3 Reflections on living the sustainable and ethical lifestyle
The path to a sustainable and ethical lifestyle is often long, twisting, confusing and not at all like I thought it would be. When I started this journey I gave myself two years to change over everything in my life to be more "ethical" - which I quickly learned wasn't JUST about providing fair wages to workers in developing countries and humane conditions for farm animals.
In the garment industry, for example, fair wages are incredibly important, but equally as important is addressing the environmental and health concerns that many workers contend with on the daily. Basically in order to truly convert my shopping to all sustainable and ethical purchases, I had to learn a lot about the way dyes and factory run-off impact the environment and the way supply chains work, the transparency involved and needed, etc etc. And that was just the beginning.
Even just regarding clothing, there are differing opinions about what's truly sustainable. For example, bamboo is a dividing topic. Bamboo grows quickly and, as I understand it, is less harmful to grow than cotton in lot of cases. Sounds great, right? But not so fast! To break down the bamboo fibres to a place where they are soft enough and usable for fabric, a chemical solution (I'm terrible at chemistry stuff, I can't understand more in depth than that lol) needs to be applied to the bamboo. This chemical solution can be harmful to the environment and is not great for human skin if not fully removed from the garment before sale. So that's no good. But wait! I guess some people have figured out how to do this in a less harmful way. Enter certifications like Oeko-Tex, which indicate a textile that's safe for human skin, among other things. But understanding all the terms of all these certifications takes foreverrrrr..
So you can see why these good intentions quickly become confusing and muddled, right? I mean, if you're reading this blog you probably already know that, but anyway... Going down such a winding path of research for 90% of new items you encounter is mighty bamboozling.
"This deodorant is aluminum free, great! Oh, hang on. The parent company is (insert name of terrible corporation here) and it comes in a plastic applicator. Alright well I guess I can recycle the applicator. Oh wait, that's a difficult plastic to recycle. Hmmm... ok I guess I'll buy a natural deodorant. I don't want to support that company anyway."
*goes to buy natural deodorant* *natural deodorant is really expensive and doesn't apply as easily or last as long* *tries 4 more natural deodorants before finding one that works with body chemistry* *April then realizes this experiment was actually pretty wasteful and dies a slow, sad death surrounded by piles of half used deodorant while the Demon of Landfills Filled By Good Intentions cackles in the background*
Anyways...
My biggest reflections over the past few years are:
This lifestyle can be confusing, expensive, and time consuming at first. I had to develop a lot of patience and give up or soften some "ideals" at the beginning in order to not burn myself out and alienate people close to me, haha. It sucked, but it had to be done if this was going to work in the long haul. But this confusion is actually what prompted me to start my blog in the first place to help others find sustainable products. So maybe it was a good thing in the long run?
Chosing one thing I cared about most and focusing on that at first helped keep me grounded and not get overwhelmed. First and foremost, I wanted to buy products that were made by people who had fair and safe working conditions. Maybe for you, its zero waste living or cruelty-free cosmetics.
I have changed my mind or tweaked my opinions about a lot of things since starting this journey. Namely, my attitudes towards meat consumption. At first I would ALWAYS eat either free range meat or none at all. Then, I think a yearish later, I discovered I was intolerant of a loooooot of food. Suddenly it was extremely expensive and difficult for people to cook for me. So I still try to always request either vegetarian or free range meat (and emphasize that I'm truly happy with just a big salad), but if I turn up to a place where someone has specifically cooked me some chicken and veggies thinking they'd done me a solid by not poisoning me, I often just eat it that one time. Later I gently re-explain that I so appreciate the effort but usually prefer veggie or free range food and I'm super down to bring a dish that myself and the other annoying people can eat, as I realize it's hard when you aren't used to cooking that way. Maybe that's a controversial way to handle it, but refusing food when someone tried their hardest breaks my heart too much. What can I say.
What are your top reflections or things you've learned on your journey to sustainability? Share below!
