From December 1 to 24, a special Christmas calendar for consumers will show how to help protect the life on the planet when shopping. On Facebook and Twitter, the European Consumer Centres Network will issue 25 tips for more sustainable online shopping, travel and gastronomy. The last 25th tip will be a Christmas bonus.
At the online held Consumer Day conference held on 1 December under the German EU Presidency, an important question was raised: How to ensure the lives of our children in the quality we have today? What changes can we make today to ensure a dignified life in the future? Some answers are there in a special Christmas calendar by the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net). Its “windows” will “open” every day on https://www.facebook.com/esccr and https://twitter.com/EvrSpotrCentrum.
“Everyone can contribute to the improvement of the situation with seemingly little things. By purchasing local and seasonal food, products with the EU Eco-label and so forth. It is more friendly to pick online purchased goods in person at a delivery point, so that individual delivery companies don’t have to burden the environment of life in municipalities and towns with noise and emissions when driving around households. And it is possible to walk or go by public transport or bike if it is not necessary to use a car,” says Ondřej Tichota from the European Consumer Centre Czech Republic. “Not to mention the efforts to reduce the number of returned products purchased online.”
The Christmas calendar also points to the problem of throwing away broken things, that can be repaired. Throwing them away means that a new product has to be made. This burdens the environment, for example, by extracting and processing raw materials and the amount of water used and polluted in production. Similarly, it is advisable to recycle materials and food residues.
“When planning a holiday, it is more nature-friendly to avoid crowded destinations and look for a hotel or travel agency that is trying to behave sustainably. The selection of a camping site can be also inspired by the information on how its operator treat the environment, for example whether they sort waste,” Ondřej Tichota alerts another of the topics on the calendar.
It also deals with transport. If a train or bus can be used, especially on shorter routes, it can be preferred to flying and sometimes can even be less time-consuming. If it is necessary to fly, it is more nature-friendly to choose a direct flight without a transfer.
The European Consumer Centres Network helps consumers resolve disputes with entrepreneurs from other countries of the European Union, United Kingdom, Norway and Iceland free of charge. It is set up by the participating states and the European Commission, which deals with sustainability as one of its main themes. ECC Czechia operates by the CTIA and is also the contact point for the regulation on the prohibition of the so-called geoblocking and for the online platform ODR for the resolution of disputes with online sellers. This year, the ESCC-Net is commemorating the 15th anniversary of helping consumers shopping cross-border in the single market. More on www.evropskyspotrebitel.cz and www.eccnet.eu.