It’s that time of the year! We look back, and then look forward. We vow to do better, to take those steps to become a better version of ourselves.
One of those might be (and should be) to live a more sustainable lifestyle. We hope you will find some of our eco-friendly products useful for your lifestyle, of course.
Above and beyond that, here are seven tips to keep up that resolution!
1: Always carry a reusable shopping bag!
If I had a penny for every time I thought I needed only one thing and ended up buying several at the grocery store… and then, buying the 107th grocery store shopping bag at the checkout counter …
The best idea for this is to carry a reusable shopping bag with you always. If not on your person, then in your vehicle—car, bike, or cycle, if you’ve been inspired by Nina’s blog!
Check out these upcycled foldable shopping bags made by people with disabilities, from chips packets and the like!
2: Donate instead of throwing away clothes and other items.
Indians are used to upcycling and recycling clothes till they are nothing but thread, and then some! But you might want to think about hand towels and other cloth that you can upcycle or donate more effectively. Club Artizen partners with eco-friendly organizations working to upcycle, thrift, or dispose of waste responsibly.
Check out IndiaWasted for Chennai and Bangalore, and this list of organizations that help you process your waste more responsibly!
Tip 3: Buy as local as possible.
This is a no-brainer! Buy as local as possible, so the produce doesn’t travel on petrol-guzzling megatrucks to reach you, and is eco-friendly. Weirdly, local produce may even cost a bit more than one that travels thousands of kilometres, but it’s worth it.
Of course, if you want apples in Chennai, or bananas in Kashmir, you have to pay more, or wait for technology like this!
Tip 4: Take the stairs
Seriously, the easiest way to save some carbon emissions. Enough said!
Tip 5: Look for small hacks to replace plastic
Let’s face this fact: Eliminating plastic from your home is impossible.
The next best thing is to see if you can replace some of the plastic items with more sustainable options.
Some of the easiest replacements are:
- Buy blocks of cheese and grate them instead of individually wrapped ones. For other kitchen tips, look up these kitchen-related hacks.
- Consider a bamboo toothbrush instead of a plastic one.
- Buy natural loofahs.
- When asked, always choose the paper-based gift-wrapping paper or use newspaper.
Tip 6: Encourage your friends to go green!
It’s not just about you. To multiply your sustainable living impact, encourage your near and dear to go green. Gift them an everyday item from our store, so they are reminded of the green life often.
Tip 7: Encourage yourself!
It can be overwhelming to live a sustainable lifestyle, in the face of what’s happening in the world outside. Give yourself a break and don’t be too hard on yourself. Install an app from this list to see how much you are saving with your everyday activities. Pat yourself on the back!
So, come on, let’s take that resolution!
Pics by Carolina Grabowska, Allek Sana, and Ron Lach