Living sustainably in an unsustainable world
Our human population has consistently ignored the effects we have on our planet. Sustainable living has probably never occurred to most of us among our long list of tasks for the day. With our fast-paced lifestyle, we are always looking for alternatives that can make our daily tasks more convenient. This could include ordering takeaway instead of packing your own food or buying from fast fashion brands.
However, this high need for instant gratification could cause great ramifications to our world through the overconsumption of resources far beyond the earth’s ability to replenish. But how do we prevent this? One way we could play a part in preventing further damage to our earth is by reducing consumerism and living sustainably.
Consumerism refers to the tendency of people living in a capitalist economy to engage in a lifestyle of excessive materialism that revolves around reflexive, wasteful, or conspicuous overconsumption.* With different trends and popular products constantly evolving changes in our current society that promote constant consumption, consumerism is increasingly causing big businesses to deplete our resources at an unsustainable rate to meet our wants and needs.
How do we define sustainability? In short, sustainability is broken down into three pillars: economic, environmental, and social. Economic sustainability aims to conserve natural resources preventing their destruction due to consumerism. Environmental sustainability refers to the basic needs that can allow us to harness economic sustainability, such as our soil and water.
Social sustainability is where our role comes in. It refers to how we humans can lead a more sustainable lifestyle.
A common misconception is that reducing your carbon footprint takes a huge effort. You do not need to volunteer at big organisations or produce no waste at all to make a difference. Each small change you make in your life could make a big difference to our society.
One common unsustainable habit many of us have is buying trendy and cheap clothes. Instead of griping about how trendy clothes are expensive and resorting to buying from the mentioned fast fashion brands, an excellent alternative to this is to adopt the lifestyle of thrifting. Singapore has more and more thrift stores opening up island-wide with a wide variety of clothes to choose from.
Apart from having a thrift store that boasts a wide variety of trendy clothing, there are social enterprises that organise clothes exchange programmes and workshops allowing more people to be aware of the ill effects of fast fashion.
Another in-trend yet sustainable practice is the usage of tote bags. From shopping for a tiny chocolate bar to buying your groceries, supermarkets and mini stores give us plastic bags to contain our items. Instead of using these one-time-use plastic bags, we could bring our own customisable tote bags. Not only would these look cute with your outfits but they would also allow us to practice a sustainable lifestyle.
While it may seem that our actions as an individual may not be able to make up for the carbon footprints of large corporations, studies have shown that an increasing number of people living sustainably sets an example for others to follow in their footsteps. Many of these people have taken to the internet to start trends that promote sustainable living. With a greater desire for “conscious consumption”, more companies are trying to take advantage of the trends to capitalise on products that are eco-friendly. These trends have had great influences on many others allowing them to adopt more sustainable practices which will have a greater collective impact in the long run.
So let’s do our part to live sustainably and responsibly for our planet.
References