Someone I know is working on a project about sustainability. She needed to conduct some surveys, so I volunteered. She asked what I do to be sustainable. As I was trying to explain, I started realizing how wildly inconvenient it is to be sustainable. Our society is so messed up that people need to put a huge amount of time, effort, and money to choose sustainable options.
People that don't earn as much money can't afford eco-friendly products (because in our world, you can work a lot more than someone else and get paid a lot less).
The example I gave her was something as simple as a shower scrubber. I used to use those cheap plastic mesh things you can get for $1.50 at a discount store. But they can't be washed, or recycled. Plastic causes so many problems for the environment, so I started looking for compostable shower scrubbers. I could only find ones that were hand-made - no stores I check sell them. I tried a couple different types from Etsy, and neither of them worked as well as the stupid plastic ones. I thought I'd try making one myself, so I started trying to find out what fabric is the most sustainable. Cotton is NOT sustainable. Everything is made out of cotton, but it has caused some massive damage to a lot of ecosystems. Next I looked at bamboo. It may be sustainable to grow, but it's apparently processed with a lot of chemicals when it's made into fabric. It looks like hemp is the most sustainable fabric. But the only piece of hemp fabric I could find that fit my project was a little strip of hand-made fabric from another country. I can probably make 2 scrubbers out of it, but it will still cost 5 times more, not including my time to make it.
So that's my sage of the stupid shower scrubbers. I finally made one, and now I have to try it out.
Reusable bags were easier to figure out. (Here's a good video about reusable bags) Find a t-shirt that's not worth wearing anymore. Cut out the collar and sleeves and sew (or tie) the bottom shut. And you have a grocery bag with no extra waste!
Public transit is the worst though. We're forced to have cars because public transit is useless for traveling to most places. And traffic is only getting worse and worse.
It may be wildly inconvenient. but we need to do everything we can to choose sustainable options. The more we demand it, the more accessible it will become. And we have to force the government and bis businesses to follow.
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