The growing demand for ecological products is in line with the trend towards the ecologisation of consumption, which has become key in times of striving to achieve sustainable development that aims to satisfy consumer needs while respecting the natural environment and future generations. The shaping of pro-ecological attitudes and behaviours in consumers requires continuous monitoring of such behaviours on the market of ecological products and investigation of the factors that influence consumers’ decisions and market choices. The aim of the article is to present the motives behind the purchase of ecological products, and the factors that shape the purchasing decisions of these products by Polish consumers. The article is based on an in-depth study of the literature and the results of proprietary empirical quantitative research conducted on a national sample of 1032 respondents, of whom 509 had purchased an ecological product within the last 3 months, and 523 had not made such a purchase in this period. Analysis of the results revealed the motives for purchasing ecological products, divided into egotistical motives and altruistic motives. The variation in these motives was also indicated depending on the socio-demographic characteristics of the consumers studied. It was shown that there is a dependency between consumers’ self-assessment of their level of knowledge on the functioning of the natural environment and the effect of humankind on it, and the purchase of ecological products. Analysis was also conducted of the factors perceived by consumers as restricting the purchase of ecological products, as well as the likelihood of a growth in the demand for and consumption of such products. There was shown to be a dependency between the reasons perceived by respondents for restricting the purchase of ecological products or the decision not to make such purchases, and consumer attitudes towards ecology.

This paper attempts to identify changes in the factors influencing the functioning and evolution of the Polish market for organic agricultural products. It brings together the results of surveys of farmers (carried out in 2011, 2019, and 2021), distributors (carried out in 2019 and 2021), and consumers (carried out in 2009 and 2021). Initially, farmers believed that the greatest opportunities for market development lay in demand factors, including in particular consumer environmental awareness. In 2021, their opinions worsened in this regard, which means they had difficulties reaching consumers. Another opportunity that was less popular than before was the EU subsidies. This is due to administrative and bureaucratic burdens, which, along with high production costs and weak links between farmers and distributors, were considered to be the biggest barriers to market development. For distributors, the survey produced similar conclusions. According to consumers, the greatest opportunities for market development result from increasing environmental awareness, increased diversity of products and better promotion. The barriers they highlighted include high prices, limited environmental education, lack of adequate state support, and insufficient information about the offer.

The Eurostat projections indicate that, by 2050, most of the European Union member states will see a fall in their population size, a drop in the share of young people, and a simultaneous rise in the share of elderly persons. There exist visible disproportions in the population structures between the EU countries, and the ageing of the population has two dimensions: it is occurring from the top down and from the bottom up. The goal of the study was to assess the stage of advancement and diversity of the ageing of population in the past and in the year 2050. Convergence models were designed for ten variables (indicators for structures by age, demographic dependency, median age) and a synthetic variable characterising the stage of advancement of the ageing of the structures. The occurrence of beta- and sigma-convergence of population structures in EU-27 in the years 2004–2020 and 2020–2050 were verified. The results indicate that absolute beta-convergence of the variables characterising the population structures in the EU countries happened in the past and will happen in around 2050. No unambiguous proof has been found for sigma-convergence, i.e., for any significant decrease over time in the diversity between the countries in terms of the studied variables that characterise the ageing process. In the past, the bottom-up ageing has occurred faster than the top-down ageing, while, in the future, it is expected to be the other way round.

In the scientific discourse on consumption, increasingly more attention is being paid to sustainable development. Regarding the fact that not only various types of enterprises, but also consumers contribute to the excessive consumption of natural resources, it is of crucial importance to reduce the knowledge gap in the field of sustainable consumer behavior and decision-making processes related to the choice of organic products. The paper aims to present the decision-making processes of Polish consumers of renewable energy against the background of other categories of ecological products. Special attention is paid to the extent in which the offer is adjusted to the needs of consumers of renewable energy in Poland, compared to other categories of ecological products. The paper also shows the perception of the consumer of ecological products by buyers of renewable energy and by people who do not buy ecological products. The paper is based on a literature review and the results of a quantitative empirical study. The quantitative research was performed on a nationwide sample of 1032 people, among whom 509 people bought an organic product in the last 3 months, and 523 people did not purchase such a product during this period. The analysis of the results allows us to conclude that in the case of renewable energy, factors such as price, quality and the producer’s certification play a crucial role in the decision-making processes of Polish consumers. The hierarchy of criteria considered in the decision-making process related to the purchase of renewable energy and equipment enabling the use of renewable energy sources is quite similar to the one observed when purchasing electric cars. At the same time, it should be noted that almost every second person purchasing renewable energy compares many offers and spends a relatively long time contemplating their choice.

Organic farming is one of the main directions of the EU’s farm-to-fork strategy in connection with the European Green Deal. In Poland, organic farming developed dynamically from the accession to the European Union until 2013 and then slowed down. This is a good reason to investigate the conditions affecting the supply side of organic food, especially that the distribution system hardly absorbs the production potential of Polish organic farming. There are few studies with in-depth analysis of relationships between farms and distributors. The research objectives adopted in this paper are the assessment of the intensity of the relations between farmers and organic food distributors. The analysis is based on desk research and the results of a survey of 120 owners of certified organic farms and 120 representatives of shops offering organic products. The results of the analysis show that there are many shops that are supplied by farmers (with a high intensity of relations with farmers) and, at the same time, few farmers selling their products to shops (with a low intensity of relations). Along with the low intensity of farmers’ relations with food processors, this is one of the main barriers to supply development.

Poland’s central statistical office, Statistics Poland, forecasts that the populations of most Polish provinces will decline by 2060, as will the share of young people, while the share of old-age population will increase. The population structure across Poland’s provinces is visibly disproportionate, and population ageing has two different dimensions: it is both a top-down and a bottom-up process. Aim. This study was designed to assess the advancement rate and diversity of population ageing in Poland’s provinces in the past – and in the future (up to 2040). This study used data on the share of five age groups in the overall population, referring to both the past (2002–2022) and the future (by 2040). To determine the convergence of population ageing...