Quality of Life is a person’s individual evaluation of his place in life in the context of the culture and value system in which a person lives, and it is related with his goals, hopes, standards, and interests. Happy Planet Index Index = Life Satisfaction x Predicted Life Expectancy / Environmental Pollution. New Economics Foundation (Great Britain)

Consumer Culture It is a possibility of a person, a group, society to understand their needs and to find the most efficient ways to meet them both morally and economically. Possibilities of future generations to enjoy a good quality of life should not be destroyed by irresponsible behaviour of the current generation. Consumer education is one of the priorities of the EU Constitution in the area of consumer policy. (Part III, Chapter 6, Article )

The goal of the consumer culture education is to develop an informed, critically-thinking, independent consumer whose way of life is based on the responsibility for the quality of life of his own, other people and future generations and is in accordance with the provisions of sustainable development.

Objectives (1) to develop awareness of governance, economic and social systems and the impact of the consumer on these systems; to develop the values regarding taking care for the future and public welfare; to teach to actively participate in public life by expressing their opinion by responsibly selecting products and services;

Objectives (2) to be aware of the responsibilities of a consumer and to protect the rights; to know where and how to apply for a defective product, where to get consultancy; to encourage learning how to manage income and expenses economically; to understand the relationship between the budget of a person/a family and the country/world economy;

Objectives (3) to provide knowledge on the advertisement and its goals, to develop the ability to analyze an advertisement and to evaluate it critically; to teach how to search for information on target goods and services; to provide knowledge on the impact of the consumer behaviour on the environment; to teach how to manage resources;

Objectives (4) to critically evaluate the models of different lifestyles and behaviour and to choose the optimal one, taking into consideration environmental protection and the principles of sustainable development; to introduce risk factors at home and in the environment; to teach how to assess product safety; to develop responsibility for their own and other people’s security.

“... A high gross domestic product (GDP) reveals the actual quality of life...” “…And it may be increased only by larger consumption...” (International Monetary Fund) Is it a “vicious circle”? Is it realistic to get out of it?

Clouds of pollution over the major industrial cities of Europe are visible from space. Consumer Culture and the Real Life

It is evident that in order to maintain at least “Status quo”, (if it suits us) it is necessary to activate the efforts of ALL OF US in all the areas of consumer culture by at least the indicated 20%. What we consumer in a year, it will take the Earth a year and two months to restore it (we exceed 20%). EDUCATION, MEDIA, THE MOVEMENT OF THE GREENS, ACTIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMMES, ETC. - Is all that sufficient today to ensure sustainable environment and consumer culture acceptable for all of us?

WHO HAS TO DO THAT? We are all consumers, and all of us are more or less trying to be cultured and responsible in this field. Let’s ask ourselves - are those efforts sufficient? Can we improve our “personal rates” by at least 20 per cent? And to encourage others to do the same...

WHAT TO DO? AN ORDINARY THREE-STEP PLAN: 1. To clearly identify all the problem areas of consumer culture (done - see. goals, objectives,...); 2. To develop interesting and understandable educational measures for different social groups and cultures (you need to select and develop the most effective ones); 3. To take effective practical action immediately, including the structures which have “leverages of power” (politicians, business) and the general public. One of the concrete actions - “edutaiment” type YOUR OWN CIRCLE club - is another simple idea.