“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” ~ Robert Swan.
Dr. N. Munal Meitei
Environmentalist, presently working as DFO/Chandel,
email: nmunall@yahoo.in
September 28 is world Green Consumer Day, focusing primarily on importance of green habits of recycling, reusing and reducing waste material. The day also highlights the negative impact of consumerism on the environment. A green consumer is someone who is very much concerned about the environment and therefore, opt only eco-friendly products. The green consumer would buy recycled materials, reduce their shopping habits, avoid wildlife products and encourage others to do the same.
As to celebrate the day, we can reduce our electricity use, conserve water, recycle as a family, skip single-use plastics, reuse instead, buy used goods, go meatless days and these may be the small steps but will give a big impact. As the global warming and climate change are becoming more and more prevalent, people have realised the future crisis of the planet. Now, the term ‘green’ and ‘tree plantation’ have become a daily fashion, but we need the real results.
Green Consumer is a safe form of consumption that in no way harms the mother earth and can go on sustainably with the present and future generations. The concept highlights a consumer’s responsibility for addressing the environmental problems and the ways it can take part in the eradication of the problems, by adopting environment- friendly behaviour towards their consumption habits, such as clean, renewable energy and organic products.
To promote this consciousness, companies and governments are to encourage people to be green consumers. The more green consumers are there, the more the demand for eco-friendly products, and the happier our planet earth will be. But the concept needs a considerable shift in mindsets and practical efforts to put in. People want to go green, but 61% of consumers expect governments to lead the way but it’s the consumers to lead to tackle the climate issues.
The day raises to be a “green” lifestyle, which involves making conscious choices to minimize one’s environmental footprint. So, in case you are not a green consumer, or just thinking about becoming one, at least to some extent, this is the day you can start from your today’s grocery shopping in a greener and more sustainable way. Your small steps will add up towards a bigger environmental cause, and it will all be worth in future.
When it comes to going smoothly, green production and green consumerism go hand in hand. People create for people to use. It’s all about to count –reduced plastic and other non-biodegradable wastes in the packaging, how efficiently the energy is being used and up to what extent the company was able to lessen the GHG emissions and other pollutants during the production and transportation processes, before it ends up with consumers.
Green consumption is closely related to sustainable development. It’s a safe form of consumption that in no way harms the mother earth and can go on sustainably with the present and future generations. Green consumers actively strive to save energy consumption by adopting energy- efficient practices in their daily lives. This includes using energy- saving appliances, turning off lights when not in use and maximizing natural lighting and ventilation.
Green consumers promote sustainable agriculture and food systems by buying locally grown and organic food. Buying local food reduces the social and environmental impacts. Taste, health and safety concerns can be another reason behind this consumption practices. This reduces the carbon footprint associated with food- miles and supports local farmers who adopt eco-friendly farming practices.
Sustainable consumption is a key principle that green consumers follow. By making conscious choices and adopting green behaviors, we can minimize energy use, reduce waste and mitigate the impact on the environment and climate change.
This suggests that most people do not behave like green consumers continuously, probably because of social and economic constraints, such as the fact that green products can be more expensive than non-green ones, or because it is not always easy to find green goods for each item, and green retailers are not so widespread.
Green consumerism has been growing rapidly and is touted as the best method to combat wanton ecological degradation. Seeing all this, companies and business targeting to allure buyers to their products, often commit acts of greenwashing in which they embellish, often severely, the merits of their products.
The ‘LiFE’ – ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ introduced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister in 2021 is to initiate the country’s pro-active approach to climate change, sustainability and promotion eco-conscious practices and products. The initiatives, the Green Credit Program (GCP) and the Ecomark Scheme, seek to encourage environmentally friendly practices rooted in our tradition and conservation with the philosophy of nudging individual choices and behavior towards sustainability.
Manipur is facing with various environmental problems in many aspects. To save, restore and preserve our God given natural beauties, each one of us needs to become a green consumer for a green Manipur.
