printEthical Consumption and Civil Society:
on New Aspects of the “Invisible” Connection in Russia
Shabanova M.A.
Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Prof., Department of Applied Economics, Leading Researcher, Center for Studies of Civil Society and the Nonprofit Sector, HSE University, Moscow, Russia mshabanova@hse.ru
Support from the Basic Research Program of HSE University is gratefully acknowledged (HSE-BR-2025-049).
Shabanova M.A. Ethical Consumption and Civil Society: on New Aspects of the “Invisible” Connection in Russia. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2026. No 9. P. 96-109
The article raises the question of ethical consumption as an “invisible” sphere of modern civil society in Russia, one that expands its boundaries and functions. Using data from a representative survey (N = 2,011, December 2024), the study reveals the level of Russians’ engagement in various types of ethical consumption that cover different stages of goods handling. These include: ethical purchasing and boycotts; separate household waste collection; free transfer of unneeded items; household waste reduction (ethical handling of bags and packaging; solidarity practices of “food rescue”); voluntary simplification of consumer standards. On this basis, the achieved level of maturity (consistency, coherence) of ethical consumption as a comprehensive phenomenon is determined. Accordingly, the distribution of Russians into five types is shown: “Indifferent”, “Single-domain”, “Dual-domain”, “Advanced”, and “Leading”. By means of regression analysis, it is demonstrated for the first time that Russians’ involvement in the traditional sphere of civil society (both formal and informal) is positively associated with the accelerated ethical crystallization of consumption. The opposition between ethical consumption (as a type of individualized collective action) and the traditional sphere of citizens’ self-organization has not found empirical support in Russia. On this new basis, it is concluded that the two spheres of civil society do not compete but rather support and reinforce each other, thereby increasing the contribution of each to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.
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