What was the most important reason civilians were urged to substitute goods during the war?

Civilians were urged to replace assets during the war to make rationing possible.

Explanation:

World War II brought sadness far beyond bombs, grenades and lost lives. For citizens, the story was different: the rationing of food and even clothing.

Rationing was necessary during World War II because one of the Germans' strategies was to attack ships that brought supplies to the island as a way to weaken their opponents - little did they know of the strength of the British.

What the so-called Ministry of Food did at the time was to provide ration books to the population and to force replacement goods. The citizen should register his passbook with the local market so that the trader could also control how much food he would actually need to put on the shelves. When going shopping, the merchant would highlight or stamp the coupons corresponding to the rationed items.

In addition to food, clothes were also rationed from 1941. In the beginning, there were no specific clothing coupons, so margarine coupons were used. At first, people had access to 66 points (or coupons) per year. At the end of the war in 1945, each person had access to only 24 points.

Although World War II ended in 1945, the rationing of clothing continued until 1949 and the food rationing was gradually being completed, one item at a time, ending completely in 1954.