How to stay eco-conscious during a crisis

Now more than ever we have an opportunity to make an impact on our consumption. Covid-19 has made us all step back from our everyday activities, taking nothing for granted. Did I just touch my face? Did I wash my hands when I came inside? Sneeze into your elbow. Keep your distance. Sanitise your groceries.

Everyday normalities that now require more mental attention than we have ever given them. Giving us a chance to think through every action. I think we can carry this extra time and mental space through to our purchasing and lifestyle habits. Allowing us to make a lasting positive impact on our lives and our planet. Long after this pandemic has faded to a strange and distant memory.

Here are some ways to be a conscious consumer right now and into the future.

Number One: Overconsumption and bulk buying is not the answer. Food waste is a huge problem in our society, caused by overbuying and under-consuming. What we buy and do not eat inevitably ends up in landfill and contrary to popular believe, does not biodegrade. At least not as quickly and easily as in a compost bin in the back garden. The reason for this is that in a massive landfill, our food scraps don’t get a chance to get exposed to oxygen which is what allows it to break down. That’s why a package of chips only goes stale once to open it. All that oxygen gets in and ages that yummy snack. In terms of the lifecycle of bio-waste oxygen is king. Without it, food waste piles up and adds to our every growing landfill problem.

There is an easy fix to this of course. Don’t throw away your food. Use it. Eat it. Freeze it. If all else fails compost it. Only buy what you need because not only are you taking food away from someone else, you are spending unnecessarily and creating unnecessary waste.

Some tips for reducing your food waste.

At the end of the week, have a look at what’s left in your fridge. What didn’t you use? Broccoli. Because you don’t like broccoli and really only bought it because you wanted to look healthy to the check out chick. Those mushrooms are all shriveled up and will have to go in the bin. Next shop, don’t buy as many or any mushrooms. Forget the broccoli too. The check out chick doesn’t judge the middle aged man that buys a large Fanta, some dog food and a family sized meat pie every two days so she won’t judge you. If you ain’t gonna use it, lose it.

Plan your meals. Think about what you want to eat that week and buy accordingly. Life always happens, even in quarantine, so you may end up ordering take away for one meal or craving mi goreng for another, so don’t plan on a new meal every night. Three or four meals for the week, works for me and leftovers for lunches. This will vary on how many people you are feeding and your eating habits so use what you know about how your household eats and plan accordingly. Only buy what you need for that week. Coles will still be there next week and the week after.

Number Two: Look into what brands you want to support.

Westfields are closed. Panic!/?
No. Myer and Kookai may be closed but by looking further afield than your local shopping centre, options open right up! You are no longer restricted to halls lined with fast fashion retailers. The world of online shopping is your oyster and the pearl is knowing where and how your clothing is made. Retail stores don’t have a little info booth with information about the brand, where it’s manufactured, who makes the products and if they are paid a living wage (I wish!). But any brand worth buying from will have that information in the ‘About’ section of their website. Some great brands to check out with amazing About sections are Everlane and Stella McCartney. They go into great detail about their manufactures and fibre origins. Everlane even goes so far as to tell you a full price break down on each of its products, explaining why they are priced the way they are. Your dollar has a power and who you choose to purchase from shows what you support. If you can’t find information about where a product was made, what fabrics were used, the wages of the factory workers or the sustainability practices of the brand, it’s more than likely because they don’t want you to know. Transparency is key.

A great resource for finding out how well a brand is rated ethically is Good on You. An app that allows you to search a brand name and find out some information about its ethical practices. It’s still worth doing your own research though as the app doesn’t go into depth about its ratings and it can be a bit brutal. Fair but brutal.

Number Three: Walk don’t drive. Exercise and getting outside is necessary to stay sane right now so taking the opportunity to walk rather than drive right now is a good excuse to get where you’re going in a eco and body friendly way. It saves you on gas money and emissions and gets you active. Walking places also keeps us more local, supporting small and local businesses that rely on the community around them will help out our little economies in the long run.

Honestly, that’s it. I truly think that if we implement those three things into our day to day lives we will be better and more aware consumers. Supporting brands and practices that deserve it.

It’s time to use the information that is available to us and take it on board. Right now there is no excuse for not making smart purchasing decisions. We all have the time and the resources to find what businesses we want to support and do it. Let’s use this weird time in the world and get some positive change out of it by adapting our lifestyles to help ourselves and the planet.

Now go walk to the grocery store and buy an organic, unpackaged avocados and make some guacamole for dinner you green queen!