Mainstreaming Sustainable Consumption in Asia

By 2030, Asia is expected to represent the biggest group of consumers in the world with consumer spending predicted to reach US$32 trillion. Asia already accounts for over 60% of the world population and this group of consumers is increasing at a rate of 1.2% yearly.

The booklet 'Mainstreaming Sustainable Consumption In Asia' looks at solutions to these challenges. In early 2011, Consumers International carried out a joint collaboration exercise with SWITCH-Asia Network Facility, funded by the European Union, to collect data and produce publications on the status of sustainable consumption in Asia. The main objective was to document major challenges and opportunities for sustainable consumption in Asia. This lead to the creation of the booklet, 'Mainstreaming Sustainable Consumption In Asia.'

As the European Commission – EuropeAid Development and Cooperation Directorate General, Asia and Central Asia director Dirk Meganck states: “... without the demand for green and fair products, SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) will not be convinced that they should deliver environment-friendly practices and products. The lack of awareness amongst relevant stakeholders and empowerment of consumers through consumer groups still need to be tackled.”

Meganck added all major groups from governments to non-governmental organisations and educators, need to act as Europe and Asia collaborate for sustainable consumption. “Europe has learned that no one of these actors can lead alone,” says Meganck. Consumers International’s Head of Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, Dato' Indrani Thuraisingham, says that the number of consumers in the region who will opt to buy environment-friendly and ethical products over unsustainable choices is increasing. “In fact, their willingness to do so is as high, if not higher than their counterparts elsewhere in the world. “However their access to sustainably produced products has been limited - such items are not found in the supermarkets.  And even if they were, additional factors are also limiting access such as having to demystify on-pack product labels,” says Ms. Indrani Thuraisingham.

Sustainable consumption for Asia requires a balance between meeting the needs of consumers from these two extreme realities; the increasing middle class and the poor, and at the same time the unique predisposition of Asian culture and tradition in shaping Asian consumer behavior and habits. For Asia, sustainable consumption, generally, means making a ‘green leap’ from the unsustainable to the sustainable development path. It means switching to greener products and services, and it means encouraging less polluting and resource-intense patterns of industrial development.