A few months ago, I began keeping track of milestones that I considered a step towards being a true sustainable consumer. This includes tasks I have accomplished in the past, as well as goals that I have for the foreseeable future. I have loved having a physical reminder on my fridge, to subtly remind me about the progress I've made in addition to my next goals.
The List, as of Dec 30, 2019:
reusable coffee mug
reusable utensils for office
reusable straw
water bottle for travel
key chain bag
reusable produce bags
compost bin
phase out ziplock bags & plastic wrap
natural deodorant
no plastic bottles in shower
natural laundry detergent
sustainable paper products (tissues, paper towels, toilet paper)
all natural cleaners
milk alternatives
As 2019 concludes, we are 9 down, and 5 to go! For more information about these wins, as well as the hold ups for the remaining items, click here!
There are a lot of titles associated with being a sustainable consumer: minimalist, naturalist, environmentalist, vegan, vegetarian, zero waste... the list goes on. As this year concludes, I've made my own definition of a sustainable consumer. I defined this as challenging myself to think more holistically about the life I am leading and how I can be a positive influence on others.
Setting a million rules that I absolutely cannot break didn't feel productive or beneficial. Flipping a switch like that is really hard for habit forming, and instead I have found much more success by tackling one problem at a time, and finding what changes work for me when (hence my list!).
I want this to be a challenge to prevent myself from getting lazy. There's a difference between changing your habits in a way that works for your lifestyle, and changing one thing and that's it. The world we live in is not set up to be sustainable, which means that there is always another challenge and always another benchmark.
It's motivation to continue working on my goals, call out corporations and governments who aren't supporting sustainable practices, and educate others -- because if the world is not set up to be easily sustainable, how can someone know where to begin?
My first push towards a sustainable lifestyle was supporting a ban on single-use plastic straws, urging companies to either switch to compostable straws or stop offering them altogether. This was around the same time that a video of a sea turtle getting a plastic straw painfully removed from its nose went viral, so every other ad on Instagram was for reusable straws. It made sense, and seemed like an easy win: plastic straws hurt animals, we can live without them, therefore ban them.
But, I was (fortunately) educated on a very important counterpoint: straws are sometimes a necessity. A complete ban on single-use straws does not take those with disabilities into account. Therefore, this is not a holistic view and is not, in fact, sustainable.
Don't get me wrong, thinking about how you use single-use straws is a great place to start a sustainable lifestyle if straws are a nice-to-have. Ask yourself: do I need this? How will I dispose of it? Are there alternatives? If the answer for plastic straws are no, the trash, and yes, then go for it!
There are plastic polluters that are more prevalent than others (straws are not one of the top contributors to the plastic pollution), but starting somewhere is better than not changing anything. And once you make one change, it'll be easier to make another, and another.
Those of us who have the means to change our habits and educate others should do so. The goal is to have sustainability be the norm, and therefore fulfill its true definition of being accessible and maintainable to everyone.
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