Hey, you, awesome reader! :) So far I have been writing self-love (or somewhere around that area) and blogging posts, but my end game is to add eco-friendly and zero wast-y posts as well to Lookforsmile.com creations sooo… this is the first one covering that topic :). I feel like this is going to be an introduction post, a slow start to eco-Thursdays on Lookforsmile. But nevertheless, hopefully interesting one, so let’s get into it! :)
In today’s world being eco-friendly is like being a black sheep. Not entirely true, of course, because eco- and nature-friendly phrases pop-up here and there (especially in the food industry, I think) and cloth bags for groceries are still a thing, BUT on the other hand the modern way of living is to live eco-UN-friendly. Think about it – plastic bags EVERYWHERE, cheap clothes and shoes you buy for one season and then throw them out, technology that needs replacement in 2 years, disposable coffee cups and so on. This lifestyle is very easy, fulfilling, cheap and fun, why should you limit yourself to expensive clothing just twice a year or only drink homemade coffee? This is a question I ask myself once in a while because I want to find legit reasons to give people who are living the regular, happy Europian lifestyle, why they should change their habits to more ecological ones.
Ehh.. disclaimer, I am not the most ecological person in the World. I wish I lived more nature-friendly lifestyle! But that’s what eco-Thursday will be about – me learning more about nature-friendly habits and lifestyle bits and telling you all about them as well.
Another disclaimer, I can only talk from my experience, so that’s what I am doing. I know there are countries in Europe where ecological habits are more popular than here where I currently live and the situation is not the same everywhere BUT have to start somewhere and I am starting from here.
Ok, two paragraphs on disclaimers. :D Now back to the real stuff! ;) Here I have listed few of the reasons I think we lead eco-UN-friendly lives.
People are lazy. That’s a fact. :D To be eco-friendly, it requires work. You need to make that additional effort to sort the trash (or in my case, run around the city trying to find WHERE to PUT my sorted waste :/). To use some homemade things (like toothpaste, my recipe coming soon on the blog, btw! :) ) you need to take that time out of your day to actually make it. And so on. When you have done things ALL your life in a certain way, it is not easy to start doing things differently right away. Also, there is that question again – why make, if I can buy?
Politics and infrastructure. It is much easier to be ecological in a country that supports eco-friendly habits. As I said before, in Riga it is NOT easy to find trash containers separately for paper, plastic, glass etc. There are some and some buildings have them but it is not a requirement. However, the trash from an all-trash container is later sorted in a sorting-spot anyway but I should do more research on that. :) If the environment and infrastructure are adapted for ecological choices, it is much easier for the citizens to actually do something nature-friendly. Not just with sorting waste, btw, with everything.
Consumer ideology. In another words – capitalism. I feel like the slogan for this era could be “buy, buy and buy some more!”. :D Even though trade has always been the best way of income, nowdays with the internet, smart devices, facebook ads, globalization, opportunity to manufacture things for cents in China and sell them for Euros in Europe and overall life quality rising, buying things we need and DON’T need is an everyday affair. How often have you said to yourself: “Ah, it is just a few Euros, I can buy it and if I don’t like it, just throw it out”. Another question is the quality of things we buy. There is no denying that first of all, cheap things usually break faster, secondly, I do believe the rumor going around that companies make things so they would break at some point, so you would buy from them again. From a business point of view, YES, it is beneficial. From every other point of view.. It’s messed up. Back to buying things, I don’t deny – I like new things as well! But how to keep that balance – buy stuff you need but don’t produce excess waste? I live almost daily in this struggle. Doesn’t make my life easier, have to say. :D
Finances. Finances play an important role in every aspect of our lives, that’s just the way the modern society works. Two things there, first, the cheap things are very tempting or in some cases the only option. Plus, buying things for cheap is somehow very satisfying. :D Actually finding a great bargain is satisfying, but that seems similar. Second, buying all things labeled eco, most certainly is more expensive. Eco-food and eco-clothing. Have you seen the prices? :O There is a difference though – eco and zero-waste is NOT the same. In my opinion, they stand very near to each other but you can buy eco-salad in a plastic packaging and non-eco salad from the closest grocery store without packaging aka zero-wasty.
Oki – doki, thank you so much for reading! :) I feel like there is so much more to say about this topic, so many reasons and various situations, and contexts when starting to dig deep! :O
Stay tuned for more eco-Thursday posts to see how this segment turns out! :)
Tell me about the situation in your country concerning eco-habits! And what do you think is the easiest eco-habit to acquire? :)
With love,
Madara
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I love this post so much, everything you’ve said is spot on. Somehow, we’ve ended up with a very disposable culture, and we want everything now. I think the biggest struggle is with politics; politicians need to do something to encourage manufacturers, businesses, stores, and people to be more eco-friendly. While it’s great that people like you and me want to reduce our waste significantly and live a more eco-friendly life, the fastest way to get more people to do it is politics. Unfortunately, the British government at the moment has zero interest in protecting the planet.
Yes, you are right! Governments and politicians could do a lot concerning this issue. I think there are some plans for reducing exhaust gases or something like that. Also I heard that in Sweden the government is giving some kind of discount if you are buying an electric car. That’s nice. :) I always think that it should start with companies and manufacturers, but you’re right, politicians could do a lot too!
I am going to love these posts, I can tell! I think situation is Lithuania is quite similar to the one in your country as we are neighbours, haha. It’s quite hard to find bins for recycling in town, tho I must admit that I am seeing an increase of those this year. Also, being more ecological is freaking expensive, especially in Baltic countries. 100g of ecological berries are about 7euros and I am not about that life. However, I am trying to live more eco-friendly, meaning that we recycle, use fabric bags instead of plastic ones and try to… Read more »
Oh, you give me a little bit more inspiration to keep making these type of posts. :) Yaay! :) I was in Vilnius last summer and I saw everywhere there recycling containers, was pretty jealous of Lithuania in that moment. :D At least in the residential area. :) About Baltic countries, at least in Latvia, I think we have eco-friendlier food even when it is not labeled eco. But not always that is the case, of course. :/