Is it just me or has "Sustainability" become a trendy hipster term nowadays?
Per our 2017 culture in society, it's very elite, luxury, not-budget-friendly lifestyle that is perfectly curated on a Pinterest board showcasing unique, chic, reclaimed wood goodies, DIY-projects-that-take-years-to-create + other products, good and services.
What is sustainability?
Sustainability: "creating and maintain conditions under which humans, animals+ nature can exist in productive harmony."
Reference: Webster Dictionary
Basically, making the planet viable and livable for future generations to come.
On our journey this includes food, travel, entertainment (films, TV, social media, music, etc.), clothing , products + goods consumed (mainly via small businesses).
How did we get stated? Well...honestly it was birthed out of frustration by the return policies of major brands and stores. Stores not honoring items as advertised or products simply being changed for no reason, out side of the company wanting to expand profit margins. Hence the gimmicks of "New + Improved' campaigns from everything to laundry detergent to electronics.
We began to ask questions such as, Can we make this work better for us without all the fluff (fragrance, dyes, carcinogens, etc.)? Where did this product come from? Who made my clothes? The list goes on but after a few hours of research on the University of YouTube + Google looking for local artisans and makers, we came to the conclusion that we have a choice. We chose to vote with our dollars and support small business as much as we can and some large conscious brands.
It will take time and some work.
Yes, work.
You'll have to re-program your brain to think differently about how you consume your everyday goods + services.
A few tips to help ease the transition:
Start with one (1) area of your life. Below are a few to help you get started.
SKINCARE
For many women (and some men) it's the easiest to tackle and most effective way to see what you've really been putting on your face. Ultimately this one area is then led to explore other beauty regimen rituals one does, to include nail care, bath + body products, etc. Check out www.ewg.org or think dirty app to rate your current products for levels of toxicity.
FOOD
Now this can be extremely overwhelming. No, you don't need to learn composting or adopt a strict diet. Let's advocate to enlist a friend/partner/accountability buddy to help. Start by eating more plants (fresh or frozen). The work Jessica Murnane is putting out there and that's simple to eat one (1) plant based meal a day. Not a major lifestyle change or diet. Just one meal at a time, introduce plants into your food regimen and have them be the star of the meal. Another great way to have plants be the MVP is to join a CSA subscription. It'll be packed with locally produced fruits, veggies+ other goodies like eggs and honey. Check out www.localharvest.org for more information. Lastly try eating less meat, here's a great article to showcase the resources used to produce meat. it's not meat bashing. No pun intended. Lastly research your seafood at www.seafoodwatch.org - you'll be greatly surprised what species are overly populated or at risk to being overfished.
HOUSEHOLD GOODS
In this area, let your creative genius (we all have one) come out and shine with a few quick+ easy DIY projects. Pick an activity fun for the whole family to enjoy (tiny human(s) should be supervised) such as making your own Multi-Purpose Cleaner - courtesy of our dear friend Melissa or visiting the cleaning products section of a TJ Maxx, Ross or Home Goods, if you're in the states. Please don't sleep on those areas, you'd be surprised by the amount of clean greener disinfectant sprays that are heavily discounted.
If you're feeling like you are ready to go further in other areas of life, consider the following areas: ENTERTAINMENT, SOCIAL MEDIA, TRAVEL,CONSUMER GOODS+TIME.
Whichever area you choose, remember to take it easy. Slow + steady wins the race and please don't let the comments of others (people who wont do the work/try) keep you from embracing change. Please feel free to share your progress or starting point in the comment section.
For more information on green-conscious living, follow @EcoConsciousLuv on Instagram.