Press Release: International Consumer Rights Day 2020

Read the full Press Release in PDF. 

Every year the global consumer movement celebrates 15 March as the World Consumer Rights Day; an occasion to join our voices and address the pressing challenges in the way of maximizing consumer protection and empowerment.

This year’s theme is “The Sustainable Consumer” and focuses on the urgent need of changing consumers’ lifestyle aimed at achieving true sustainability. The green transition is the talk of the town, with the EU Commission basing its new mandate (2019-2024) on the European Green Deal, which aims to reconcile economic growth with environmental sustainability and social justice.

Challenges persist and actions must be undertaken to curb disrupting human patters which lead to
1 million plastic bottles being sold around the world every minute, 5 trillion pieces of plastic floating in our oceans, and 3.9 billion tonnes of food consumed, of which one-third is wasted.  

It is undeniable - consumers are vital for the completion of any transition to a more sustainable world. In retail, the consumer is king. Worldwide, they have been increasing their demand for sustainable products and brands, pushing for systemic changes in global supply chains and a higher emphasis on reuse, recycling and sustainable food consumption along the way. However, they should not be made to carry the load on their shoulders alone. This is why the 2020 World Consumer Rights Day will also address the governments’ and businesses’ duty in this journey – namely, actions that would make the sustainable choice the easy choice for consumers. 

Being a co-operative means your responsibility does not end at the cash register. Consumer
co-operatives implement the principle of radical transparency and work tirelessly to provide maximum information to the consumer via labelling and awareness raising campaigns of different nature on issues such as overconsumption, pollution, health, food waste, and obesity.

Read the full Press Release in PDF.