Maharashtra Board Class 12 Environmental Education Chapter 4 Practices for Environmental Protection PDF Download

Practices For Environmental Protection

Consumer education may be defined as imparting knowledge to a consumer regarding cost effectiveness, budgeting ability and developing awareness of purchase.

Provides necessary skills to select the right type of goods and services from a huge available range.

Enables consumers to assess the market situation and make proper decisions.

Reduces the number of complaints against cheating on the quantity and quality of products and services.

Overcome poverty and promotes ethical values and human rights.

Ensure sustainable consumption by using ecofriendly products.

Do You Know?

Consumer Protection Act 1986

The Consumer Protection Act, which was passed by the Indian parliament in 1986, extends the following rights to consumers:

Right to be protected from hazardous goods and services.

Right to be informed about the quantity and performance of goods and services.

Right to free choice of goods and service at competitive prices.

Right to be heard in any decision making process concerning consumer interest.

Right to redressal if consumer rights are violated.

Right to consumer education.

4.1 Consumer Education

Progress in science and technology has led to increase in consumerism globally. This has led to a dramatic rise in the purchasing power of many people. Although this development is welcome as it assures a decent standard of living for many people, there are also problems because of increased purchasing power. As a result substandard products and services are made available at a higher price.

People face several problems while purchasing the product. Are they getting a product which is worth the cost? Are the products free from toxic chemicals, pesticides and adulterants? Consumer education is the only solution to these doubts and issues.

Consumer education may be defined as imparting knowledge to a consumer regarding cost effectiveness, budgeting ability and developing awareness of purchase.

Need And Importance Of Consumer Education

The economic status of a country and the wellfare of its citizens are linked to each other. Both of these can be achieved only when the people of the country are able to make right choices in their purchases, so that they get value for their money. Consumer education is the only tool that can assure this protection to consumers for the following reasons:

Teacher's Note

Consumer education helps children make smart choices when they buy things. In India, many children buy snacks from shops but do not check the date or ingredients written on the packet.

Exam Trick

Remember: Consumer education = smart buying. Just like your mother checks prices before buying vegetables in the market, you should check quality before buying anything.

Points to Remember

Consumer education teaches us to spend money wisely.
It helps us check the quality and cost of products.
It protects us from buying fake or bad products.
It makes us aware of our rights as a customer.
It helps us ask questions if something is wrong with what we buy.

4.2 Eco-Labelling

Efficient And Eco-Friendly Practices

Eco-friendly products are those which ensure natural use of resources without harming the environment.

Eco-Friendly Products

Some examples of efficient and eco-friendly technologies from the Indian sub-continent:

Janata refrigerator: Earthen pot-in-pot units are used to keep vegetables fresh for a few days.

Treadle pumps: Foot-operated pumps which are used to draw water from wells.

Sand filter: Slow sand filters are used to filter water.

Earthen cups and glasses are eco friendly.

Plates made of green leaves replace styrofoam plates.

Use of Compost - Manure made from organic waste.

Use of Bio pesticides.

Construction Housing

Construction focus is on developing designs that optimize the use of solar energy to cut down the electricity bill. Fly ash bricks and plastic doors are becoming popular. These are made from recycled material instead of natural resources.

Do You Know?

In India, a Bengaluru based firm, is using processed plastic waste mixture to lay roads. It substantially reduces the cracking of road surface due to rain or low temperatures and provides durability.

Teacher's Note

Eco-friendly products help save our environment. In India, many people now use clay pots and leaf plates instead of plastic, which is very good for nature.

Exam Trick

Remember: Eco-friendly = good for Earth. Just like we plant trees to help nature, we should buy products that do not hurt the environment.

Points to Remember

Eco-friendly products are safe for nature.
They use resources in a smart way.
Earthen pots and leaf plates are eco-friendly.
Solar energy is a good example of eco-friendly technology.
Using eco-friendly products helps reduce pollution.

During the last few years, people have become aware of the deterioration of environment. There is growing demand for goods and services that cause less damage to the environment and health of human. Numerous initiatives have started from both private and public industries in order to define sustainability related information of products. This was achieved by introducing different kinds of symbols like labels and logos. The information that is provided on products can be used to influence or inform purchasing decisions. Now a days, there is increasing concern about purchasing of environment friendly products. It leads to conservation of natural resources and sustainable development.

Eco-labelling is the use of labels on products to show how environment friendly they are.

Eco-labelling is a method of environmental performance certification and labelling that is practised around the world.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has given different eco-labeling schemes and logos in operation around the world. It covers a different range of environmental criteria such as pollution and energy consumption during production.

Benefits Of Eco-Labelling

An eco-label makes the customer more aware of the benefits of certain products, for example, recycled paper or toxic-free cleaning agents.

It promotes energy efficiency and waste minimization.

It helps in reducing environmental damage.

It improves industry image and sale of product.

It helps to increase consumer awareness, and encourage them to identify and purchase environment friendly products.

Industries become more accountable for producing and marketing ecofriendly products.

Teacher's Note

Eco-labels are like report cards for products. In India, the ECO Mark is a green label that tells us a product is good for nature.

Exam Trick

Remember: Eco-label = a green sticker. When you see the ECO Mark label on a product, it means the product is safe for the environment.

Points to Remember

Eco-labels help us choose products that are good for nature.
They show which products cause less pollution.
ISO gives eco-labeling schemes around the world.
Eco-labels help companies make better products.
They reduce damage to our environment.

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