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My personal journey with sustainability has certainly evolved through the years. Recently, I’ve found myself looking at that part of my life with much more intention – and someone who’s helped me learn a ton along the way just happens to be today’s podcast guest!
I met Liz Winkley last year at Beautycounter’s annual conference, and I was SO glad our paths crossed. In the months since getting to know her better (thanks, Instagram!) I’ve gleaned so much information from her on the topic of sustainability. After learning more about what plastic and other materials are doing to our planet, she and her husband opted to make some shifts in their behavior that have changed their household’s approach to “stuff” in general.
Speaking of those shifts…be sure to follow Liz on Instagram to keep up with the great information and inspiration she shares there. She also shared these accounts as being ones she loves to follow when it comes to living sustainably:
@thewholehome
@ajabarber
@zerowastechef
@impactforgood
@wastefreeplanet
@sarah.robertson.barnes
One thing I’ve known for years now is that “sustainability” is a buzzword (just like “clean beauty” has become an overused and often meaningless phrase when it comes to letting us know what’s actually IN a given product). Companies know that caring for our planet’s health and resources is important to so many of us…but their response can sometimes be misleading. And that’s a major bummer. Just because a brand touts itself as being sustainable doesn’t mean they actually are especially mindful of our planet.
Similarly, though so many of us recycle, we now know that those items may or may not actually go on to be used for other things down the road. Many might be added to ever-growing landfills. And often unnecessary packaging – specifically PLASTIC packaging and other plastic waste – is taking over our world in a huge way. It’s estimated there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050, in fact.
So…what’s an individual or single family to do about all this?
For one, we can start to pay attention and take in information. We can vote with our dollar and advocate for brands and policies that are prioritizing the planet in REAL ways. And we can also make small changes in our behavior that, when enough of us do them, can really start to add up.
We can bring our own cups to coffee shops and save a single-use cup.
We can make fewer purchases overall to limit bringing waste (in the form of packaging, of future waste when we no longer use or need that item, etc.) into our homes.
We can reuse items whenever possible.
We can compost our food waste to cut down on methane production.
We can buy things like clothing and home items secondhand.
We can, when possible, choose food items in the grocery store that use less packaging, or truly recyclable packaging such as glass.
Liz and her family are great about doing these things and then some. Admittedly, she is MUCH farther down this sustainability road than I am, but like I said – those little things ADD UP.
Think about this, for example:
There are about 16,000 Starbucks stores in the U.S. alone. If even 5% of people started bringing their own reusable cups to Starbucks and saving a reusable cup every time they went, think about how that would start to really make a difference!
So I’m focusing on increasing my own awareness, shifting my behaviors, and having conversations with my kids about the importance of prioritizing our planet. After all, we are borrowing this world from our children. The least we can do is care for it, right?
Okay, enough from me for now. Ready to hear from Liz Winkley about being more aware of how we use the earth’s resources? Here we go…
