Rat für Nachhaltige Entwicklung : Sustainable Goods Project (2002/2003)

Sustainable Goods Project (2002/2003)

(Please note: The Sustainable Shopping Basket of 2003 has been revised and been brought up-to-date with the latest information:
The Sustainable Shopping Basket 2013)

Our consumption habits are being put to the test. The associated questions are, however, often awkward. Which foodstuffs do we buy? What type of power comes out of my sockets? How do I spend my money to be mobile? Does my clothing contain unhealthy chemicals?

OverviewDocumentsProject documentation

Those who wish to consume in a responsible manner are often confronted with difficulties. Mostly they lack sufficient information on products or services that offer a positive contribution to sustainability most readily.

With the Sustainable Goods Project "Sustainable Shopping Basket", the Council illustrates possibilities and advantages of sustainable consumption. The project is therefore purposely aligned to the Statistical Shopping Cart of the Federal Office for Statistics which measures the extent and structure of the expenditure by private households. For as many as possible of these 750 products and services, the sustainable shopping basket offers sustainable alternatives or suggests a sustainable consumer behaviour. The new shopping basket, which has been developed by the Institute for the Market-Environment society e.V. (imug), contains sustainable products and services from the following consumption areas: foodstuffs, textiles and clothing, living and household, mobility, tourism and financial services.

Around 70 families tested the shopping guide for one month and structured their daily consumption life according to the terms of sustainability. The results confirm that the Sustainable Shopping Basket is a suitable communication instrument for the physical embodiment of active consumer policies. Alongside a demonstration character, the project also has an “agenda setting” function. The Council has held discussions with representatives from commerce, trade, science and politics on basic questions of sustainable consumption behaviour and recommended the government to continue the project. The lead management lies with the Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Nutrition and Agriculture. In a fist step, the ministry will revise the shipping guide and supplement it with further product groups. The extended brochure is to be published at the end of the year.