Conversation around living a greener lifestyle continues to garner more attention, but what does that actually mean? Is it affordable? Can it really make a difference? Living ethically and sustainably is a journey that takes time to cultivate and maintain, with no singular way to do it.
No one can deny the convenience of taking a short trip to a local drugstore chain to pick up another toothbrush or the ease of ordering household items online from Amazon, but there are ways to maintain that ease without having a negative impact on the environment.
While shopping and eating locally is not accessible to everyone, if you’re able, there are several benefits to it: it’s a financial investment in your local community, you have a better understanding of where your money goes and who it helps, and most often, the food you purchase is sourced from a farmer right in your city or province, which helps reduce packaging waste and gas emissions that arise from transportation.
This is a larger undertaking than simply heading to your local store, but growing your own food can be an enjoyable and meditative way to spend your time — and you happen to be doing something that’s eco-friendly in the process.
Finding trendy or runway-inspired clothing at a reasonable price is ideal for just about anyone, but fast fashion heavily pollutes the environment and exploits poor garment workers around the world.
While purchases from brands like Free Label, Tentree, Brother Vellies, Omi Woods, or Girlfriend Collective are investments — sustainably made pieces don’t have fast fashion prices — you can feel good about where your items come from and they will last you for years.
If paying for an eco-friendly item is something you can’t do, you still have options: try sewing up holes or tears in any worn clothes you already have and shopping second hand.
Canadian rental platforms like dresst or The Fitzroy give you the feeling of having gone shopping without constant consumption and a lot of clothes piling up in your closet.
Being able to spend money on items we consider fairly priced and of value is important, but we often don’t have the full scope of the damage it can do to the people that made it, our own bodies, and our planet.
Many times, we can be more interested in replacing or repurchasing things because of how affordable a product might be or to simply have something new, but the items we’re quick to throw away are salvageable and might just need a little sprucing up.
Have you ever considered purchasing electronics and furniture second hand? If not, this option is a way to have exciting, new items while reducing the number of products that end up in landfills.
Furniture and other home goods that have been made sustainably are also not the easiest to find and are more expensive, but if you can afford to invest in eco-friendly furniture, it’s something worth considering — and there are brands making quality, timeless items that will outlast any furniture that was made with cheap materials, preventing you from throwing out goods every few years when you move or redecorate.
These certifications are given by B Lab, a non-profit organization that created standards for environmental and societal change organizations need to meet in order to be certified.
Not all businesses are able to become certified; the process is extensive and rigorous, which adds a level of legitimacy and credibility to any business that successfully becomes a certified B Corporation.
Instead of reflexively putting items you no longer want in the trash, consider donating them or selling them to family, friends, or on online marketplaces and consignment shops.
Recycling the right things as much as you can is a helpful way to reduce trash and responsibly get rid of items. Recycling is different depending on where you’re located — you may need to do some research to properly dispose of items in your area — but there are a couple of things you should keep in mind as you recycle.
Casually discarding these products is more common than we realize; globally, we created 53.6 million metric tonnes of e-waste in 2019, with that number projected to increase as the years go on.
Though resisting the urge to have new things is challenging, one of the most vital ways we can shop greener is to buy less.