This ar ticle proposes a multidisciplinar y and systemic approach to sustainable consumption that combines environmental con- siderations of energy usage from a life cycle perspective with a social understanding of consumption grounded in economic anthropology. The goal is to understand both consumption patterns and drivers, with a focus on household energy used for cooling in the metropolitan region of Manila in the Philip- pines. For different socioeconomic groups, cooling devices also deliver social and cultural services, such as socializing or ad- hering to Western fashion trends. This article argues for the need to address these aspects if reductions in household en- ergy usage are to become possible. The limits of individual- choice theories are rendered apparent, with examples of how institutional and structural conditions lock in consumption pat- terns and restrict household choices. The notion that emerging economies might be able to “leapfrog” over the environmen- tal errors of more industrialized countries is also raised and critiqued.