Working Towards Sustainable Living

When it comes to living sustainably, many of us can get intimidated by green jargon. Words like “carbon neutral”, “veganism” and “climate positive” can seem too technical and beyond reach, especially when you’re a regular person who is used to your current lifestyle. In fact, it’s a misconception that one must fully transform their life to become more sustainable. To make a difference, you can make small adjustments, like being conscious of your waste and opting for more greens.

Fashion is one of the areas where we go through at an alarming rate. Most of us forget to consider the longevity of a piece of clothing or accessory whenever we’re shopping. While owning one or two trend-pieces won’t hurt you, they’ll end up sitting at the back of your closet after the trend dies down.

A sustainable approach to fashion implies not buying unnecessarily and maximising the lifespan of your clothing. Ways to practise this form of sustainability include buying pre-loved or vintage, upcycling clothes and swapping fashion items. The rationale behind these actions is to minimise waste in production, which, at the core, ultimately means less materials in landfills.

If you’re buying brand-new items, opt for sustainably and ethically made items from brands that use vegan leather or upcycled material. You can also swap your purchases with friends at clothing swap events if you’re looking to refresh your wardrobe.

Besides recycling and practising circular fashion, pick up basic sewing skills and learn to upcycle, mend and update your old pieces to give them a new lease of life. In these ways, you would have taken broad steps to live a sustainable fashion life.

How can our food choices help to minimise the damage on the planet? According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, livestock is responsible for 14.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. A University of Oxford study has also shown that if everybody (yes, that’s everyone in the entire planet) ate less meat and dairy, there could be a 49 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from food production. This also means a reduction in eutrophication, a situation where nutrients from fertilisers run into lakes and rivers, polluting fresh water, damaging ecosystems and reducing biodiversity.

Flexitarianism has been touted as a reasonable, sustainable compromise among people on a conscious eating plan, since cutting out meat completely can ironically lead to environmental pressures on certain ingredients that a vegan diet depends on for plant-based fats and protein, such as nuts. Flexitarianism, defined as a semi-vegetarian diet centered on plant foods, with the occasional inclusion of meat, seems to be a good middle ground that can have significant positive impact on the environment.  

The trick to becoming a flexitarian is to start small, so it’s more achievable and realistic: you can make meat a side, not a main in a meal, schedule meat-free days, and buy and cook only what you can consume to reduce food wastage. It also helps to be aware of how far your produce has had to travel before reaching your dinner table, as well as how many chemicals have been used to produce it. Other conscious diet moves include reducing your dietary footprint by buying local and adopting garden-to-table practices like growing your own micro greens and fruit as far as you can.

Many of the environmental problems directly related to energy consumption include air and water pollution, climate change, and difficulties in solid waste disposal.

One simple way to conserve energy at home is to use less of it – keep the air-conditioning on only for absolutely blazing days, and limit usage to no more than a certain number of hours in a day.

You can also replace air-conditioning with fans that use less energy. Or swap your lighting and go full-on LED, which uses 75% less energy than incandescent lighting and, where possible, install movement-censor lighting. 

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, solar energy technologies and power plants do not produce air pollution or greenhouse gases when operating. Using solar energy can have a positive, indirect effect on the environment when solar energy replaces or reduces the use of other energy sources that have larger negative effects on the environment.

Solar panels for your home don’t require much upkeep. Once you’ve had them installed, you’ll just need to make sure that they’re free of dirt and debris so that sunshine can reach every part of the panel.

Besides using green energy to power your home, you can also consider plastic-free reusables when it comes to cleaning items. Instead of throwaway wipes, use only washable cloths and dusters to clean the house, and pair them with cleaning agents made from natural ingredients (lemon juice and vinegar are useful home-made cleaners) that come in plastic-free packaging.

While research has shown that our past use (and wastage) of plastic is causing the current effects of climate change, most of us still find it difficult to break away from our plastic addiction. In the office, we throw away tons of takeaway containers and food wrappers. It’s convenient and you don’t have to think about cleaning up. You consume the food and throw out what you don’t need.

That’s where the Bring Your Own movement comes in. For starters, bring your own reusable cutlery, coffee mug and water bottle – with them, you can wean off your reliance on plastic disposables, which are also bad for your health as they can leech unknown chemicals into your hot food. Then, when you get more comfortable, start bringing reusable sandwich holders or tiffin carriers for takeaway food. They aren't as bulky as you might think they are, with some being able to flatten into the thickness of a notebook.

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram to get the latest updates.