e Green Consumer Day is celebrated globally on 28th September every year, focusing primarily on awareness raising and the importance of recycling-reusing and reducing waste material. A green consumer is someone who is very concerned about the environment and, therefore, only purchases products that are environmentally-friendly or eco-friendly. Products with little or no packaging, products made from natural ingredients and products that are made without causing pollution are all examples of eco-friendly products. The green consumer would be the type to drive a hybrid vehicle, buy products made with hemp or those made from recycled materials.
Benefits of becoming green consumer:
· Recycling sharply reduces the amount of waste that gets deposited in our landfills or burned in incinerator plants. Engineered landfills in most cities are designed to contain toxic chemicals leaking from decaying solid waste from reaching our water systems. Already, we’re getting reports of dangerous chemicals contaminating water supplies in some cities. Burning solid waste for electricity may be efficient, but we pay the price in terms of increased carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
It helps conserve limited resources. To put this benefit in proper perspective, let’s consider this statement from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection: “By recycling over 1 million tons of steel in 2004, Pennsylvanians saved 1.3 million tons of iron ore, 718,000 tons of coal, and 62,000 tons of limestone. Through recycling newsprint, office paper and mixed paper, we saved nearly over 8.2 million trees.” Resources like oil and precious metals, silver, bauxite, copper, etc. are all finite resources that will be exhausted, sooner or later. Cell phone and computer manufacturers, like Dell and Apple, recognize the need for a steady supply of raw materials – most are active in buy-back programs to recycle materials from used products.
It promotes energy efficiency. Recycling is far more efficient, in terms of energy consumption, than producing something out of fresh raw material. Done on a nationwide scale, this could lead to significant reduction in our energy costs. The energy required to extract, process, and transport metal from a mine to a refinery is obviously much greater than what’s required to recycle metal from used products – costs more energy to manufacture a brand new aluminium can from fresh material than to make 21 cans out of recycled materials.
· People band together and build communities around common causes. issues, and advocacies. Recycling is no different. In many neighbourhoods and cities across the country, we see concerned citizens working together in recycling initiatives, environment lobby groups, and
free recycling groups. If you’re new to recycling or environmental advocacy, go find a local group to work with. Staying the course is more fun and rewarding when you have other enthusiasts cheering you on.
If you just want to make money to get by in these hard times or start a home business, recycling is a profitable option. It's relatively easy and inexpensive to start a home-based recycling business. You just need to plan on what material (cell phone, paper, or metals, etc.) you intend to collect, plan storage, contact the recycling plant for pricing, and you’re set to start collecting recyclables and reselling these to the recycling facility at a decent profit. The large recycling giants in the US all started as home businesses years ago. You can do it, too. Those guys just recognized the huge potential of this business well ahead of the crowd.
The problems of consumerism and its impact on the environment is an area of major concern in today’s world. Awareness building on the importance of recycling-reusing-reducing should be taken up very seriously
A green consumer is one who is very concerned about the environment and, therefore, only purchases products that are environmentally-friendly or eco-friendly. Products with very less packaging, products made from natural ingredients and products that are made without causing pollution are all examples of eco-friendly products.
The Green Consumer Day is celebrated globally on 28th September every year, focusing primarily on awareness raising and the importance of recycling-reusing and reducing waste material.
Green consumerism emerged during the 1960s and the early 1970s in western countries, with the increased awareness of the necessity to protect the environment and people's health from the effects caused by industrial pollutants and by economic and population growth. In the 1980s, the first American green brands began to appear and exploded on the American market. During the 1990s, green products grew slowly, American interest in green products started to increase again in the early 2000s and have continued to grow.
Personal level benefits of Green Consumer Day:
Green consumerism brought a significant impact on the general population since the day it was in action. Personal level benefits of green consumerism such as a smaller carbon footprint and improved health are becoming more and more important to people. As a result, green consumerism is on the rise. A 2017 study found that nearly 60% of Americans are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products. Interestingly, this willingness to pay more for eco-friendly products is highest among millennials.
Changes green consumerism brought:
The main goals of Green Consumer Day are to increase awareness of the value of green consumerism which includes waste reduction, recycling, reusing, etc. The following are the ways green consumption brought changes in people:
Because of green consumerism, people have started to become more environmentally conscious and have changed the way they live.
Green consumerism has led to people being more aware of the need to preserve the environment.
Additionally, it has changed the way people shop and consume. As a result of green consumerism, there has been an increase in the development of green products and services.
It has also changed the way that businesses operate. In the past, businesses were focused on making a profit. Today, many businesses are focused on making a profit and being environmentally friendly.
The following are the ways green
consumption brought changes in people:
1. Because of green consumerism, people have started to become
more environmentally conscious and have changed the way
they live.
2. Green consumerism has led to people being more aware of the
need to preserve the environment.
3. Additionally, it has changed the way people shop and consume.
As a result of green consumerism, there has been an increase in
the development of green products and services.
4. It has also changed the way that businesses operate. In the
past, businesses were focused on making a profit. Today, many
businesses are focused on making a profit and being
environmentally friendly.
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