The forest can be associated with a variety of values such as economic value (market value), affectional value (feelings), nostalgic value (longing for the past), historical value (an appreciation of the past), experiential value (how it is experienced), place value (how it is experienced depending on location and surroundings such as different trees, wind power etc) and functional value (how it is used, for wood products, textiles etc.). In a society dealing with severe climate change, the forest is expected to contribute to the transition towards environmental sustainability according to the Paris agreement (unfccc.int). The forest’s ability to stores carbon dioxide makes it preferable to maintain the forest or even increase the number of trees to compensate for emissions of greenhouse gases from other sectors. The goal of the Paris agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2 Celcius, preferably to 1,5 Celcius (unfccc.int). There are conflicting opinions whether the forest should be kept or not. By not harvesting the forest, carbon dioxide is stored in the soil. At the same time, material from the forest is expected to be used instead of cement and fossil-based raw material and hence it needs to be harvested. In addition to different opinions on whether the forest should be harvested or not, there are also different opinions on the practices of managing a forest, including the trees to plant and the type of forest harvesting. 

The role of the forest in the move towards a sustainable society needs to be understood in relation to contemporary consumer culture. The purpose of this paper is to highlight different consumption practices that are related to the forest by presenting different logics representing different views on the forest and its relation to consumption. Throughout the paper, examples are given from Sweden that represents a country of trees. Different actors have different views on forest governance and management in Sweden over time (e.g., Mårald et al. 2017). Macromarketing researchers emphasize the importance of sustainability and consumption (e.g., Assadourian 2010; Kilbourne, McDonagh and Prothero 1997). A macromarketing perspective of the role of the forest in the move towards a sustainable society is important in that it recognizes the complexity of different values and power relations in logics co-existing in contemporary consumer culture.