CLEVER – sustainable supermarket promotes ecologically and socially responsible shopping in Switzerland

The range of products on offer in any given supermarket is vast. Agricultural products are often available year round, regardless of the season. Products are imported from all over the world. In addition to this is the flood of labels, of which it is hardly possible to have an overview, advertising sustainable, environmentally responsible and socially just products. In the sustainable supermarket CLEVER, visitors learn hands-on how they can behave responsibly towards nature, environment and their fellow man during their daily shop. The connection between individual consumer behaviour and its ecological and social effects is highlighted. Visitors learn through concrete examples how they can support environmentally and socially responsible development in their consumer choices.

The exhibition room is laid out like a supermarket: at the entrance are shopping baskets and the end of the circuit is the till. The aisle goes through the different departments of the shop, and the shelves contain products, information and animation displays. Products can be bought by visitors in a shopping simulation. Individual products are assessed mainly on the basis of the information available on the packaging. 6 criteria (climate, pollution, livelihood, social responsibility, biodiversity, resource consumption) are rated on a system from 1 to 6 and the collective results are presented in the form of a spider diagram (see picture). At the till, each customer receives a personal receipt which evaluates the whole of their shopping trip, documenting both poor and good consumer choices. The CLEVER exhibition runs from August to October 2011, April-October 2012 and with a possibility for April to October 2013. The exhibition is hosted in two mobile units connected in the middle by a tent. These units are easy to transport and will be set up in various highly frequented areas (Zurich Zoo, Goldau Wildlife Park, Bern and it is expected also Basel) in Germanspeaking areas of Switzerland. More...