The minister, who has presided over the delivery of the Consumópolis14 awards, has drawn attention to the importance of citizens having quality information and training in Consumption from the school stage.
"For the Ministry it is a priority to educate consumers and consumers aware of the consequences of their actions in order to make responsible consumption a way of understanding life," said Carcedo.
Precisely, the Consumópolis contest was created with the objective of betting on consumer education and advancing in the construction of a healthy, supportive and sustainable society, personal, social and environmental.
The minister recalled that "the best way to acquire this knowledge is that school education, from the earliest stages, contribute to it and teach us to consume responsibly."
"Every act of consumption that we carry out has consequences," Carcedo insisted. "Putting a cowboy into the laundry basket when we have only put it on once has consequences. Or wanting to buy clothes every season. Or drink water in plastic bottles when we can consume tap water from a jug."
"The choice of the means of transport in which we move should also be a responsible consumption option," the minister insisted. "Our purchasing decisions have an impact on our health, on the environment, on working conditions and on economic development."
Carcedo has stressed that the commitment and involvement of the youngest is essential to train future members of a complex and diverse society: "You are more sensitive and tolerant of new social problems such as the deterioration of the environment." However, he pointed out that "the work is not simple in a world with a globalized market in which we can access to buy instantly any merchandise, manufactured anywhere in the world surrounded by a striking marketing in which perhaps an influencer participates hanging an unboxing in social networks ".
To this joins, explained the minister, "the emergence of new products and services in the market, the incorporation of new technologies in the manufacture of goods, in their marketing and services, in the forms of payment, in communications , new elements that have contributed to the improvement of people's quality of life but at the same time the risks have increased, with special emphasis on the most vulnerable consumers. "
Winning Projects
In this fourteenth edition of Consumópolis, 8,300 schoolchildren from all over Spain, fifth and sixth grade, and the four compulsory secondary education courses, distributed in teams consisting of five students and a teacher, participated.
To qualify for the awards, schoolchildren have had to pass various tests related to reflective, healthy and critical consumption that takes into account respect for the environmental and social environment.
One of the winning teams has been formed by Hugo, Mateo, Mohamed, Telmo and Yusein, called "Consumeduquesa" and which belongs to the CEIP Duquesa de la Victoria de Logroño. His work is entitled "Consuming with a spark" and it shows how we can recycle everything we consume.
Another of the award-winning groups is called "Enchanted", is formed by Claudia, Jimena, Marcos, Natalia and Salvador and belongs to the Santa María de la Expectación de Cuenca School. The award-winning initiative, "Zapatisba", warns that we must abide by ethical and social values when choosing a product because what we buy affects aspects such as human rights.
Marina, Cayetana, Jorge, Lola and Marco, of the IES Infiesto of Asturias, form "Netsurfers" and their project is "Lati2.0. Both lavas, both tenddes" with which they show that consumers perform an important social work, with a critical spirit in the observation of reality and seeking the harmonic balance of the planet and society.
Carcedo, in addition to congratulating all the participants in Consumópolis14, concluded the act with a phrase to remember: "Living and consuming responsibly is of the utmost importance because there is no planet B".