BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION "Y" AND "Z" GENERATION

Abstract

The growth of world population, market globalization, unethical business practices of large companies, irresponsible consumer behavior threatening to completely degrade the health of the planet. Consumerist society requires the purchase and possession of things as imperatives to a good life, which in turn leads to the creation of large quantities of waste. The concept of sustainable development and the circular economy have long been present in academic literature, but the question is how much they are represented in practice. Planet needs "green" consumers whose consumption will not affect the health of the environment. From the young generations, Y and Z, much is expected. Are they ready to initiate change and make the planet a healthier place to live for both existing and future generations? There are a number of studies on this topic and opinions are of course divided. One group of authors consider them agents of change, while others point out that their behavior is not very different from their predecessors and that it is necessary to provide them with education on all current environmental issues and problems.