By Amaara Samanani
It’s a new year and everyone is making resolutions and setting goals to improve their life. The best way to start improving your life is to figure out what is best for you and your surrounding environment. This article will help you understand sustainable consumerism and the easy ways you can subscribe to it.
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First of all, what is sustainable consumerism?
It is the use of products which bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations.
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Why should you care?
If a person feels a strong connection to the natural environment it could enhance their emotional wellbeing and alleviate any feeling of social isolation. By being a responsible consumer, you are actively helping the environment. You do make a difference because what you buy affects what gets made and which resources are used. “Public spending, which accounts for an average of 12% of GDP in OECD countries, and up to 30% in developing countries, wields enormous purchasing power.”
Sustainability in general aims to help future generations have a good quality of life. By being a sustainable consumer, you could help contribute to a world where less gets wasted and consumed without purpose.
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So, how can you be a sustainable consumer?
Before you buy something, ask yourself if you really want it. It is unreasonable to expect people to only buy what they need, but even just by thinking twice before spending, you could reduce the amount you consume.
The next time you are rearranging your closets or unpacking boxes, put everything that you no longer want into piles depending on what they are made of. Then donate or recycle the piles. This is helpful because it doesn’t require as much work as searching for things to recycle. You are getting rid of stuff you no longer want as well as contributing to sustainability by not letting things go to landfills.
Pay attention to labels. Look for Energy Star (for energy efficiency), USDA Organic Seal (for organic products), Forest Stewardship Council (for products made from trees in responsibly managed forests), and Green Seal (for general sustainability). If a company has green certifications then try to support them rather than companies with sources that you don’t know.
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Works Cited
Environment, U.N. (no date) Sustainable consumption and production policies, UNEP. Available at: https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/sustainable-consumption-and-production-policies (Accessed: January 3, 2023).
Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury, B.A. (2022) The positive effects of nature on your mental wellbeing, PositivePsychology.com. Available at: https://positivepsychology.com/positive-effects-of-nature/#:~:text=A%20strong%20connection%20to%20the,and%20different%20forms%20of%20anxiety. (Accessed: January 3, 2023).
Why responsible consumption is everyone's business (no date) World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/why-responsible-consumption-is-everyone-s-business/ (Accessed: January 4, 2023).
Ruiz, A. (2019) 5 ways to tell if a product is really eco-friendly, Waste Advantage Magazine. Available at: https://wasteadvantagemag.com/5-ways-to-tell-if-a-product-is-really-eco-friendly/ (Accessed: January 4, 2023).
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