In recent decades, the worldwide increase in consumption has had a negative impact on the environment and climate change. Consumers have become aware that through our actions we are influencing the environment and society, and this has resulted in our taking responsibility and changing of our behavior. This thesis explores the understanding of sustainable consumption and the attitude towards introducing sustainable consumer practices into the purchasing process of food products. I was interested in how well consumers are aware of sustainable aspects, how they value them, how much of them they are already including sustainability in the buying process and what obstacles or barriers they are facing in this regard. Using the method of semi-structured interviews, I have found that sustainable behavior is well known and positively valued by consumers. The main barriers to sustainable consumption are comfort and convenience of unsustainable shopping practices, which result from a lack of time and habits which pursue a fast-paced lifestyle. It is encouraging, however, that respondents are aware of the importance of their consumer behavior, that they are slowly incorporating sustainable practices and taking responsibility for sustainable shopping with a critical view on their shopping habits. The abovementioned facts are thus creating the motivation to introduce and strengthen sustainable purchasing practices of food products.
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