Sustainability: Making Changes

There are a lot of misconceptions about the concept of “sustainability”, especially as more and more companies are employing the use of greenwashing to sell products. More often than not, sustainability is marketed as replacing all your current products with ones that have green packaging and may or may not be made from bamboo. Turns out, there isn't one easy road to sustainability (and it isn't made from bamboo either).

Identify areas in your life where you are able to make reasonable changes. You don’t need to start off with installing solar panels, there are lots of small steps you can take that will help reduce negative impacts on our environment. I won’t be pushing the idea of the “carbon footprint” a phrase coined by BP to shift climate responsibility onto individuals, but instead, want to emphasize the importance of buying and using less by buying (or making) things that will last longer. When it comes down to it, companies such as BP have spent a fortune shifting all blame from themself to the consumers. While consumers do have important roles to play, we shouldn’t let ourselves lose sight of what we are really fighting against. We have an obligation to hold onto our money and really put it (or remove it) where it can make a difference. Some options for small changes that can have a big impact are as follows.

Actionable Ideas:

• Switch your Bank. Large banks such as Chase, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo donate incredible amounts of money to the fossil fuel industry every year. We’re talking $742 billion dollars just in 2021. In the past six years, Chase alone has given over $382 billion in fossil fuel financing. If you keep your cash in one of these banks, there’s a good chance they’re using your dollars to fund the fossil fuel industry. Instead, check out banks such as Aspiration, Atmos, and Ando Money.

• Say Goodbye to Fast Fashion. Hey, you knew this was coming. Clothing waste accounts for 10% of overall pollution, (1.2 billion tons of carbon pollution) a larger percentage than air travel. We discard 92 million tons of clothes-related waste each year and at the same time, we are producing more clothes than ever before while wearing garments for shorter amounts of time.

• Wash your clothes in cold water and air dry when possible. Washing your clothing in cold water has lots of benefits. For starters, you save the energy you would have otherwise used to heat up the water. Also, cold water is kinder on your clothes than hot water and can keep your pieces looking better for longer.

• Plan out your meals for the week. Food waste is a huge problem in the United States, with around 30% - 40% of our food supply being thrown away. Meal planning helps reduce the amount of food that gets tossed after getting forgotten about in the back of the fridge.

• Start Composting. No matter how well you plan, it’s inevitable that some amount of food will have to be thrown away during the course of our lives. Composting is a great way to deal with food waste.

• Ditch plastic bottles. Most of us probably already own one, if not more, reusable water bottles. But I challenge you to do your best to leave plastic bottles behind for good. Bring an empty bottle to re-fill, even when you go to the airport. Buy shampoo bars or go to a refill station for your dish detergent instead of buying more single use plastic that can't be easily recycled.

• Shop Secondhand. With the thrifting craze in recent years, secondhand clothing has become much more mainstream. However, I think we should look past clothing and buy more of our stuff secondhand as well. For example, I recently moved houses and all my "new" furniture and appliances are secondhand. Couch, bed, dresser, coffee pot, blender, bowls, utensils, and so much more came from a combination of Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and local thrift stores. Not only did I reduce a tiny bit of demand for new goods by giving lightly used items a new life, I also saved a ton of money.

• Learn to Mend. This one may sound a little daunting, but I promise, it's not that hard and might even be a fun creative outlet. By learning to mend your own clothes, you can prolong the life of some of your favorite pieces and keep them out of the landfill. I've also found that mending can be a meditative and creative process if you allow it. Check out the book "Mending Matters" by Kristina Rodabaugh to learn more about visible mending techniques.

Hopefully a few of these ideas will resonate with you as you continue to find what changes work for you and your lifestyle. No need to rush to make a bunch of alterations at once, give yourself some grace to try new things and craft your own path to sustainability.