Consumer groups are encouraged to urge companies in their countries to sign up to the charter. To be effective, individual consumers' choices must be multiplied on a wide scale and for this to happen, public education is vital. Promotion of sustainable consumption patterns and values may be more effectively publicised by groups than by individuals. Consumers also need access to independent, accurate information so they can make informed decisions. It is extremely difficult for the isolated consumer to make the necessary choices without both moral support and reliable information.
Many misconceptions persist about even relatively well-publicised environmental problems.
Educating the public about environmental problems and their links to individuals' own behaviour is undertaken by most of Consumers International's member organisations. Magazines, books, seminars, leaflets and posters are all useful tools in such campaigns. The information that consumers need varies from place to place. In the industrialised countries of the North, the emphasis is on promoting less environmentally damaging choices. In the South, consumers often need to know how to protect themselves from direct threats such as pollution.