a gradual but steady interest in how the other senses can impact upon aspects such as consumer decision-making, product evaluation, and attention. The tactile sense in particular has been hailed as having the capacity to alter consumer perceptions and at times even directly compete with visual input. This review looks at numerous aspects of how touch is linked to consumption, such as; why it is an important tool, when tactile input is useful, the role of interpersonal touch in consumption and applicability to sales techniques, whether a “tactile language” can be established and how need for touch can be measured. By doing so this review draws upon research evidence from multiple disciplines, including consumer psychology, marketing, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. The review seeks to present the reader with a sense of why tactile research is important to consumer sciences.

Councils and social housing organisations are looking to retrofit as a way to make their housing more energy efficient. Previous studies on energy use in social housing have generally focussed on the technological aspects (such as the potential savings possible by retrofitting this class of housing across the UK) or have involved one-off interventions or measures. During a 2-year period, we worked with previously homeless people to reduce their energy consumption. The 32 participants lived in small blocks of flats (owned by a social housing organisation) that underwent retrofitting with air source heat pumps. We ran a three-phase tenant engagement programme to compare a range of approaches aimed at energy reduction. It was found that education, social norms and self-awareness are all key components when it comes to initiating environmentally responsible behaviours. The three approaches complemented each other, and these ought to be considered alongside technology provision if the aim is to reduce energy consumption. A number of reflections on the implementation of medium-term tenant engagement programmes are also presented. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Government policy aimed at curbing carbon emissions often focusses on encouraging individual action, however the effectiveness of this approach has been limited. Investigations of why this might be have included segmentation, to identify different groups who undertake more or less action, and analysis of various “barriers” to action. Those on lower incomes who are not home owners have previously been found to be less engaged in seeking out energy efficiency information. Working with low-income tenants living in supported social housing we conducted three group interviews, accompanied by a 7-item scale measuring general attitude towards the environment. The interviews were aimed at opening up discussion about environmental and energy issues, including exploring more deeply what, for these participants, underlies barriers to conservation behaviours. We found participants to be very willing to engage in conversation and knowledgeable about a range of relevant issues. Barriers explored include: lack of confidence in existing levels of knowledge, habit, self-interest and lack of agency, and in all cases several different perspectives were voiced by participants. Implications for policy, interventions and public engagement are given, including ways to increase dialogue and reflection on sustainability issues for all sectors of society.

A real-world study was conducted with the aim to reduce people’s fresh fruit and vegetables waste within their homes. For 6 weeks participants measured their fresh produce waste. Half the participants were impelled to complete food waste logs whilst the other half was a control group. This was followed by a 6-month monitoring period to establish if changes would last. Fresh produce waste decreased with over a quarter of what the participants had wasted at the beginning of the 6 weeks, for all groups. Additionally, an attitude questionnaire distributed at the onset and at the end of the study showed a shift in pro-reduction of food waste. As this indicated that thinking about food waste prompts engagement, we tested this idea using a different sample group. A questionnaire measuring attitudes and cognition confirmed the importance of thinking and provided further insight into the findings from the first study.

During a period of 6 months, 15 previously homeless male participants from a small town in the UK were encouraged to adopt an intrinsic and environmentally responsible attitude. The aim was to specifically reduce the participants' energy consumption. This was done through self- awareness sessions in parallel with traditional environmental educational sessions. Self-awareness was in this study used as a tool to help guide the participants towards a positive sense of self through the engagement of energy saving behaviours. The self-awareness sessions took place in the form of a series of small group sessions. Focus groups were conducted prior to the group sessions taking place and after they had been completed, in order to measure whether their environmentally held beliefs had changed. Each focus group was structured around their environmentally held beliefs and took around 1 hour. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the focus groups. The analysis revealed that at the onset the participants lacked interest in energy reduction behaviours. However, after having taken part in the self-awareness sessions it became evident that a shift in attitudes had occurred. This investigation was part of a bigger project with the participants in which their social housing underwent retrofitting with air-source heat pumps, to make the houses more energy efficient. Consequently, participants' energy usage was monitored using smart meters. Such monitoring supported the results from the thematic analysis in that it showed a decrease in energy use during the 6 months period the participants attended self-awareness sessions.

Individual households make significant contributions to food waste. Combating this waste would allow for better food distribution globally that can help combat global hunger. As there is currently a limited understanding as to why people waste food, we conducted semi-structured interviews with people that had taken part in a food waste reduction study, to explore drivers that contribute to reduced food waste within UK homes. Using a thematic analysis, four themes were identified based around the importance of thinking about food waste, having a flexible approach to food waste, as well as being emotionally engaged in food waste reduction processes. It was also explored if others have a role to play in whether people try to reduce their waste; however, contrary to previous findings, such a notion was not supported here. The implications of the findings are discussed.