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Consumer and Environment

Consumer and the environment

    The Brazilian Consumer Defense Code (Law nº 8,078/90) is completing ten years of validity, having brought many victories to the consumers, who are each time more conscientious of their rights, as well as demanding that serious problems in consumption relations are corrected, being distinguished their ecological conscience and attitudes aiming at protection of the environment.
    This ecological awareness of the consumers is really of utmost importance, having in sight that, as it consists in Agenda 21, the main causes of the uninterrupted deterioration of the world-wide environment is the unsustainable standards of consumption and production, especially in the industrialized countries.
    Thus, one of the first attitudes to be taken by consumers is the collection to the manufacturers so that they develop an environmental label in their products, spreading correct and pertinent environmental information, so that they assist the consumers to make informed options, as considered in Agenda 21.
    The environmental labeling will have to develop the knowledge about environmental aspects of the products, to influence the consumers in the purchase of products that cause the lesser possible environmental impact and to modify the behavior of producers so that the processes and products become less harmful to environment.
    Consumers also must take some attitudes in order to propitiate the sustainable consumption, or either, the use of the sustainable features in a way that it satisfies their necessities, however without the compromising of necessities and aspirations of the future generations.
     For such necessity that the IDEC- Consumers Defense Institute, in set with the Environment Ministry and the international consumers association defense - Consumers International elaborated a guide of sustainable consumption, bringing diverse orientation and tips for a sustainable consumption, amongst which we detach:
- Water: to make the rational use of water, not committing abuses in the showers, ware laundering, clothes, cars, cleanness of house etc. Also being careful to emptying;
- Electric Energy: to save the use of electric energy, delaying the construction of new hydroeletrics, which causes great environmental impacts;
- Trash: incentive the alternative methods of handling trash. Moreover, we must prevent to produce trash, using again things that possible it, and recycle to the maximum.

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Content: Renata de Freitas Martins