The theme of the World Consumer Rights Day 2021 is ‘Tackle plastic pollution’. “Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing issues facing our planet. Consumer awareness of the plastics crisis is growing around the world. Consumers have a critical role in shaping the marketplace, and we must support them to mobilise businesses and governments, to ensure sustainable consumption is accessible to all,” Helena Leurent, director general of Consumers International, said in a message on World Consumer Rights Day.
To highlight the importance of controlling the use of plastics, Consumers International gathered photos from across the world to show how the 7 'R's of replace, rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and repair play an important role in the world’s fight against plastic pollution. In India, the consumer rights movement finds its roots in 1966 in Maharashtra. After the Grahak Panchayat was established in Pune in 1974, several institutions for the welfare of consumers were formed in many states. On December 9, 1986, the consumer protection act was passed in Parliament with the purpose of empowering consumers. The act focuses on the establishment of consumer councils, forums and appellate courts for the settlement of consumer's grievances. The act provides consumers with the following rights:
1. Right to be heard at an appropriate forum
2. Right to seek redressal in case of unfair trade practices
3. Right to consumer education
4. Right to goods and services at competitive prices
5. Right to be informed about the quality, potency, purity, standard and price of goods and services.
