930. People need to understand the benefits of moving to a circular economy and need clear advice to inform their purchasing decisions. The Aldersgate Group, an alliance including multiple industry stakeholders, has called for government to:
"Conduct public awareness campaigns to build consumer confidence and grow the demand for resource efficient products and business models."651
"Although data shows that a significant majority of consumers are already changing their purchase preferences based on sustainability, consumers are often not aware of the environmental consequences of many of the common products they purchase and therefore their best intentions can go unfulfilled."652
931. We heard from WRAP, (the Waste and Resources Action Programme, a climate action NGO) that:
"Raising public awareness to the same level we see on energy efficiency and energy bills, we could generate much greater consumer understanding which should lead to less waste and lower food bills."653
932. M&S, for example, told the Review that the 'Sparking Change' pilot that they ran in 2021, and which offered consumers information and advice, including on how to reduce food waste and make more sustainable food choices, helped consumers to reduce the cost of their weekly grocery shop by 39%, an average of £22.654
933. The public engagement strategy proposed in section 5.1 should be used to communicate the value of a circular economy and consumers' roles in it. This should be used to help build trust amongst consumers, for example by ensuring consumers are aware of their rights when it comes to getting goods repaired. Since the products that reach our shelves have already had 80% of their environmental impact determined at design stage, it is vital that consumers have information about the sustainability of the specific product they are buying, as well as an understanding of why they should consider this aspect.655 Ecolabelling (discussed in section 5.1) is key to this. With sweeping reforms to the waste system planned (discussed later), specific engagement should be employed to help households understand how changes will affect them.