Achieving a change in the material flows of the global economic system, reducing resource through-put, in order to sustainably operate within planetary boundaries will require radical transformation. Circular economy is suggested to be a promising framework to this effect, with the potential of guiding policy as well as practice towards responsible production and consumption.

Recent research however suggests that practical implementation of circular economy, and thus its impact, may be limited due to lacking consideration of the role of consumption and consumer behaviour. If so, this could be a major barrier to its ability to effectively challenge the linear system.

In this study I begin to explore and reflect upon the role of consumption in circular economy, from a perspective based on theory about sustainable socio-ecological systems and deliberate sustainable system transformation.

To this end, a theoretical framework was developed, building on focused synthesis literature review on sustainability transformation. Providing an analytical context to both a) situate the role of consumption in circular economy within the social ecological system, and b) provide an increased understanding of the transformative potential of circular economy for sustainability, by allowing the exploration of gaps and untapped potential for change.

            A thematic text analysis of publications from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation was performed to explore the role of consumption and consumers, as presented in the transformation narrative of circular economy in this body of practice literature.

The findings suggest that the roles of consumption and the consumer are simultaneously central, and disregarded, in this literature. The consumer is always implicated, sometimes mentioned, but rarely fully considered, and is here thus described as ‘hiding in plain sight’. It is considered that there is need for greater consideration and knowledge of drivers of consumption in order to achieve a broad system transformation.