World Consumer Rights Day marks the consumer movement celebrated annually on the 15th of March with an aim to spread global awareness about the needs and rights of the consumer. It is an opportunity to celebrate the day to demand respect for each other and protect the rights of all consumers as well as to protest against market abuses and social injustices that undermine those rights.
World Consumer Rights Day was inspired by John F Kennedy, who was the first leader to send a special message on 15 March 1962 to the US Congress in which he formally discussed consumer rights concerns. In 1983, it was first marked by the consumer revolution and now mobilizes every year because of important issues and campaigns.
Theme for World Consumer Rights Day 2025:
This year the theme of World Consumer Rights Day 2025 is ”A Just Transition to Sustainable Lifestyle.”
It is imperative to adopt a sustainable lifestyle in order to confront the interconnected crises of pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change. These are not only environmental concerns, but also urgent economic and social issues that affect communities worldwide.
A just transition protects people’s fundamental rights and needs while they move toward more sustainable lifestyles. Rather than creating issues, a just transition creates opportunities for inclusive progress, offering solutions that benefit the planet and its inhabitants. An even stronger demand for consumer empowerment and protection is made in this year’s campaign, which focuses on the ways in which sustainable lives can be attained.
Consumers are becoming more concerned with plastic pollution and are even taking steps to reduce it. Despite the increased use of single-use plastic during the pandemic, a global study in 2019 found that consumers had a strong response to plastic waste (with 82 percent of respondents using reusable cleaning utensils instead of single-use plastic alternatives, 72 percent bringing reusable shopping bags, and 62 percent using refillable drinking bottles)—and despite the increased use of single-use plastic during the pandemic, 55 percent of consumers gloat over it.
Logo of Consumer International
We have to think about how we create and consume goods and services to protect the planet and provide equal social conditions for present and future generations. The goal of this year’s theme about sustainable consumption is to increase the efficiency of a resource, trade fair while helping to reduce poverty and enabling everyone with access to food, water, energy, medicine, etc., to enjoy a good quality of life.
Nowadays, the demand for sustainable products is increasing day by day, especially in younger consumers. A global study showed that 81% of consumers strongly felt that businesses would contribute to improving the environment. But at the same time, some studies show the actual purchase of sustainable products in the range of 20-30%. Overall, sustainability is not an easy option for consumers, yet it requires effort on their part to explore or identify the right purchase, change behavior, or pay more.
Swikriti Dandotia
