At a time when consumers are suffering from the rising cost of living, there are behaviours that, despite requiring a small initial investment, become more sustainable economically and environmentally in the long term.

Our mothers and grandmothers will remember the time when they used to buy butter in bulk, but that reality now seems very distant to us. However, buying just the amount we need of a particular product, reusing a container that we already own, saves money, wastes less food and reduces the number of disposable containers we bring into our homes.

Eco-friendly

Therefore, bulk seems a winning solution for everyone: Consumers and the Environment. Please, check out DECO advice and make good, sustainable and affordable purchases:

- Choose, whenever possible, to buy products in bulk. There are more and more shops that offer the sale of products in bulk (bulk sale) so that the consumer only buys the quantity they really need.

- To weigh and buy fruit and vegetables, avoid using the "small" plastic bags. Bring your own reusable bags (many supermarkets have alternatives to these bags) or, in the case of vegetables of greater volume (such as cabbage, pumpkin, for example), try to buy them without packaging.

- Take your own containers to put delicatessen products in, for example, cheese and ham or butcher's products. This is (still) an original consumption practice, but we believe that, with the strength of the example of all consumers, this sustainable "fashion" will become the new normal.

- If you cannot find what you want in bulk, choose more sustainable packaging that does not use excessive plastic.


Credits: envato elements;

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Did you know that sugar and rice cannot be sold in bulk? DECO believes that any product can be sold in bulk, with the exception of those whose sale in this system does not meet all public health requirements.

In this regard, DECO has worked with other entities to eliminate barriers and obstacles to bulk sales, without neglecting the high level of protection that must be ensured to all consumers.


Demanding changes from companies


“Companies are effectively concerned with what the consumer wants, which is why it is important that consumers get in touch with businesses and inform them of their purchasing preferences, including access to more bulk products”, DECO said.

“If you don't know who to contact, contact us! DECO will talk to the company for you! DECO is with you in this change. Together we will be more sustainable”, they added.

Author

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins