Sustainability can sometimes seem unattainable in a world driven by fast-fashion, pollution and plastic production, however there are simple changes we can make to shift our habits to benefit our planets future.
With environmental awareness spreading into the mainstream, boosted by the protests of driven young people like Greta Thunberg, the demand for global change has increased while the ability to become more sustainable has become increasingly accessible and simple.
March is sustainability awareness month, with Sunday 21st - Thursday 25th a worldwide week of recognition and action.
Typically, in sustainability week you might see “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” plugged everywhere, words that we all know but rarely properly adopt. Although the world has woken up to the urgency of the issue of environmental issues, changing our day-to-day behaviours is often harder than we think.
In the strange times we are living in now it’s been even harder to focus on changing our behaviours when we’ve already had to change so much. But with the vaccinations rolling out, and the pandemic hopefully easing, climate change and the environment need to be a primary concern again. The UN secretary General has called 2021 a “make or break” moment for climate change – meaning every little action will count. There are some changes we can make that are easy and, at least for me, have helped with the stresses and occasional boredom of life in a pandemic.
One exciting cure for lockdown boredom that holds endless possibilities is upcycling which takes something old and worn and turning it into something new.
The idea can be in the form of simple and easy transformations of clothes, around the house or an entire business model. In Kenya, Nzambi Matee, founder of ‘Gienge Makers’, has created an incredible, sustainable business manufacturing bricks from plastic waste.
Another excellent example of an upcycling business is ReConsidered: https://reconsidered.co.uk/collections/all
This year I am setting myself challenges to upcycle items that I, or other people would normally throw out – giving them new uses and having fun in the process. From turning old curtains into a new top, to making a mosaic out of glass bottles, people are getting imaginative with their rubbish.
This week I am planning on beginning a project, transforming unused wooden pallets and glass bottles to make a Bar for my garden, not quite a brick making business and it probably won’t look anything like this picture. However, in the process I will be reducing waste, upcycling and it is a step towards changing my attitude towards waste. I am encouraging everyone to give it a go – however big or small the project is - before they next go out to buy new clothing or furniture.
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