A few ways to live responsibly

Sustainability is big news at the moment with the rise of the climate crisis, and brands and companies are now shifting their focus to living more sustainably. However, sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives can be more expensive, and additionally, it's often more sustainable to simply continue using what you have rather than throwing away what you have, generating waste, simply to purchase an eco-friendly version. There are many ways to live sustainably that don’t cost money, in fact, many times can save you money. Some of the things I have tried to incorporate into my life are listed below:

1. Reduce food waste

Food waste is a big thing, not only from the carbon footprint each item of food has, but also from the fact that it is wasteful and could be put to better use. Meal prepping is a huge part of this - if you plan your week, which meals you will eat out and what you will eat, it allows you to shop and buy only what you need, not simply shopping and buying intuitively which leads to significantly more food waste. This will also lead to cheaper weekly shops, healthier meals and you can ensure that you eat what you like, and you never run out of ingredients. Additionally, you can try composting food waste, but this is obviously much harder to do and not for everybody. 

2. Fast fashion

The clothes you wear have huge carbon footprints, and fast fashion is one of the least sustainable industries. I have previously done a blog post about fast fashion and how you can try sourcing your clothes sustainably which will be linked below, but the most sustainable outfit is one that is already in your wardrobe. Before buying new clothes, make sure that it is something you really need. If you are going to do that, try to find clothes that are good quality, preferably from sustainable brands but these are often more expensive, but good quality clothing will last a while. This will also be cheaper, as you find yourself making fewer impulse purchases.

3. Recycle and sort through rubbish

Sorting your rubbish is something that is often overlooked, but making sure that everything goes in the right bin ensures that it doesn’t end up in the landfill. Often some parts of packaging can be recycled and some can’t, so separating the rubbish ensures at least some of the packaging can be reused. In addition, make yourself aware of what you can and can’t recycle, as some of the results may surprise you. 

4. Reuse

Finally, the less that goes into the rubbish bins, the better. Try and reuse all you can, from scrap paper to plastic bags to food containers and plastic cutlery. Of course, these items are not often designed for long term use and will eventually break, but the more uses you can get out of them, the better. Small things add up like not requesting cutlery when ordering food and carrying a few items of shopping instead of getting a plastic bag.

It is true that the vast majority of the damage done to our environment is due to large corporations and companies drilling for oil, pumping fumes into the skies and the water, deforestation for space to expand and many other things, and this is an issue that needs to be tackled if we are to reverse the damage done. However, every little helps, and these small changes can often have a benefit to you too and be cheaper. Even adopting a few of these changes in your lifestyle can have a huge impact!

Fighting fast fashion: https://www.zahramerali.com/blog/fighting-fast-fashion or click here