Sustainable service-product systems (SPSSs) aided packaging-free shopping are expected to promote sustainable behaviour through enhanced user experience. Yet, understanding about this kind of practice is scarce. In this study, we adopted a qualitative approach through observations and semi-structured interviews with fifteen young consumers. The results present three stages of the practice and identify the challenges in each stage, using the practice theory as a theoretical basis. In light of these, the future offerings of SPSSs are proposed.@en

Christopher Alexander’s Pattern Language Theory (PLT) has been recognized as a valuable methodology to understand complex systems. It has been applied across domains through a variety of different approaches. This article reviews exist-ing approaches to PLT application and reflects upon the differences between them. We find that application generally differs across four components: artefact, activity, roles and tools, informed by practitioners’ diverging values and needs. We elaborate on how consciously navigating the dimensions that these components consist of can help to broaden the application of PLT in practice. We report on the development of a set of conceptual tools that aim to support this process. The resulting “activity kit” has been applied in a Dutch housing renovation project to support homeowners in communication and decision‐making to illustrate the applicability of our methodology. It can be concluded that the “activity kit” is a promising approach to broaden the use of PLT and contributes to the methodological repertoire of researchers and practitioners to address complexity in today’s societal challenges.

@en