Vol. 2 (2026)
Practice Theory and Social Change

Re-views

Re-viewed: Alan Warde’s (2005) ‘Consumption and Theories of Practice’ in the Journal of Consumer Culture

Published 24-02-2026

  • Dale Southerton
    • ,
  • Tamzin Rollason
    • ,
  • Torik Holmes
    • ,
  • Jenny Rinkinen
    • ,
  • Elizabeth Shove

Dale Southerton
Centre for Sociodigital Futures, Bristol

Tamzin Rollason
School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University

Torik Holmes
Sustainable Consumption Institute and Sociology, University of Manchester

Jenny Rinkinen
Social Sciences, LUT University

Elizabeth Shove
Sociology, Lancaster University

An abstract image of refracting shapes in orange and yellow.

Abstract

This first set of re-views revisits a foundational text in the sociology of consumption, Alan Warde’s ‘Consumption and Theories of Practice’, published in the Journal of Consumer Culture in 2005. Rather than offering a single reading, the section brings together three commentaries written by people whose work has been influenced by the article. Dale Southerton positions Warde’s article within a series of intellectual ‘moments’ that have shaped his own research trajectory. Tamzin Rollason revisits the text from the perspective of sustainable consumption and fashion research. Finally, Torik Holmes invites a re-reading of Warde’s work as an intervention in the politics of consumption. Together, these re-views provide a glimpse into the past twenty years of debate at the intersection of practice theory and consumption and show how contributions like Warde’s article are interpreted and mobilised in current research.

Keywords

consumption, fashion, moments, politics of consumption

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References

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