文字サイズ
文字サイズ
Practicing Ethical Consumption for a Sustainable Future ～From ’Declaration’ to ’Recommendation’～
The report on the Online Exchange with Overseas Universities held on Thursday, July 24th, has been published on Tokushima Prefecture’s official website.
The presentations featured examples of ethical consumption initiatives being undertaken by each university in their respective countries, including bringing one’s own bottle/container, displaying stickers encouraging energy conservation, distributing handbooks, conducting surveys in regions with limited food access, promoting the use of color-coded trash bins, and composting food waste.
On the other hand, challenges in promoting ethical consumption include low general awareness and a lack of human resources to support ongoing activities.
During the discussion, questions were raised based on common concerns among the participants, such as how to take the first step toward purchasing ethical products.
A response to this was “Choosing ethical products helps you express your own values. If you think about the fact that they are a consideration for the various global issues, it’s easier to get into.”
The report is available on Tokushima Prefecture’s official website, so please take a look!
〇JP
https://www.pref.tokushima.lg.jp/ippannokata/kurashi/shohiseikatsu/7306141/
〇ENG
https://www.pref.tokushima.lg.jp/ippannokata/kurashi/shohiseikatsu/7306268/
The Tokushima High School Ethical Summit 2025 was held from August 25-27, 2025 under the theme “Ethical Consumption and Global Issues, As Seen Through Food.” An improved version of “Ethical Koshien,” this three-day event aims to equip high school students and the youth with the ability to shape the society of the future while incorporating the perspective of ethical consumption through fieldwork and exchanges of opinions.
The event, held at Shikoku University Exchange Plaza, started off with opening remarks from Hitoshi Nakagawa, Director of the Tokushima Prefectural Board of Education, and Yoshiko Ikoma, President of the Japan Ethical Initiative (JEI). This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Professor Emeritus Takao Nishimura of Yokohama National University, during which four panelists gave presentations. The panelists were Makoto Sakashita of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF); Junya Ishikawa, representative from Social Good Producer; Miyo Fujii, former Ethical Koshien participant and current associate at Happo-en Exchange Content Productions; and Charlotte Brown, a third-year student at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia (who participated online). Each panelist introduced the ethical initiatives currently being undertaken at their respective organizations. After, 12 groups of about 60 students from high schools across Japan engaged in group work facilitated by Professor Izumi Kado, Vice President of Shikoku University. Based on their previous knowledge and what they learned in the panel discussion, participants brainstormed presentation themes aimed at solving issues Japan and the world are facing today.
On the second day, the high school students experienced fieldwork. Splitting into three groups, they visited local businesses and farms in Tokushima Prefecture that are committed to ethical management. At the sites they visited, they learned of initiatives aimed at achieving the SDGs (local production for local consumption, utilization of abandoned bamboo forests, circular farming methods, food waste reduction, sloping land farming systems, utilization of abandoned farmland, etc.). After the on-site visits, they returned to the plaza and spent the rest of the time preparing for their presentations.
On the third and final day, all 12 groups presented their ideas on solving issues Japan and the world face from the perspective of ethical food consumption. Three awards were selected through student vote. Below are the winning groups and brief descriptions of their presentations:
★Best Performance Award: Awarded to the group who best conveyed the importance of ethical consumption.
Group 7: Project Grow, Eat, Connect
Key Points: This project primarily aims to solve the problems of vacant houses and elderly loneliness. Young entrepreneurs can take over vacant houses and operate cafes. Seniors living alone will be allowed to rent space in their homes to grow food. This can reduce the number of vacant houses, alleviate elderly loneliness, and deepen connections with the local community. At the same time, it will promote local production and consumption and regional revitalization.
★Nice Idea Award: Awarded to the group who best presented unique ideas that are highly creative and original.
Group 2: Sip Ethical!
Key Points: The goal is to improve existing solutions and further alleviate problems. While promoting the use of personal straws as an alternative to plastic straws, consumers face the problem of having to carry around straws of various lengths to match their beverage containers. Their proposal, the “Rocket Straw,” aims to solve this problem. Like ‘rocket’ mechanical pencils, the straws can be stacked to adjust the length to suit the user’s preference.
★Tokushima Sustainability Award: Awarded to the group who best presented a locally rooted, sustainable solution.
Group 10: Make a fortune in a treasure field!
Key Points: By converting abandoned farmland into an ethical crop cultivation test site, the group’s proposal aims to discover ethical crop cultivation methods and sell successful cases (those successfully cultivated as ethical crops). The project aims to reuse items that were once considered useless and raise people’s awareness of ethical food consumption.
After the award ceremony and the presentation of certificates, Professor Emeritus Nishimura gave a general commentary, and the event concluded with a closing address by Tokushima Prefecture Governor Masazumi Gotoda.
Personally, I think it was great that the students had the opportunity to visit the actual sites, hear from businesses that are working to solve these current issues, and see how they are doing it. I believe the experience they gained from the on-site visits had a clear positive impact on each group and was a major factor in their presentations, which were full of great ideas.
Through the students’ presentations, we, as adult consumers, also had the opportunity to consider the issue of “food waste.” However, because we only see information in the form of data (simply numbers), consumers in general do not seem to fully comprehend the seriousness of these issues. For example, many of the group presentations mentioned that Japan ranks 14th in the world in terms of the amount of food waste (in tons). But how much do we really realize this enormous amount? Through this program, the participating high school students were able to experience the power of identifying issues and devising solutions. Using this experience, the students can deepen their exploration, including putting their ideas into practice and discovering further issues, and will likely realize the seriousness of the issues and become more determined to act.
We always say that are the youth are our hope and our future leaders. However, it is adults right now who have a responsibility to guide them on the right path. If we want humanity to survive, we must do our part to save ourselves. I think events like this are one way to guide young people on that path. That is why I hope this type of initiative can continue and the circle of ethical consumption expands through it.
For details, please check the URL above.
https://www.pref.tokushima.lg.jp/ippannokata/kyoiku/gakkokyoiku/7303758/
(※Please check that the website is available in Japanese only.)
