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The concept of ‘Zero waste’ directly challenges the assumption of waste as a valueless and an unavoidable by-product of consumption. As a production/design principle, ‘Zero waste’ considers the full product life and leads towards a reconsideration and redesign of the entire economic system.Ìý This has recently influenced the creation of new ordinary goods and products. Such innovations are now a strong ‘lifestyle’ component within the ‘zero-waste living’ movement, which is active on social media platforms.ÌýÌý Recent studies of zero waste lifestyle have examined the role of ‘Instagram’ for creating specific online communities: Ramjaun, T.A. for example has argued that Instagram users tend to use the hashtag tool in different ways for community building and engagement purposes.Ìý Prof. Miele will report on an analysis of selected social media content and ethnography of litter picking/interview data, how concerns for waste are articulated in everyday practices and how the market of ‘zero waste’ products is uniquely shaped by social media and digital presences.Ìý

Mara Miele biography

Mara Miele is a professor of human geography in the School of Geography and Planning at Cardiff University. She is a cultural geographer interested in ethical consumption (particularly in food), animal geography, Science Technology, and Society, and geographies of science (animal welfare science). Her research has focused on public understanding of science, the role of public concerns for animal welfare, and how these concerns have affected the market of animal-friendly produced products. In the last fifteen years, she coordinated and participated in several research projects funded by the European Union (Welfare Quality, 2004-2009, Dialrel 2006-2010), looking at animal food consumption practices in Europe, the public understanding of animal welfare issues, religious slaughter and the ethics of eating animal food.ÌýÌý

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