World Consumer Rights Day
World Consumer Rights Day
Every year 15th March is celebrated as the World Consumer Rights Day.
World Consumer Rights Day was inspired by President John F Kennedy, who sent a special message to the US Congress on 15th March 1962, in which he formally addressed the issue of consumer rights. He was the first world leader to do so. The consumer movement first marked that date in 1983 and now uses the day every year to mobilise action on important issues and campaigns.
Objective
World Consumer Rights Day is an annual international event that signifies celebration and solidarity in the international consumer movement, demanding that, consumer rights are to be respected and protected. The event also gives a chance to protest against the market abuses and social injustices which undermine those rights.
Theme for 2021
Each year, World Consumer Rights Day adopts a theme to highlight. This year the theme promoted is "Tackle Plastic Pollution.".
Our ecosystem suffers from single-use plastics as these continue to fill our oceans. Where consumers are increasingly concerned about plastic pollution, they are already taking action. As a global consumer movement, we play a critical role in tackling plastic pollution and promoting sustainable consumption.
Plastic is a highly useful material in our everyday lives, but our consumption and production of plastics, especially single-use plastic, have become unsustainable. However, there is not a single solution to tackling plastic pollution, so we have created the 7 Rs Model of Waste Management (replace, rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and repair), to show you various ways to combat this issue.
Did you know?
- By 2050, it is estimated that there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish
- 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and 1 million sea birds are killed by marine plastic pollution annually
- An estimated 8 million tons of plastic enters our oceans every year
- Single-use plastics account for 50 percent of the plastic produced every year
- Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years
- 40 per cent of plastic produced is packaging and discarded after one use
Source : Consumer International