5 Ways To Switch Towards A Sustainable Lifestyle- Too Easy!10 min read

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Venkatesh

Founder at The Conscious Humans

Hey there, I'm Venkatesh and I hail from the City of Nawabs- Lucknow. I started my journey in environmental activism and volunteering from 2019. Have more than 3+ years of on-ground experience and leading teams. My motive? To bring out new ideas and spread awareness on topics regarding climate change and leading a sustainable lifestyle.

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Wandering around the web or coming across the term “Sustainable Lifestyle” but don’t know what it is and how to lead one? Know the concept but looking for some unique ways to do so? AH, you’ve come to the right place, we got you!

A sustainable lifestyle-defined in simple terms- is to go about our daily life in a way that contributes lesser to the woes of the planet. Let’s take an example, suppose we go out to the market to buy groceries, we drive to the market, buy stuff there, take some bags from the market-of course why should we carry one beforehand if they will be providing one, right?- and head back in our car back home. Everything is fine, our mother is head over heels that we went out to buy groceries and we took the right decision of purchasing economically (she actually gets really happy!). But what about the carbon emissions that we released by driving our cars to the market? What about the plastic bags that we brought the items in? In this single journey, we carried out everything smoothly but one variable was completely ruled out. SUSTAINABILITY.

Now, you might be wondering that we cannot just stop going to the marketplace or for our daily chores or for a party with our own vehicles, that’s what we bought them for in the first place! Well, we’re not asking you to completely ditch your vehicles. We’re asking you to lower its usage whenever you can. You gotta go to the nearest club on the weekend, call your friends to pick you up on their way to the club or simply just walk there- who cares? You’re going there to have fun and take a load off from your tiring week, not to show off. We have so many bags lying around in every corner of our home and still, we go to the market without any bags. If we take one bag with us, we are doing two things right- we are reusing the bag and we are saving one plastic polythene ending up again in our home and eventually in the dustbin followed by its fate either in the landfill or in the water bodies. We’re literally going to be contributing towards saving the planet- Yes we will and yes, it does Matter!

Let’s have a sneak-peek into some tips and suggestions as to how we can switch easily to a sustainable lifestyle; don’t worry, we’re gonna be quick and creative!

1. Go green at your workplaces

Whether we are a student in a school or college or we are in our professional life, we have the power to transform the way we go about and too in an easy way.

Celebrating birthdays or accomplishments of your co-workers or friends? Gift your buddy a sapling and ask that person to plant it at their home. That person will treat the sapling as their own child introduced to their home on the same day as their birthday- how cool is that! We think that gifting a sapling to your friends, family members, and your co-workers is not only a sweet gesture but it’s actually quite economical and healthy for the planet. Also ask that person to carry forward this activity in his circle of friends, and make a chain of action. Some suggestions for saplings you can consider to gift- Money Plant, Snake Plant, Peace Lily, Aloe Vera, Neem, Jasmine, Lemon Grass, Spider Plant, or just head to a local nursery nearby and explore the options there, you’ll be amazed to see the beautiful souls.

We can also mark the important environment days in a month and plan engaging activities. It’s World Environment Day? Cycle/Walk or take the public transport to your workplace and gift some bamboo brushes and plantable seed pens to your friends or plan a plantation activity on your workplace premises. The options are endless, we all just have to take the first green step.

2. switch to eco-friendly cutlery

Carry your own set of cutlery whenever you head out to a cafe or restaurant. There are endless startups in India that are providing eco-friendly cutlery sets that too at an affordable cost. Get one set for yourself and never hesitate to carry it with you. It’s reducing your dependence on plastic cutlery and it also catches the attention of the people around you.

Whenever we organize and conduct big events such as family gatherings, birthday parties, and weddings, using eco-friendly alternatives is the last thing we think about or even the thought of it doesn’t cross our minds. As per reports, it is estimated that more than 10 million weddings take place in India every year and all of these celebrations leave behind truckloads of trash piling to more than 3 tons in the form of discarded plastic cutlery and other wastes. Plastic and thermocol plates and cutlery and food are among the biggest generators of waste at weddings. So it’s about time we shift to eco-friendly cutlery. You can buy it locally or you can order online according to your needs, there are various options available online though. My buddy Sarah gifted me a set of bamboo cutlery on my birthday and I have been using it since last year, it’s so unique and it certainly was an appealing option. So go and surprise your loved ones by gifting them a set of this cute and planet-friendly cutlery!

3. The ‘zero-waste’ Themed events

‘Zero Waste’ is the conservation of all the resources available on this planet through conscious production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products. It means pushing economies towards the target of sending no waste to the landfills or the oceans.

Next time you plan a birthday party with your friends or are about to get married, do it the zero waste style and promote it on your social media. If we can post those cute pictures with our friends and that perfect wedding cake, then why not promote a green event? Tagging influencers and famous personalities is the best way to make your ways reach a larger group of people, you never know when you might get lucky. You would be surprised to know that there are actors and influencers who are opting for green weddings and events. Dia Mirza’s completely sustainable wedding is surely something to fall in love with. From gifting their guests hand-woven baskets made by artisans in Meghalaya to making sure there was absolutely no wastage of food and ensuring there was no plastic used in the entire wedding, the ‘earthy wedding’ is surely an inspiration for all of us.

The idea is of replacing the single-use items in the event with eco-friendly alternatives that can be reused or recycled at a later stage. From replacing the plastic gift wrapping with cloth or paper wrapping to ensuring no plastic in any of its forms is used in the event (Yes, I hate plastics), from asking your friends to eat consciously without wasting food to offering saplings to all your guests when they leave, go green this time.

4. take part in community service

Ever thought of volunteering for an environmental organization or conducting a plantation activity in your neighborhood? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR. Just go and do it. Search on the internet for organizations working in your city and fill up the volunteer form. Ask your friends if they know about any organizations working for the environment and join them.

I joined an organization working for the upliftment of the society, animal welfare, and the environment, Swapna Foundation, in the year 2019 and I still remember filling up the form and receiving a message “You’re selected as a volunteer in Swapna Foundation, welcome aboard!”. I took part in a plantation event in the year 2020 and that day was indeed a memorable one. You meet like-minded people and your perspective changes. You think more consciously and you imbibe those values in your lifestyle. Even if you don’t have time to volunteer, you can mark a day in a month and plan either a cleanup on the streets or a plantation event in your colony park or make some posters and set out on the streets with your friends to spread awareness about climate change, who’s stopping you to do that?

5. Buy consciously

We’re too conscious when it comes to buying and we prefer you to do that too. We make choices throughout the day which has a negative impact on the planet. In the era where online services are available with a click, we need to think twice before pressing that ‘Buy Now’ button. Are we all really ready to harm the planet just so that we can buy something at an economical cost?

My family still goes to the local market area to buy ration and vegetables and that too at a very cost-friendly rate. We carry our own bags (thanks to my constant poking to dad to carry bags whenever he goes out) and all the stuff is of great quality. So you’re helping in two ways- you’re buying locally and supporting the vendors as well as you’re cutting down on carbon emissions which would have occurred if you would have ordered the same stuff online. From scaling down on eating chips and soft drinks to buying from brands that promote sustainability in their services, every choice matters and it makes you a better human without any doubt.

So, the gist of the whole blabbering and ‘Gyan’- so we say in India when someone talks intellectually- is to make small changes in our lifestyle and get involved with people who believe in the same cause as you. It’s all about taking the first step and continuing the process, believing in yourself, and spreading awareness to your close ones about why it is important for all of us to act responsibly at this point in time. The right time to begin is this moment, not today evening, not tomorrow, but at this exact time and there should be no excuse for it. There are going to be moments where you feel like is this really making an impact, why am I doing this? These are the exact moments when you have to push through and believe in what you are doing. To a more sustainable and greener future, let us all hustle together!