As I have been searching for having a more sustainable wardrobe, it has been inevitable to strive for a more sustainable lifestyle, and incorporate some of the same principles I use when choosing an item of clothing to my everyday purchases. I mention plenty of these here and there in my posts, but I want to summarize them into one post with very simple tips, all of us can apply.
Here are my 6 tried and true tips for a more sustainable daily life:
1. Think long term: This concept applies to fashion, and life in general. When we buy a high quality item, we are going to get a lot of use from it. I recently read that in order to effectively reduce the carbon footprint on piece of clothing, it must be worn at least 30 times. I like to apply the same principle to other items, such as technology. It is something we tend to throw away very soon, because we love to have the most recent smartphone, computer, iPad, etc, and some of them are designed to last very little. It's very important to think about the durability of the item we're about to buy, so we can keep it and use it for a very long time.
2. BYOB: No, I'm not talking about what the invitation to a party at that cheap friend's house might say. One of the greatest things I started to do since last year, is to carry a water bottle with me when I go out because not only I save money by not buying them, but I also avoid single use plastic. We spend roughly 10 minutes drinking a beverage, and its plastic container is going to stay in the planet for approximately 450 years... yikes!
3. Choose items packaged in recyclable materials and/or without plastic: This exercise takes a little bit of time but it's worth it, and with practice it gets easier to localize where to find this information either on the packaging or the websites. Every time I am making any kind of purchase decision I check what it says about the packaging, and if they are also optimizing their resources by using the least amount of materials they can.
4. Buy local: A great example of this is when we go grocery shopping. We can go to the farmer's market or look for the "Local" label at the supermarket. Ideally, it would be great being able to buy clothing, and as many articles as possible made in our town or city, although I know it is not easy. By shopping locally we are supporting our community, and the carbon footprint is low since their shipping logistic is less elaborated, thus reducing gas consumption, and extra packaging.
5. Add second hand: I have talked about this a lot in previous posts, YouTube, and Instagram. Purchasing previously owned items is the most sustainable choice because it doesn't need to be transformed, and there are plenty of treasures we can get this way, such as handbags, jewelry, watches, furniture, and home decor in general at great prices.
6. Brands that give back to the community: There are so many companies now that have in their DNA to support the community that makes their products, or they pick a cause that they think is important, and give part of their revenue to it. Thus with every purchase we're making, this particular population segment is benefiting from that.
These small steps are helping make my life a little more sustainable, and by being more aware of my purchase decisions, I am considerably reducing my overall consumption, which is super liberating since I am realizing I can live with a lot less than what I thought.
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https://www.blogbycarolina.com/single-post/2019/02/13/6-Tips-For-Living-More-Sustainably-6-Tips-Para-Vivir-De-Forma-M%C3%A1s-Sostenible
