Sustainability and "De-Influencing"

[o n d i n e]

A thread to discuss sustainable practices on an individual/family/activism level ask questions about sustainability, engage in civil discourse, talk about what you do to be more sustainable, etc!

Some starter questions to get the discussion rolling (you don't have to answer all of them!):

- What do you do in your daily life to be more sustainable?
- What limitations do you face when trying to make sustainable decisions/purchases?
- Does your school/college/workplace have any sustainable practices? What changes do you wish they'd make?
- Any cool advice or tips?

[okabudge]

Oh this is something I’m actually super passionate about! Apologies in advance if I start to ramble, there’s just so much to say on this topic.

So a few years ago, I worked for a nonprofit branch in my hometown’s community to bring sustainability to our school district. We worked with local farms, education programs, and community organizations in order to raise awareness about sustainability. As a major part of this project, we revamped our middle school’s garden with a lot of produce to be used in lunches and home ec class as well as a portion dedicated to prairie restoration (which is a biome native to my area that has been nearly wiped out)
I also audited the schools to see how much power was being used over the summer (hint: a lot) and presented to the district on how much money would be saved by simply unplugging computers and disabling the bell system over summer break.
My team also helped revitalize the community garden and bring in more volunteers- we even started a new plot across town!

Of course, gardening and unplugging are all well and good. Teaching lessons to kids at the free lunch program about the importance of composting and managing waste is great! But a lot of the issues our current environment faces comes from an over abundance of consumerism— I’m talking about fast fashion, single use wrapping, and an overall lack of mindfulness about what we buy and where it will end up when we’re done with it.


A few steps I’ve personally taken are to thrift shop and/or upcycle instead of buying new where I can, I consume less meat than I used to, and I try to make sure that everything I buy gets a second use or gets properly recycled. I also carpool with others, walk, or take public transport whenever I am able. I may not be doing much as an individual, but if everybody were to make a handful of small changes to their daily lives, I believe things could change for the better.

[BlackBlueWoof]

I can't wrap my head around many topics - sustainability is one of them. I agree with Okabudge that consumerism and just giant organizations are what hold the power to change general mindset. Sustainability is such a foreign thing in cities where you can't just burn your burnable garbage, and if you live in an apartment you can't compost your stuff (you could do a worm box but that involves many more steps than just dumping your organic waste in the corner of a garden)

My sustainability consists of trying to compost (my bin is in place that doesn't get enough sun so it's not moving and I need to toss my waste to regular garbage ((), baking potato skins whenever I mash potatoes, taking my water bottle everywhere and trying to grow veggies (spaghetti squash grown from store bought squash was DELICIOUS).

I wish I could keep chickens in the backyard and it would be nice if bylaws were a little bit more clear about how much flower shenanigans I can put on the front lawn.

[Squecca]

- What do you do in your daily life to be more sustainable?
On purpose, to be sustainable: I try to use less water sometimes and avoid buying bottled water! Other than that, I honestly can't think of any more!!!
Not for the purpose of being sustainable but it's good for that: I'm a vegetarian, I don't drive super often, I can be lazy with showers lol
- What limitations do you face when trying to make sustainable decisions/purchases?
Celiac disease. Gluten-free grains tend to be more resource-intensive I believe. And by nature of being a fertile woman, I have to use a lot of cotton and some plastics lol I also don't live where there's great public transit. I drive a large car (it was the cheapest option). I have horses. My household does not have recycling services and I can't change that.
- Does your school/college/workplace have any sustainable practices? What changes do you wish they'd make?
I looked at the sustainablity page on my school's website and it does seem like they do. They mention resource exchanging, recycling, LED lights, and they also apparently won awards for their sustainability so that's cool!
- Any cool advice or tips?
This quiz is kinda cool: http://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en. My ecological footprint is 3.8, my overshoot day is June 4, and if everyone lived like me we'd need 2.3 Earths. That's not sustainable but my country's average result is FIVE Earths so I think I'm doing relatively ok lol
My "advice" is that GMO foods have a lot of fear-mongering surrounding them but they're actually one of the biggest keys to a sustainable future!

[Kattkin]

Ah! A great thread and questions!

I agree that consumerism and fast fashion is a really big issue with societies today, and it also has serious implications around exploitation and modern day slavery as well as water usage, pollution, and waste. One of the things I get upset about with this is that clothes are often made to only last a few wears and then tear or fall apart as a result, which again forces people to buy more than they should need to. To try to reduce my reliance on such stores I often wear second-hand clothing (given to me from my mum most often), learnt how to darn and mend clothes, and I’ve been trying to learn to make my own clothes through sewing, crochet and knitting. While I’m aware the resources it takes to make the raw materials for most fabrics and yarns still isn’t great for the environment, I hope that by making and mending things myself I can at least ensure the quality and longevity of my clothes so that I buy less overall.

Food waste is also quite a serious problem too. These days when I go shopping I see just how much stock is regularly available in supermarkets that is more than likely going to rot in plastic wrap instead of getting used as there’s just so much of it. Furthermore, a lot of food doesn’t even get to stores as it may be lumpy or discoloured! I would like to see more done to make sure unsold food is distributed to people who need it, and an encouragement to eat fruit and veg even if it doesn’t live up to the “perfect” supermarket aesthetic standard. Thankfully, some fruit and veg grocers around my area now sell these lumpy veg at a cheaper price, so they do get more readily used and it’s more affordable for people on tight budgets.

[Nyhne]

One of my goals for this year was to make some lifestyle changes to at least try and reduce some of my waste—some of the small things I do is I try and avoid using plastic baggies and containers where possible (we have glass bowls with lids that I bring for lunch since I can heat things up in them directly, or I use them for packing snacks), as well as trying to buy bulk when I can and then saving the bags for dog poo. As a general, we’re a paper towel-free household, although I do keep one roll as backup and I make sure to compost the towels after. I’ve been really active on my local free/community help Facebook group and are lucky to live in a really active area for it, so it’s great for offering items we no longer use and you know it’s going directly to someone who actually wants it in the local community (as opposed to putting it in a donation bin and hoping it actually gets donated…).

A lot of the changes I’ve been able to make definitely come from a level of privilege—having the means to be able to buy bulk or reusable containers (although arguably the long term cost definitely outweighs the short term), being in an area that composts and has a general mindset of wanting to reduce waste and be more environmentally-conscientious. Unfortunately sustainability and buying organic or local is made pretty difficult by larger forces that make being sustainable much more of a privilege than it should ever be. I try and balance acknowledging that the real and most effective change needs to happen with corporations and government, with knowing that my everyday actions can still make a difference in my life, and in my local community. c:

Work-wise, I'm lucky to work with a landscaping company that specifically aims to be sustainable, native plant driven, and believes in education as labor. We try and reuse as much of the material on site as possible (for example, turning demo'd concrete into a wall, or saving native soil for building garden beds) or try and give usable material way. The garden plans are designed with our specific ecosystem in mind, and we do a lot of education on more sustainable landscaping practices, such as getting rid of lawns or planting natives.