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Since present levels and types of consumption are not environmentally sustainable, consumers need to become more sensitive to environmental issues and to the political implications of their behavior. This paper traces factors affecting green consumerism in several areas: clothing, transportation, food and management of household waste. Green consumerism is a complex phenomenon that is influenced on the collective level by social movements, boycotts, and government legislation and on the individual level by social class, income, education and life style. Most studies which examine the relationship between specific attitudes toward green consumption and behavior reveal discrepancies between attitudes and behavior. The attitude/behavior gap can be explained by the fact that green consumerism is most strongly associated with a specific, middle class life style and is not a widespread phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]