Written by AMULYA MISRA for THE DESIGN COLLECTIVE
The Earth is crying out. Forest fires in Australia and the United States, locust invasions in Africa and Southeast Asia, record high temperatures in the Antarctic and a global pandemic have forced people to stop and take notice. The conversation about climate change, plastic waste and biodiversity has become a focal point this year due to recent events and disasters. Important issues are being given renewed prominence and it is time for a change.
Although resolutions are usually reserved for New Year’s Day, consider this seventh month of the year—July as the new beginning of 2020. After the global pandemic and the subsequent regulations, our new normal has changed. While we adjust to the new requirements, why not simply add another aspect to it in the hope of living a more sustainable lifestyle? Whether you opt to take the Plastic-Free July challenge wherein you refuse and reduce your use of single-use plastic products or simply implement small changes around your home, your wardrobe and your daily life, make a resolution to make better and greener choices.
Here are some guiding principles which can help reduce your carbon footprint and make sustainable living a reality.
Sustainable Wardrobe
Sustainability has been a buzzword in fashion for a while now. Fashion is experiencing a new revolution that demands eco-friendly and conscious design, slow fashion created in an ethical manner. At its core, sustainability demands that you think about the future and make the necessary changes to save it.
One of the easiest ways of making your wardrobe green is by investing in clothing made of natural fibres. Synthetic fabrics often take thousands of years to degrade, however natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, hemp and others, biodegrade much faster. Ileana The Label personifies timeless luxury in contemporary pieces by using fabrics derived from nature. Implementing ancient handcrafted techniques into modern silhouettes, BäLa works closely with natural dyeing techniques. While STHRI by Selyn creates beautiful ethnic inspired fashion through a zero-waste approach and traditional weaving art of ‘ikat’. House of Lonali uses upcycled pre-consumer fabric discards and transforms them into luxurious garments and accessories.
Slow fashion is the movement of designing and creating garments for quality and longevity. As the pieces are timeless and durable, they can remain in our wardrobes for years while remaining stylish. Brands such as Ikkivi and Itr By Khyati Pande are deeply rooted in this concept as they produce timeless and classic garments that are always in vogue.
While building an ethical and eco-friendly wardrobe, you cannot ignore the element that often brings an added touch of flair to your outfit—your accessories. Buddhi Batik, an ethical fashion brand that empowers women and supports local communities, took on the challenge to create reusable masks made with cotton featuring beautiful designs that are sure to upgrade your wardrobe. Kantala designs accessories with plant-based materials and adds a contemporary flair to any outfit. To add a statement piece and unique addition to your wardrobe, Satat’s reclaimed teak wood jewellery is not only consciously made but skillfully crafted.
Sustainable Home
Whether a home is a tiny apartment or a large mansion, every room of the house from the kitchen to the bathroom, can be made more sustainable. While investing in energy efficient appliances, switching to renewable energy for electricity or relying on a more eco-friendly option for heating can be more long-term goals, there are many easy ways to make your home greener.
The kitchen can be a huge source of waste. From plastic containers to single-use grocery bags, these everyday items have alternatives that are much more environmentally conscious. Next time you go grocery shopping, opt to go to your local farmers market, as it is a lot kinder to the planet, and simply carry your own reusable shopping bag like Sustainablee’s. Replace all the plastic containers in your home with glass or metal ones. If you like storing all your vegetables separately, switch the plastic product with Sustainablee’s beeswax food wrap.
If you’re trying to avoid plastic packaging your make-up products or bathroom necessities, an easy way to do it is to simply buy refills if available. Switch your bathroom shower gel with an ethical alternative bar soap. Instead of purchasing yet another plastic toothbrush, learn from your ancestors and seek out a more nature-friendly option like a bamboo toothbrush. These simple ways are the first step to making your home kinder to nature and lessening your impact on the environment.
Sustainable Life
The first step to helping the environment is to be vocal about the issues facing it. Spreading awareness and having discussions with your friends, family and peers about the negative effect of human activity on the ecosystem is extremely important. The next step would be investing in alternatives to disposable coffee cups and plastic straws. These two items are some of the biggest sources of waste in landfills and oceans. Therefore refusing to accept these items can be beneficial to wildlife and marine life.
On average 31 kilograms of junk is delivered to us every year. We live in a digital age and thus it is a lot easier to go paperless by online subscriptions when it comes to newspapers, bills and magazines. For notebooks and journals, simply opt for recycled or upcycled ones like Sustainablee’s notebooks made with waste food packaging, waste polythene and recycled paper or Original Source & Supply’s notebooks made with recycled materials featuring fantastic illustrated covers. Driving less while cycling more, or opting to carpool or take public transportation whenever possible can reduce your carbon footprint.
While tackling global climate change issues and beginning your journey towards sustainability can seem like a daunting task, sustainability is not about perfection. Simply making a conscious choice to lead a more sustainable lifestyle can help you take that first step towards it, be it perfectly or imperfectly. Currently, the world needs people who are willing to make a few changes to their everyday life for the betterment of the planet. Would you be one of them?