In recent years, sustainability has been a hot topic. Companies and products are always trying to promote different ways a person can be sustainable and trying to sell any product they can to make a profit. However, some companies have good intentions and truly just want to be able to help our planet by doing any small thing they can. The phrase “save the turtles” has become one that a lot of people say, but unfortunately straws alone are not going to help this cause. However, there are more small changes a person can make in their day to day life that can help if many people do them over time.
I personally made it a challenge for myself about a year ago to be more conscious of my footprint left on the planet, and even though I alone cannot make major changes to our earth, I feel good and also save money when practicing these habits. One of the first changes I made was using a reusable water bottle and tumblers basically everywhere I go. Whether it’s just at home or work, I always make sure to have my water bottle with me filled. I was doing that mostly before, but in some cases I was just being lazy and packing Poland Springs with me, so this was somewhat of a change for me. Reusable straws have also been something that I try my best to bring when I get coffee, but that’s something small that can be easy to do. Then a little bigger step was bringing my Yeti or some kind of tumbler to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts and asking them to put my drink in that. It feels weird at first because it definitely isn’t what I would have in the past considered “normal” but it does save a lot of plastic from being thrown away. Some places will even give you a discount on a drink if you do this. Another change, which saves a lot of plastic, is to bring reusable bags when you go shopping. This was an easy switch because by just leaving them in your car they are easily accessible to you when it’s time to go get groceries. I have found that this has been one of the easiest changes you can make in your life and it quickly becomes a habit.
As for things for little changes in some other ways, one of the biggest things I have been focusing on is trying to buy clothing and food from a more sustainable source. When I need vegetables or fruit, I try to always buy them from a local farm or source without any plastic packaging. I also try and buy from online stores or clothing stores that have a mission of trying to be as sustainable as possible.
These things are all just small changes that can slowly be introduced into your life but if more people try and just do the little things it can make a bigger change in the world. These are also habits that can be very cost effective because you are refusing more and wasting less. Being sustainable shouldn’t just be a trendy thing, it should be something that people take seriously. It can make a big change if more people had that mindset.