Sustainable Consumption in Asia

Asia is the most populated continent on earth where nearly half of the total global population of six billion resides. China and India alone accounts for 38 percent of the global population, while Bangladesh, China, India and Indonesia account for 50 percent of the world population growth.

It is also the home to a large percentage of natural resources and biodiversity on earth. The area embraces the second largest rainforest complex and more than half of the world’s coral reefs.

The question in focus is whether Asia can meet the challenge and whether it is ready to meet it? The present generation may hold the answers as their ambitions, determinations, actions and commitments will directly impact on the environment and livelihood at large.

Although the present national determinations and consumer aspirations show higher consumerist trends, the traditional and cultural background of sustainable livelihood in all over Asia still holds a key to the future answers as well. While the waves of consumerism are rapidly blowing across Asian nations, a majority of people in the countries of Asia are still living in rural environments exercising sustainable consumption practices even without a choice. The hope of achieving sustainable consumption in Asia can be based on the local intellect and civil society’s growing understanding and pressure on governments and industry.

In Asia most of the action that can be related to Sustainable Consumption is based on voluntary action. Be it Recycling, Certification, Product Testing, Consumer Behaviour Research or Practices within Organizations, most of the project and programmes are carried out voluntarily by the concerned parties mainly due to economic benefits. It is also largely perceived that voluntary process through realisation, understanding or commitments actually works much better in Asia than through enforcement by law and legislation. In fact the inadequacies in capacity to conduct monitoring and enforcement becomes a major constrain to achieve desired expectations of legislative mechanisms in Asia.

Asian governments seems to shy away from providing economic incentives to industrial, business and other promoters of sustainable practices. The conceptual divide between the more powerful Finance, Trade & Policy Ministries & line ministries of Asian Governments dealing with Sustainable Consumption such as Environment and Consumer Affairs is a main reason for the lack of progress in promoting and accelerating the sustainability movement in Asia. While many governments are moving away from subsidy economies there seems to be a lack of strategy to deal with controlling the escalating commodity prices. Further more the lack of initiative by Asian Governments to provide economic incentives to sustainable consumption based action such as organic and eco food, energy efficient products and environmental friendly technological equipment is a reason for eco-products to being limited to the access of upper society. Such products and services do not have a competitive advantage in the market as the pricing is significantly higher for a vast majority of the consumers in Asia whose purchasing is predominantly determined by the factor of pricing. The grievance of the consumer and the out cry by the civil society is the decision by many Asian Governments to subsidies imports and foreign investment industries while removing the subsidies on essential consumer commodities and services. The lack of power and leverage of Asian governments within the prevailing trade system of the world is given as a major reason for the lack of fair trade”. If Sustainable Consumption is to be achieved in Asia a system of “fair trade” needs to prevail in the world as well as internally in each of the countries.

The Asian Consumer ultimately will hold the key towards deciding their own sustainable futures. Currently in Asia consumers in general are not well informed, lacks understanding of their rights, and also not conscious of their responsibilities and weak in their bargaining power. While the rural consumer lacks access to the resources, services and opportunities, the lack of strong consumer protection movements in many Asian states disables the consumer further in achieving the right standards of living. In countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand, etc. consumer protection acts were introduced only very recently and the proper implementation seems to be far away from being carried out in actuality. In Bangladesh the Consumer Protection Act is in draft form for many years but fails to achieve the final approval from the legislature. The lack of civil society ability to be organised to protect the consumer at large and individually reduces the opportunities for sustainable consumption in these countries. Consumer movements in countries like India that has evolved to the level of consumer courts and independent product testing during the past several decades should now extend its experience and expertise to the weaker countries if to achieve regional consumer sustainability.

The lack of consumer consciousness and commitment is directly related to lack of awareness. While the consumerism expansion movement of the joint forces of industry, business, transnational trade and advertising have the enormous power of capital wealth to invest in promoting brands, products, services to attract and induce consumers, the consumer protection movement both in the civil society and government lacks such economic capacity and power to invest in promoting sustainable consumption. Not only the individual consumer or community consumer but the SME sector in Asian countries too is a victim of this imbalance of the economies of power. However, some positives signs are shown through the adaptation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Social Responsibility Investment (SRI) projects undertaken mainly by the large corporate companies in the region. Unfortunately the main focus of most of these efforts is based on corporate image building and economic benefits rather than actual community or consumer welfare and development. Few corporate partnerships with government and civil society organizations that are available have proven the great potential and value in both CSR/SRI and also Public-Private Partnerships in achieving sustainable consumption.

The findings of the Asian Review on Sustainable Consumption can be summarised as below;

The Main Challenge in Achieving Sustainable Consumption:

Providing “Better Living Standards” is the primary goal in achieving sustainable consumption for people in Asia

To achieve Sustainable Consumption in Asia the following priorities are identified.

1. Developing a sufficiency economy


2. Creating an Informed Society


3. Providing Food Safety


4. Assuring Health & Sanitation


5. Developing Environmentally sound products and services

Action programmes in the following areas will help achieve Sustainable Consumption in Asia

1. Awareness, Education & Marketing Campaigns


2. Reduce, Reuse, Recover & Recycle - Waste Management


3. Certification & Product Information


4. Implementing Sustainable Practices


5. Independent Testing

Supporting means of achieving Sustainable Consumption will be through the following areas.

1. Finance, Infrastructure & Capacity Building


2. Monitoring & Enforcement


3. Effective Economic Instruments


4. Widespread Social Instruments


5. Strengthening Legislative Backup


6. Consumer Behaviour Research


7. Efficient & Appropriate Technology


8. Enforcing Good Governance

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