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Volume 25, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 1474-2748
  • E-ISSN: 2040-0551

Abstract

Zero-waste (ZW) lifestyle has gained global momentum, yet its actual adoption remains limited. This study explores the perceived adoption barriers of ZW lifestyle by analysing YouTube comments through a netnographic approach. Comments were thematically analysed to uncover common barriers to ZW living, as well as the emotional and psychological responses related to those perceived barriers. Findings reveal three major adoption barriers: inaccessibility, unaffordability and unsuitability of ZW alternatives. Aspirants often demonstrate strong motivation, even making extra efforts and logistical sacrifices, but these efforts collapse when multiple barriers converge. This inability to realize aspirations translate into helplessness, frustration, guilt, resignation, while simultaneously provokes calls for accountability and sparks scepticism towards providers and regulators. Nevertheless, some aspirants take pragmatic stances, finding small, incremental, self-driven approaches to advance their ZW aspirations. The study contributes methodologically by utilizing user comments to present an adaptive, non-canonized and context-driven examination of ZW lifestyle adoption barriers. It also contributes theoretically by presenting manifestation of perceived barriers through unfiltered voices of its aspirants, thus uncovering how these barriers are experienced, negotiated and contested in everyday life. This nuanced insights into perceived barriers also provide practitioners practical guide for aligning ZW alternatives with the lived realities of ZW lifestyle aspirants.

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2026-03-18
2026-04-20

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Barriers to adopting a zero-waste lifestyle: Thematic analysis of user comments
International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development 25, 121 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1386/tmsd_00115_1
/content/journals/10.1386/tmsd_00115_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): netnography; sustainable lifestyle challenges; YouTube comment analysis; zero-waste alternative; zero-waste barriers; zero-waste consumer lifestyle; zero-waste lifestyle adoption; zero-waste living

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