Today, being eco-minded is an integral part of living consciously. Consumers are switching to “slow” food, “slow” fashion, “slow” living, focusing on quality and durability rather than quantity and growth. People are caring not only about what and how they consume, they are questioning their impact on environment and society: consumerism is gradually giving way to mindful lifestyle.  Now, it’s not about owning or digesting more, it’s about consuming no more than you really need, making the most of resources and giving back to nature. Below, there are six growing trends that have been driving mindful consumption movement over the year of 2013.

Cities are gradually evolving into more personalized spaces, allowing citizens to organize their life in the most sustainable way. Originally being areas for masses, cities are shifting towards focusing on individuals—their intellectual and physical needs, their passions, social and environmental views and aspirations.

Within the past year, there have been two major trends in re-arranging urban life: on the one hand, cities tend to be eco-friendly and more comfortable; on the other hand, the urban environment integrates technology for communal living, thus gets more tech-oriented and somewhat futuristic.

Find some most vibrant trends in urban living that will gain momentum in 2014, below.

An unusual study «Secrets and Lies» by Y&R reveals unconscious views and values of consumers that can be hardly ever learnt from ‘regular’ surveys. Conducted in April 2013 among 900 online respondents from the U.S., Brazil and China, the survey combines two methodologies: traditional survey research to reveal what people want others to think of them, as well as indirect questioning, a so-called Implicit Association that sheds light on consumers’ unconscious, hidden motivations.

Why to buy something if you need it for a limited time only? It’s much easier (and more rational) to share underused assets instead of purchasing and owning them individually. The past few years have witnessed the rise of what’s called the sharing (share or shared, collaborative, peer, access) economy which implies collaborative consumption of physical, virtual and intellectual goods. The new model of consumer relationship emerges at the intersection of online social networking, mobile technology and the social movement that comes as a response to the reduction in purchasing power. While the concept of the sharing economy seems to be clear, it needs some detailing. Why is the sharing economy good to people? What threats to traditional business can it pose? Does the collaborative consumption have a potential to become a consumer religion of tomorrow?