Two Years of Consumo Justo: From Responsible Consumption to Practical Action
What is hidden behind the products we buy? How do our everyday choices affect people, communities and the environment? And how can youth workers make responsible consumption relevant and engaging for young people?
These questions guided the Consumo Justo project throughout its two-year journey. The project brought together five partner organisations from France, Spain, Latvia, Poland and Norway to exchange knowledge, test educational methods and develop practical resources for exploring responsible consumption in youth work.
Through partner meetings, international training programmes, youth action plans, follow-up training activities, multiplier events and the Consumo Justo App, the project connected global sustainability topics with everyday choices and local action.
Building a European partnership
Consumo Justo was developed through cooperation between five European partner organisations with experience in youth work, sustainability, fair trade, education and community engagement. During the project, partners participated in three transnational meetings. These meetings provided space to plan activities, monitor progress, exchange feedback and coordinate the development of the project’s educational resources.
Working across five countries allowed the partners to compare different approaches to responsible consumption and explore how the topic is understood in different social, economic and cultural contexts. This cooperation helped ensure that the project’s methods and resources could be adapted for use with diverse groups of young people across Europe.
Three international trainings for 75 youth workers
A central part of Consumo Justo was a series of three international training programmes organised in France, Spain and Latvia. Together, they involved 75 youth workers from the five partner countries. The training programmes explored responsible consumption from different perspectives, including fair trade, ethical production, global supply chains, local consumption, waste, reuse and the environmental and social consequences of everyday choices.
Rather than approaching these topics only through theory, the programmes included games, simulations, collaborative activities, discussions, practical challenges and community visits. Participants experienced the methods themselves, reflected on their educational value and considered how they could be adapted for use with young people.
The international environment also allowed youth workers to exchange practices and compare realities across Europe. Participants discussed how consumption habits differ between countries and communities, as well as how complex sustainability topics can be presented in an understandable and engaging way. By combining practical learning with professional exchange, the trainings strengthened participants’ ability to include responsible consumption in their youth work.
Youth action plans: ideas led by young people
A separate part of the project focused on youth action plans developed and implemented with young people in the partner countries. These activities gave young people an opportunity to explore responsible consumption in relation to their own communities and transform their learning into realistic local actions. More than 30 young people were directly involved in this process. They discussed consumption habits, identified local challenges and developed ideas for encouraging more responsible choices.
The focus was not only on raising awareness, but also on giving young people an active role in planning and implementing their own initiatives. This helped connect broader sustainability topics with situations they encounter in everyday life. Through the action plans, young people were encouraged to consider what they buy, how products are made, how long they are used and what happens when they are no longer needed. Responsible consumption was presented as an ongoing process of learning, questioning and making more informed decisions.
Sharing the methods with more youth workers
The youth workers who participated in the international programmes also transferred their learning to colleagues through separate national follow-up training activities. These sessions introduced more than 150 youth workers to the topics, activities and facilitation methods explored during Consumo Justo. Participants received practical ideas for addressing responsible consumption with young people through games, discussions, simulations and other hands-on learning approaches.
The follow-up activities extended the impact of the three international programmes and made the project’s methods accessible to youth workers who had not participated directly in the international mobility activities. They also encouraged participants to adapt the methods to their own organisations, communities and target groups, supporting the continued use of the project’s educational approaches beyond the original training programmes.
Connecting with organisations and stakeholders
Multiplier events were organised in the partner countries to introduce the project’s results to a wider audience. More than 50 stakeholder organisations were represented through these events. Participants included youth organisations, educators, community representatives and other organisations and professionals interested in sustainability, youth work and responsible consumption.
The events presented the project’s activities, educational methods and digital resources. They also created opportunities for discussion, feedback and networking between organisations working with young people. Engaging stakeholder organisations was important for extending the project’s reach beyond the original partnership. It connected the developed resources with organisations that can continue using, adapting and sharing them in different educational and community settings.
Responsible consumption tools in your pocket
One of the main results of the project is the Consumo Justo App, created to make responsible-consumption learning resources easy to access and use. The app brings together educational content, practical activities and learning tools for youth workers, educators and young people. The resources can support both individual exploration and facilitated group activities, making it easier to introduce responsible consumption through practical and participatory learning.
The Consumo Justo App is available in six languages: English, French, Spanish, Latvian, Polish and Norwegian. This allows the project’s resources to be used across all partner countries and shared with a wider European audience.
More than 200 people have already used the app. Although the formal project period is ending, the Consumo Justo App will remain available as a practical resource for anyone interested in exploring responsible consumption.
Two years of learning and cooperation
Over its two-year duration, Consumo Justo achieved:
Five European partner organisations working together
Three transnational partner meetings
Three international trainings involving 75 youth workers
More than 30 young people involved in youth action plans
More than 150 youth workers reached through follow-up training activities
More than 50 stakeholder organisations represented at multiplier events
More than 200 users of the Consumo Justo App
These numbers demonstrate the reach of the project, but its impact can also be found in the methods exchanged, partnerships strengthened, conversations started and new perspectives developed by participants.
Consumo Justo encouraged youth workers and young people to examine the wider story behind everyday products and recognise the connections between consumption, working conditions, communities, natural resources and waste. The project also demonstrated that responsible consumption can be explored through practical, engaging and collaborative learning experiences rather than through information alone.
The project is closing, but the learning continues
As Consumo Justo comes to an end, we would like to thank all partner organisations, youth workers, young people, educators, stakeholders and community representatives who contributed to the project. Their participation, ideas and feedback helped transform the project from a plan into a shared European learning experience.
Although this chapter is closing, the knowledge, methods and resources developed through Consumo Justo remain available. We invite youth workers, educators and organisations to continue using the Consumo Justo App, adapting its activities and creating new opportunities for young people to explore responsible consumption. Every product has a story, and every choice can become an opportunity to learn.
Erasmus+ Cooperation partnership
Consumo Justo
Project No. 2024-1-FR02-KA220-YOU-000248910
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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