Photo from the fabulous Fashion Revolution Fanzine LOVED CLOTHES LAST,poem by Hollie McNish. (click for links)
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My young friends have a current slang term – they talk about being “woke”.
Loosely translated, it means “aware”. And once we start looking into waste and sustainability and our impact on the environment, it’s very hard to stay asleep. Whether we like it or not, we end up woke.
We started down this rabbit hole (a metaphor used by my old friends) 18 months ago, when we tried to reduce the amount of waste we produced as a household. If you’d like to read about our journey, I’ve collated all the posts here. But once I started researching, it became obvious that there were other aspects of our lives that needed changing too. It wasn’t just about finding ways to recycle our foodscraps or switching out paper napkins for cloth ones, we also needed to start questioning the clothes we bought, the food we ate, the way we voted, and so much more.
In particular, we needed to start assessing the true cost behind how we chose to live our lives, taking into account the price being paid by the environment, other living creatures and our fellow humans, rather than making decisions based on assigned dollar values. Being even a little bit woke about the current state of our planet is discomfiting, but without some awareness, there can be no impetus to do anything differently.
I know that it can sometimes feel pointless to keep trying. I drove past a bridal wear store recently and saw someone filling an entire red wheely bin with plastic wrapping, even as I was heading to Coles to drop my soft plastics into the RedCycle bin. I wondered if the efforts of our small family of four really made any difference at all in the face of fifty years of thoughtless global plastic consumption. Mind you, I’m in no position to lecture, as we have used, and continue to use, more plastic than I’m comfortable owning up to.
But…there’s no turning back now. Thankfully the zeitgeist is shifting, and folks no longer consider us deranged greenies for refusing to use cling film. And it’s a mistake to think that our small changes aren’t having an impact, because we humans are social creatures (some of us more than others) and as we talk and share our ideas, they start to spread. Now that we’ve stocked up our own green kit, I’ve started sharing the things I make with friends and neighbours. The crocheted dishcloths and mesh vegetable bags are always in high demand, and I know that the six veggie bags I sew for a friend could result in their family avoiding hundreds of single use plastic bags this year. My darling neighbour Jane arrived to pick up bread yesterday with a furoshiki, which saved a paper bag. I was sooo chuffed, because I knew she’d take that loaf home and wrap it in the beeswax wrap that I made her six months ago.
Bit by bit, we’re becoming more aware of the need to conserve resources. After months of reading and watching and trying to understand, the conclusion I’ve come to is that the biggest impact I can personally make towards reducing my environmental footprint is to simply consume less. As a raging extrovert, I find that hard to do, because I like new things. But I’ve discovered that approaching my purchases with curiosity – asking questions about where, how and why something was made – has turned me into a discerning shopper. I bring home far less than I’ve ever done before, and appreciate my carefully selected items much more. We eat less meat, purchase misshapen vegetables with glee, and recycle all our food waste via four different backyard methods (chickens, worm farm, bokashi bucket and soldier fly farm). Even if our impact is miniscule in global terms, I’d like to think that we’re making an effort to reduce our personal family footprint.
Which leads me to the purpose of this blogpost.
I’ve realised that the way we can make a difference beyond our efforts at home and within our community is to share our story with you. I know we all make decisions based on our personal circumstances, but I would like to encourage you to be woke. Ask endless annoying questions. Were the folks who made my jeans paid living wages? What was the environmental impact of growing the cotton? Was this chicken allowed to free range or locked in a crowded shed? How long does this head of lettuce take to decompose in landfill? (Believe it or not, the answer is 25 years.) Do I really need to buy water in a plastic bottle?
Try to do as many of the “re”s as possible – reduce, reuse, restore, refurbish, rewear, recondition, reclaim, reimagine, recycle – you get the picture. I guarantee you’ll save money in the process. And please, please share your ideas with the rest of us in the comments below. Through discussion and conversation, we can learn from and encourage each other to keep the momentum going. And I know from personal experience that even small changes can lead to huge results. ♥
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Yes to asking questions and being endlessly curious
We’re seriously considering the future of our Christmas shop because of the waste it generates. Most alarmingly, our wholesalers were dismissive when we complained that every £1 item comes individually wrapped for no discernible reason. They also implied we were crazy to even consider not stocking anything glittery, at which point we really started to question the long term future of the enterprise.
Brilliant post once again of a topic dear to my heart. Every day we are presented with opportunities to relearn how to live, or to be fully conscious, woke if you like, of the consequences of our choices and behaviour. I am a madly passionate composter but am always on the lookout for new tricks. My daughter shreds her business printed papers. I take bags of this and layer it through my compost like lasagne. Using paper with vegetable inks, carbon, keeps the big tubs healthy and insect free. Shredded newspaper works well too as well as fallen leaves. My garden sings after a dose of well rotted compost.
Last week I found a pure wool jacket in an oppy fir $4. Yes it was black, and so with a bit of creative patching, it looks more * post waste*. Mind you, it didnt need patching, but I had some lovely off cuts of fabric that needed placing.
My daughter is a busy girl. When I dropped off her loaf of sourdough, eggs and parsley, she had some old looking mushrooms ready to discard. Older mushrooms make the most wonderful stock. No waste.
Every week there’s a chance to relearn how we live. It’s enlightening. And fun too.
And EMPOWERING too! 😘
I started taking an old willow basket to the supermarket. It’s comfortable on my arm, and at least 25 years old, and it was made from totally renewable materials. I ended up having a rather *energetic* discussion with said supermarket because the machine in the self-service checkout kept saying there was an unexpected item in the bagging area. Too right. It was my basket. I asked them to tare the machine so it would accept the basket, but was told this wasn’t possible as it wasn’t an ‘acceptable bag’. I’m afraid I dumped my groceries on the floor and walked out…. I haven’t been back yet, as a supermarket that feels it’s entitled to decide my ecologically friendly basket isn’t ‘acceptable’ can do without my business.
Well done!
WOW, what a woman!!!
Way to go Kate!!!
One solution to this problem is to go to the checkout with a person. Who may even place the items in the bag for you! And hopefully by going to the manned checkout you will be supporting the employment of people such as teenagers embarking on their first job.
I have admired your blog for a couple years now and taken up many of your suggestions. I turned some old jeans into an Ottoman. I’m so proud that the two zippers aligned at the bottom so I can open up to put in or take out old socks etc for rags. Keep up the good work!
I’m concentrating on using up what we already have before we buy more – an obvious thing but one that I had been neglecting. The amount of toiletries we have is surprising, and there are other areas where I don’t need but for a while. I’m still slightly surprised at how much money is saved with much more thoughtful shopping as I never considered myself wasteful before!
I remember reading ‘even the rain starts with a single drop’
As Stephen Hawking said ‘We are very very small.
But we are profoundly capable of very very big things’
I’m so grateful to be in such wonderful company… you, and this likeminded online community continues to inform and inspire me. We may Iive 5 or 500 kms away… no matter. The values we share makes us good neighbours. We’re trying our best… none of us happy with the amount of plastic in our lives but having this conversation is where change begins. Belonging to my -as they say, whoever they are- Tribe… reinforces that conscientious, aware, woke -whatever you want to call it- living is not only desirable but do-able.
Thank you again for a good thought provoking post. Living on Social Security certainly keeps purchases to the bare minimum…except books :) when I sent your post to my neighbor she made me/us waxed bread wraps which are well used!
Another great thought provoking post Celia which makes me quake at how far I have to go. Here are a one my issues:
I have a worm farm and love reusing the scraps but the reality is I have a small garden (I have given away dirt but I have used some). However I am finding my worm farm is getting too wet for my worms and I am struggling to find a good solution – I have been recommended to buy some potting mix that will dry it out but it comes in a plastic bag. I have also been recommended to shred paper but it means buying a plastic shredding machine and using more energy. When you start looking at the true cost and comparative cost of activities, it is very complex. It would be easier with community swapping but I don’t have such a community as yours. However we are starting a compost system with my councuk so I will be interested to see how it goes and if it takes over from worm farm.
I shred paper all the time, just tear it into thin strips by hand, you can easily do some every few days.
Yes to all you say! And every little action that any one person takes has an enormous impact when added to all the other millions of little actions being taken around the world. Big Hug my friend x
Good on you celia. Every little bit helps. We all have to believe that and do our bit. Cheers Sherry
Inspiring, thank you Celia.
Hello Celia, worn out sheets are great for all sorts of cleaning cloths, torn into strips they are great for garden ties. Old towells I cut up into hand towells and flannels. and dish cloths. When worn to shreds they go into compost or worm farm. I also use Velvet soap in kitchen and laundry. Love your blog by the way….ox
I too believe that little things do matter when they become habit and we do them repeatedly in our lives and share what we do and what we use with our friends and families. I like to gift reusables like dishcloths I knit or beeswax wraps I make and i find that helps others try things and find out that they work just as well as the throw-away alternatives. There really is no away! Meg
Hello Celia, I live in a wonderful country for years, but it is a real plastic kingdom. Germany produces more waste than the other European communities. (But recycling in Germany is the first, ok) Sometimes I think, that I beat the air with my “no waste conception”, but your articles make me motivation. Thank you.