Consumer electronics shoppers face information blackout

With eight out of ten consumers trying to save energy on a day-to-day basis, there is great potential to encourage people to focus some of their green efforts on life at home.

The National Consumer Council‘s new shopping survey, “Information blackout: why electronics consumers are in the dark”, found just how little information is available when it comes to energy efficiency.

The survey highlights the complete lack of data from major retailers and manufacturers. Which is was why the sust-it websites came about, due to my own frustration on the lack of power consumption figures. The quotes below are from retailer’s staff, when asked by NCC about energy efficiency of the products on sale.

“I think you can change the settings on the laptop so it turns onto sleep mode quickly.” (Comet)

“If you turn it off, rather than leaving it on standby, it will use less energy.” (John Lewis, talking about DVD players)

“Most modern models are energy-efficient so it’s not a problem.” (Currys.digital, talking about televisions)

“Well, all electronic products use energy. They’re all the same.” (Tesco, when asked about laptops)

“We don’t have that sort of information on our system. You could try getting in touch with the manufacturer” (Debenhams customer service)

“If you go into a store, a member of staff will be happy to get in touch with the manufacturer for you” (John Lewis customer helpline)

Quotes taken from the National Consumer Council’s report: “Information blackout: why electronics consumers are in the dark”.

I hope the sust-it database will become a useful tool for the 81 per cent of consumers who are trying to save energy on a day-to-day basis.