How I took the First Step towards a more Sustainable Lifestyle
I am a kale loving, organic banana eating, produce obsessed person. In fact, green smoothies are my favorite and I never pass on having a second serving of vegetables at any meal. When I left for college, my parents never had to remind me to eat my greens! I’ve always appreciated natural produce and believe that plants are powerful.
Knowing this, means that I consume a lot of produce on a weekly basis. I’m talking close to 90% of my grocery basket is filled with fruits and vegetables. I never miss the opportunity to go to a local farmer’s market on the weekend and I’m always on the lookout for the freshest in-season produce.
However, eating a lot of produce also means that I was utilizing a lot of plastic bags when purchasing my healthy greens. Every time I went to take a plastic bag at the grocery store, I would feel a sense of guilt- knowing that I was being wasteful. I had always brought my reusable bags to the check-out line, but I never thought of replacing the plastic bags that I used to carry my produce. After recognizing my habit of utilizing these plastic bags, I began to ask myself if there was a more sustainable option available.
Finally, one day, I began searching for reusable produce bag options online. When I was shopping, I found that most bags were made of nylon, which is a form of plastic. Although these reusable bags were definitely a more positive option, I still didn’t feel like a nylon bag, was the solution. I’ll be honest, I was feeling a little defeated from my research. I felt that it should’ve been easier for me to find eco-friendly, sustainable products, especially when the awareness of climate change is so prevalent in our society today.
Then, while I was at the Anoka Food Truck Festival, I found Bamboo Switch. Their booth was filled with zero waste options, including organic cotton produce bags! I was in luck, and in no time at all, I walked away with a couple sets of produce bags a set of bamboo straws. I was beyond excited to have finally found a plastic-free, eco-friendly, sustainable produce bag that also supported a local Minnesota business.
Since then, I haven’t used a single plastic produce bag, or picked up a plastic straw. After making the switch, I realized that my first step towards a more sustainable lifestyle was just by observing my day-to-day habits and identifying when I was using wasteful materials. For me, this was a produce bag.
So, how do YOU take the first step?
Become Aware
Think about your everyday habits and identify where you’re using plastic or wasteful materials. To give you a few ideas: maybe you use plastic silverware at lunch, drink from a disposable coffee cup from your local coffee shop, or floss with commercial dental floss every night.
These are all small, every day habits that require very little thought- they’re natural to us, but are not mindful of our environment.
Do Some Research
Once you’ve identified some habits that use products that are made from plastic or wasteful materials, research how you can replace those products with a more sustainable option.
Search online about what these products are made out of, talk with a friend to see what they know, or attend a local artisan market. Learn about what your day-to-day products are made out of and if you can recycle them.
Make a Change!
Finally, invest in a reusable, more sustainable option that you love. When you love the products that you use, you’re going to feel more empowered to change the world- one less piece of plastic at a time! For example, utilize stainless steel silverware or Bamboo Switch’s travel cutlery set at lunch, remember to bring your own travel thermos for your coffee in the morning, or switch to Organic Silk Floss, rather than commercial dental floss.
Every time you use eco-friendly products like these, you’ll think about the difference you’re making in the world. Although it may be small, it’s still a big step for a healthier planet!
Adapt
With any new habit, you need to give yourself a little time to adapt, adjust and develop. Once you’ve begun utilizing these new products more frequently, you’ll begin to think more consciously about other habits that you can change and products that you can replace.
Trust me, once you take the first step towards a more sustainable lifestyle, you won’t want to stop!
See, It’s Simple!
Living a sustainable lifestyle doesn’t have to be complex. From my experience, it only requires a little time and self awareness to create change. Once you begin making the switch, you’ll want to influence others to do the same!
Positivity is contagious- so don’t hold back and start today!
- Annie
1 comment
It doesn’t look very zero waste to be using single use drinking glasses as shown in the picture above…. or at least it looks like single use….