What You’re Investing In When You Buy Sustainably
With more coverage of what goes on behind closed doors at popular brands, it is clear that consumers are starting to value a business with a strong ethos. Shoppers want more than just quality, they want products that align with their personal morals.
If we don’t see eye to eye with their environmental and personal values, why support them with our money? With the climate crisis being revealed to us more every day, the consequences of our shopping habits must become a factor for all consumers.
It seems obvious that we should support companies that protect and uplift their employees and the planet, but we are plagued with convenience. This is the main driver of neglecting to buy from reputable and sustainable brands. However, buying from sustainable brands doesn’t just mean getting a fun, long-lasting product, you’re also supporting their eco-friendly production practices and fair treatment of employees!
There doesn’t have to be a sacrifice of our convenient favs in order to support ethical brands. Here are some simple, sustainable swaps you can make that are budget-friendly:
1. Reusable tote
Every disposable plastic bag that ends up in the ocean or countryside is a danger to fish, birds and mammals. Using reusable bags instead could save the lives of more than a million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals every year. Due to plastic bags being so lightweight, the wind easily blows them out of trash cans and landfill sites, littering the landscape. If we replace them with reusable bags, our surroundings will gradually become clean and beautiful once again!
2. Reusable water bottle
Did you know 80 percent of plastic water bottles end up in landfills? Each bottle leaks harmful chemicals into our environment along the way as it decomposes. Studies show that the toxins released from decomposing bottles of water leach into our environment cause a variety of health issues, including reproductive problems and cancer. Buying a reusable bottle can save us from all of this! These are non-porous and non-leaching, ensuring that one purchase saves years of waste and provides clean water throughout the day.
3. Bamboo toothbrush
The bristles of plastic toothbrushes are made from nylon which is 310 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Not only do they release these greenhouse gasses but also, 2 billion plastic toothbrushes are pumped into our oceans and landfills every year, polluting our earth further and killing ocean life. Purchase a compostable, bamboo toothbrush and do your part to stop the pollution.
Many people still believe that zero-waste living is expensive. But it's the contrary.
Remember, it doesn’t have to mean replacing every wasteful thing in your home with an expensive dupe, but instead simple, affordable swaps over time.
Remember, it doesn’t have to mean replacing every wasteful thing in your home with an expensive dupe, but instead simple, affordable swaps over time. Focus on what you really get out of purchasing from a sustainable and ethical brand first and foremost. You are protecting the planet and the lives of so many that suffer from typical production practices.
Make the change with your money!
Written by: Molly Brown