The world consumer rights are identified every year on March 15. As this day gradually reminds across the globe about the consumer rights and protection which revises market violations and social inequities. According to this celebration, the theme for 2024 is Fair and responsible AI for consumers.
Who is a consumer?
A consumer is an individual or a set of people who aims to order, use purchased goods, products or services; perhaps they are the ultimate users of products and services. Moreover a customer can also be a consumer but they define as, a customer is the one who buys the product and consumer is the one who uses them.
Current Consumer rights issues
The key challenges of consumer rights consist of understanding your rights as a buyer, making the most of your purchases, and staying aware of the usual traps instead of accepting undesirable contracts.
- Product Safety
This recalls that the product safety concerns to be a significant issue. When we look into online shopping it’s always not protected because most of the people get caught on hidden fees, additional postage fees and unclear return policies. But also consumers are concerned about the safety of various products, including electronics, toys and food items. Perhaps, most online purchases makes people to buy it at least just for once because the overlook of the product has the power to bring out the trust and the curiosity towards the product. Moreover with the growth of online shopping like as fraud, misleading product information and delivery problems have become common.
2.Sustainability Growth
This is one of a major issue which is to be seen in our daily lives as this reflects a main consumer law that ensures if the companies have a strong sustainability policies can be defined the prioritise of ethical sourcing, minimise waste and promote fair trade practices. By aligning to such policies consumers can feel confident that their purchases are considering to a more environmentally, friendly and socially supply chain.
But also such practices will make the consumers choices easier by educating themselves about the company’s sustainability to support sustainable brands because a company’s sustainability policy helps to protect the consumer rights and create a more eco-friendly, socially, responsible consumer market.
How can you protect the rights on consumers when making purchases?
People around the world has the right to know the real information of any product, excellence , capacity or the real standard of goods and services of any cost, which means with the current genocide in Palestine is one of the best example to boycott products due to the power of their income serves the lost of thousands of lives. Since the technology is growing too fast across the globe there are apps to check about the boycott products such as No thanks app, Boycott app and Boycott Israeli products app where consumers can easily find the information about the products they are purchasing and make informed decisions about whether or not to support companies that are involved in unethical practices.
It is important for people to stay informed and educate themselves about where their products are coming from and the impact that their purchases may have on vulnerable communities. By supporting ethical and socially responsible companies, consumers can help promote positive change and contribute to a more just and equitable world for all. Let us all do our part in standing up for human rights and justice for the people of Palestine and for all oppressed communities around the world.
How can you know the rights and protection policies of consumer’s through technology and digital platforms?
Considering technology and digital platforms are crucial for ensuring fair and secure products with transaction in the online environment. Below given are some ways to know about your rights when it comes as a consumer,
- Go through Review users and Ratings
Before purchasing any goods or using a new platform. As the technology is all around the world people has the ability to check for the experiences of other consumers and help them aware of the decision they’ve made to know the reliability and trustworthiness of the platform or the product
- Read the terms and conditions with privacy policy
Before you buy a product, reading its terms and conditions with the privacy policy is essential as it helps to use it with the acknowledgement they’ve given at the prior period. Moreover, by carefully reviewing these documents, you can ensure that you are aware of any limitations, restrictions or requirements that may apply yo your use of product. But also it is important to understand how your data will be handled and whether it will be shared with third parties. This can help to protect your privacy and ensure that your are using the product in a way that aligns with your values and expectations.
- Fair Practices
Here’s another way to know the consumer’s rights and protection by providing truthful information which means most of the online business refer to ethical and transparent conduct by companies when selling products or services to consumers. This ensures that the advertising and promotional materials are not misleading , and upholding the consumers throughout the purchasing process. Moreover, Companies should strive to provide clear and honest information to customers so they can make informed purchasing decisions without any negative impact to the company. For an example online electronic purchases, fair practice should include accurately representing the quality of active automation by providing detailed product descriptions and sizing information or authenticity of the product. By promoting fair practices and online transparency in online business, both businesses and consumers can work together to create a more ethical and trustworthy marketplace.
Additionally, on the other side of it, we’ve come to known numerous of consumer advocacy campaigns had brought bought the positive changes in different industries.
Why is an advocacy campaign important in consumer protection ?
Consumers always need reassurance to gain the well accurate , honest information of whatever the products and services they purchase which means an advocacy campaign is essential to gain there trust and raise the awareness about the various issues which is also an advocacy campaign plays a major role to raise awareness, to show the authority procedure or to bring out the change. On the other hand, Advocacy campaigns work to hold companies and businesses accountable for their actions, promoting transparency, ethical practices, and consumer protection where as it helps to be more responsible in the marketplace.
Through such campaigns there are several consumer advocacy has led to positive changes below shows the highlight,
Tobacco control policy and smoking campaign
We often see the advertisements as “Smoking causes cancer or smoking causes ill” with the mission of it the implementation of tobacco control policies and anti-smoking campaigns has had a significant positive impact in recent years. Measures such as increasing tobacco prices and taxes, implementing public smoking bans, and raising awareness through mass media campaigns have all contributed to reducing the prevalence of smoking and its harmful effects on both smokers and non-smokers.
Higher tobacco prices and taxes have been shown to be effective in reducing smoking rates, particularly among youth and low-income populations. By making tobacco products more expensive, it serves as a deterrent to smoking and encourages smokers to quit or reduce their consumption.
Food safety regulations and non alcoholic beverage
Since food is essential to every human, the nutrition of it also demands like as Food safety regulations are essential for ensuring that the food and beverages consumers consume are safe, of high quality, and free from contaminants that could harm their health. The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasises the importance of promoting nutritional choices that support good health and well-being.
Whereas companies like Coca-Cola, which produce non-alcoholic beverages, are held to strict food safety regulations to ensure the products they manufacture meet safety standards and are fit for consumption. These regulations may include requirements for ingredient sourcing, processing, packaging, labeling, and distribution to safeguard the health of consumers.
World consumer rights day is about the consumer’s rights respected at the same time protected which this is supported by United Nations all around the world.
