Short answer
Design for longevity and adaptability, acknowledging and supporting user-led innovation in extending product lifecycles.
- Field
- Sustainability
- Source
- Marketing Theory (2025)
- Method
- Netnography (Online Ethnography)
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
Embracing 'rasquache consumption,' a resourceful and identity-affirming approach to extending the life of objects and materials, can significantly contribute to degrowth principles by challenging conventional consumption norms. This sustainability research insight is drawn from a 2025 study published in Marketing Theory. Using Netnography (online ethnography), researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Design for longevity and adaptability, acknowledging and supporting user-led innovation in extending product lifecycles.
Rasquache Consumption: Extending Product Lifecycles Through Resourceful Reimagining
Embracing 'rasquache consumption,' a resourceful and identity-affirming approach to extending the life of objects and materials, can significantly contribute to degrowth principles by challenging conventional consumption norms.
Marketing Theory · 2025
Key Findings
- 01Rasquache consumption involves creative extension of object and material lifecycles.
- 02These practices challenge dominant norms of sustainability and environmental responsibility.
- 03Rasquache behaviors are driven by resourcefulness, pride in ingenuity, and identity affirmation.
- 04Prioritizing personal values over market-imposed values is central to this consumption style.
Application
Design takeaway
Design for longevity and adaptability, acknowledging and supporting user-led innovation in extending product lifecycles.
How to apply
Observe and document how users currently extend the life of your products and design features that facilitate or encourage these practices.
Project actions
- 01Investigate how users in your target demographic extend the life of existing products.
- 02Consider designing products that are modular or easily repairable to encourage longer use.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Introduces a novel theoretical lens ('rasquache consumption') to degrowth literature.
- +Highlights the importance of user ingenuity and identity in sustainable consumption.
Limitations
It can be challenging to observe and quantify 'rasquache' behaviors accurately, and online data may not fully represent real-world actions.
Reliability & validity
The reliability of netnography can be enhanced through triangulation of data sources and rigorous analytical procedures. Validity is strengthened by clearly defining the construct of 'rasquache consumption' and grounding it in observable online behaviors.
Think critically
To what extent can 'rasquache consumption' be intentionally designed for, or does it inherently arise from user-led improvisation?
Design Principles
"Design for extended use through user ingenuity and resourcefulness."
This approach moves beyond traditional sustainability metrics by highlighting how users creatively adapt and prolong the use of products, thereby reducing the demand for new production and waste. Designers can learn to anticipate and support these user-driven lifecycle extensions.
What This Means for Your Design
Some people are really good at making things last longer by fixing them creatively or using them in new ways. This is called 'rasquache consumption' and it helps reduce waste and the need to buy new stuff, which is good for the planet.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use the concept of rasquache consumption to justify design choices aimed at product longevity and repairability.
- 2.Reference the study when discussing user-driven innovation in extending product lifecycles.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
This design project considers the principles of 'rasquache consumption,' a consumer practice characterized by resourceful ingenuity in extending the life of objects and materials. By designing for repairability and adaptability, this project aims to support user-led efforts to prolong product lifecycles, thereby contributing to degrowth principles and reducing material waste.
Source
Marketing Theory
Extending the life of objects and materials: Rasquache consumption for degrowth
journal · 2025
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about rasquache consumption: extending product lifecycles through resourceful reimagining?
- Design for longevity and adaptability, acknowledging and supporting user-led innovation in extending product lifecycles. Evidence: Marketing Theory (2025).
- Why does "Rasquache Consumption: Extending Product Lifecycles Through Resourceful Reimagining" matter for design?
- This approach moves beyond traditional sustainability metrics by highlighting how users creatively adapt and prolong the use of products, thereby reducing the demand for new production and waste. Designers can learn to anticipate and support these user-driven lifecycle extensions.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Design for longevity and adaptability, acknowledging and supporting user-led innovation in extending product lifecycles.
- What were the main findings?
- Rasquache consumption involves creative extension of object and material lifecycles.. These practices challenge dominant norms of sustainability and environmental responsibility.. Rasquache behaviors are driven by resourcefulness, pride in ingenuity, and identity affirmation.. Prioritizing personal values over market-imposed values is central to this consumption style.
- What research method was used?
- Netnography (Online Ethnography).
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2025 journal from Marketing Theory.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- Observe and document how users currently extend the life of your products and design features that facilitate or encourage these practices.
- What are the limitations?
- The study's reliance on online depictions may not capture the full spectrum of rasquache behaviors or potential biases in representation.