Mindsets that are NOT eco friendly! 🌎

Greetings earthlings! 🖖…okay that wasn’t meant to sound like I’m an alien but it went there so I’ll have to live with it 👽🤣. It’s earth day people! 🌍 It’s also earth month which I’ll admit only came to my attention just recently 😅. More importantly we’re on earth for life (unless space travel is on the cards 🪐) so that’s why things that happen today need to spring forward and carry on well into the future! ✨

I know I always say this about supposed “series” but I really want to make posts centering around climate change and being kinder to our planet more of a thing so this is my starting point! In life I feel like I do what I can and there’s always going to be things that need improvement but it’s the trying that counts and acknowledgement that it needs to happen at all! 🌱

Today we’re going to be chatting about mindsets and thought processes that are not eco friendly! 🍃 Some sound like they are but they’re actually quite the opposite! 🤔 Confused? Me too and I shouldn’t be because I’ve got to write this thing and make it sound even slightly understandable! 🤣. I’ll be using Instagram posts throughout so be sure to let me know if you cannot view them and I’ll do something about it! Bear with me on this and I hope you enjoy the post + that it makes you think a bit of a LOT! 💚 As a lil disclaimer, none of the quotations are me, they’re what I’ve seen and heard in life so here we go:

First up we have the person who thinks they’re helping but what they’re actually doing may be contributing to the problem:

“I’m going to buy that dress, wear it to a party and then give it to a charity shop!”

The thought is there because it’s not like you’re throwing the clothes in a bin 🗑️ where they won’t be reused and doing this doesn’t make somebody instantly wrong because they are trying to help combat waste in their own way but and it’s a big BUT (I don’t know why I had to say that) nothing should be purchased with the plan of not keeping it! 🛍️…unless it’s a gift because I’m sorry but you’ve gotta hand that over 🤣🎁.

Buying second hand is a great way to go but new clothes should only be bought if you’ll get long-term wear out of them/if they’re a necessity. If you’re of the mindset that something isn’t going to last and you already have plans to get rid of it then do you really need it at all? 🤯 Like I just tried to imply by mentioning going with second hand – this doesn’t so much apply to purchasing clothes that were already second hand because it’s not like you’re contributing to fast fashion that way. It’s mainly the businesses selling new items that you’ve got to watch out for in terms of questioning the motive behind a purchase.

And this isn’t a jab at donating to charity shops because I used to love a good rummage around 🤣. They are the perfect place to give things a second chance and you can hand over clothes that you bought ages ago with the intention of wearing if you don’t want them anymore – it’s just the buying for the sake of it and thinking it’s a healthy process that I’m going on about because it’s not the way to go at all! 🙌🛒 Especially when fashion production makes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams (as stated by UNECE, 2018).

Here’s something to consider which isn’t entirely related to buying and then giving away but it’s always good to look at things from all angles so as to gain a deeper understanding:

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A post shared by The Eco Friendly Living Co (@theecofriendlylivingco)

It’s mad to think about that because I couldn’t imagine only wearing something 7 times but I’m one person, it does happen out there. The source of that Instagram post (where they originally got the fact from) was a post by @thepopupclub and they stated that globally over 90 million tonnes of textile waste goes to landfill every year which is crazy!

Moving on I think we’ve all heard of this one:

“I only think food should be eaten by it’s best before date!” 🥫

And also that can emoji just made me think, I’ve got a question! I’ve always been told that if a can has a dent then you’re not to eat from it (even tho my family and I just go for it as food is food 🤣) but is there even a morsel of truth in that statement? 🤔

Anyway! There’s a lot of debate over this one but it’s a simple thing: You don’t have to be dedicated to the best before date! That’s just when it’s supposedly at its peak greatness, it’s the USE by date that we’ve gotta look out for because your food is fine until then (unless it looks funny because you gotta take correct storage into account and all that jazz!). Of course it’s more so important to consume food you purchase/or grow at all because it’s all about just not letting it go to waste! Food goes through a lot to get to your table so give it the respect it deserves and do something with it 🍽️😋🤣. Don’t miss out on good grub just because a label is getting misunderstood!

Here’s another one of those sweet, sweet insta posts to make better sense of things including sell by dates that still include food that’s safe to eat even if the date has passed 💚:

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A post shared by The Earthling Co. (@theearthlingco)

I’m really getting into adding Instagram posts right now, it’s fun (and it also doesn’t affect my media space 😏🤣).

Last but by no means least something that gets brought up often!

“Eco friendly products cost too much!”

Whilst not necessarily being untrue half the time, I thought I’d add this in as a more of a mindset that holds some people back before knowing the facts! 💫 I can’t dispute that prices are that bit higher for planet friendly items such as refill packs instead of a whole new bottle of a cleaning product and organic fruits and veg if from a large retailer (they work out fairly priced if from a farmers market). What I can do is say that the prices for quite a lot of items that intend to replace one time use products actually work out way better in the long term – both financially and of course for mother earth! 🌍

A good example is when you change over from makeup wipes to reusable makeup remover pads or even just consider a brand that has a decomposable version of what you’d normally use. As time goes by the eco friendly option may end up saving you that money you were initially worried to lose in the first place and you’ll be less likely to have to keep buying more and more of daily staples. Again, this isn’t always an option but when it is and if you can, it won’t hurt to give something different a try – you might even find it works way better!

It’s image time! ♻️

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A post shared by The Eco Fairy (@myecofairy)

It’s shocking how long everyday items take to decompose! I remember when I was little and I saw on a CBBC newsround episode a load of baby’s nappies at landfill (amongst other things but it was more so that) and it’s a weird thing to not forget because when I saw that number above it plays out in my mind how they’ve more than likely not decomposed yet – unless they were part of the waste rubbish that gets incinerated. Another part of that show that comes to mind was that I think it may have been the first time I realized trash would get buried due to no space for it so as to hide the problem more than actually do something about it.

Now is better than never when it comes to making a change and what we perceive to be small actions have a HUGE impact so think of all of our actions combined! 🌍🤗 Happy earth day life and I hope you enjoyed this post. I wrote it with the best of intentions, know that a mindset that singles out perspectives that may need a tweak isn’t a mindset that considers themselves to be perfect either! 🤣 I’m living and learning everyday ✨. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and also have a think about this question:

Can you think of any more mindsets that could do with an update when it comes to being eco friendly? 🌱

Thank you for reading! ☺️ I hope you have a wonderful weekend and time to do something you enjoy 🎨. Stay safe, take care and buh-bye! ✨💚Xx

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