Environmentalism and consumerism: The contradiction of globalization in behavior consumption of the urban middle class in Surabaya, Indonesia

The aim of this research is to study the human–environment interactions in Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia. We will focus on middle-class behavior because the middle class is most susceptible to globalizing impacts on the environment. This study uses a qualitative method: observation and purposive sampling (in-depth, open-ended interviews) in Surabaya and the data are taken from 2017 to 2018. The targeted findings of this research are the consumption behaviors of the urban-middle class in Surabaya and how this class negotiates between environmentalism and consumerism. Important findings include models of consumption and environmental awareness of the middle class in Surabaya. One most important finding indicates that the higher the social class the individual is, the less s/he is concerned with environmental issues. The choice of middle-class consumptive lifestyles functions as a strong influence for its members to neglect their environmental consciousness for the sake of prestige and consumption.