Sustainability is multi-faceted concept that has implications on every aspect of our lives. The basic definition is “the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.” This can refer to environmental sustainability, which is the most common use in popular parlance, but it can also refer to economic sustainability, and social sustainability. To be sustainable is to accept change, but to maintain a balanced existence. If we consider our world as resting on a stool supported by the pillars of environment, economics, and society you can see that we cannot impact one of the pillars without repercussions being felt in the other two. The earth is currently not operating in a sustainable fashion. Industries pollute the air and water, people are irresponsible with their trash, which ends up in the oceans, companies are focused on ever increasing profits to the extend that they cut staff, benefits for staff, environmental programs and any other ‘extra’ expenditure to maximize profits at the expense of the workplace culture. Conversely, attempts to raise the pillars of social and environmental issues will have negative repercussions on the economy. We need balance.
If you have been following my blog you may have noticed the tagline: Going Green Doesn’t Have to be a Sacrifice. I believe that we have a responsibility to try and leave the planet a better place than when we arrived. I am very concerned that our current rates of consumption globally is unsustainable. For me, one of the most unsustainable products today is the dizzying array of plastics. The extraction of the crude oil to make plastics produces some of the worst rates of GHG emissions among industries. Plastics do not break down in the environment, meaning that they keep polluting for decades to hundreds of years, depending on the product. And to top it off, many of the plastics used is made for product packaging – not even an item in and of itself. Am I suggesting that we eliminate all plastics? No! The medical industry is very dependent on plastic products and to go back to using only metals and glass will come at the expense of patient comfort and a lot of added labor. The plastics used in car manufacturing allow the cars to be lighter weight, and hence more fuel efficient. I WOULD like to see the elimination of single-use plastic products of all types (straws, packaging, bottles, etc) and be replaced with items that are meant to be re-usable.
I read a great passage a few weeks ago. I wish I had saved it somewhere because I cannot recall the source, and have not been able to find it again. The passage stated that we do not need 1,000 people to be perfectly sustainable. We need 10 million people to do an OK job at it. This really resonated with me. I started to take stock of my own life and prioritize areas that I can make great improvements without it being too drastic of a shift. The products I provide through Treasures By Sandra are not meant to be the most eco-friendly versions of that product. They are meant to be sustainable. By this I mean that my raw materials are organic and fair trade as much as possible, I buy from local suppliers whenever I can, the packaging I use is meant to be re-usable and/or biodegradable, and they are good quality items that are effective. Over the next few weeks I will be posting on the individual products, what goes into making them, how I choose my raw materials, and why I consider the product to be sustainable.
What efforts do you make to be sustainable? Do you feel that sustainability is important in the home? Let me know in the comments!
wow! love everything you’ve got going on here. Im with you. It’s our job to make sure we leave this world better off than we found it because really we didn’t inherit this EArth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children
When I was a kid, bottles of fizzy drinks were all glass and empties were returned to the manufacturers to clean and re-use. We’d get a penny for each bottle we returned. Milk bottles were all glass too and the milkman would collect the empties from your doorstep and again, they’d be cleaned and re-used. We need to go back to that.
I’d support anything that would lessen the waste going to our surroundings.
What a great read, I wouldn’t agree more. It is our duty to keep earth clean and TEACH people to do so as well.
This is such an important message! If we as a society do not begin to focus in larger numbers on items that are sustainable, those items that are not will one day be extinct.
This is such a great read! I love being sustainable and green!
I absolutely agree with you we definitely need to be better about keeping this planet clean. Great post.
Thank you!
We human are the worst creatures! We don’t leave anything as it is, instead we spoil it! Going green is my moto too!
I love your advocacy. I want to adopt a life of less or zero waste.
Keep spreading the word!
Yes! Sing it…you are doing a great job trying to spread the word about sustainability. Thank You!
Thank you for your kind words!
Wow! so proud of you! Sustainability is the key to our survival on this planet and will also determine success on all levels.
Thank you!
Great article and you raised an important point about single use plastics versus plastics which are necessary once all factors are considered. Great article.
Thank you!
I agree 🙂 Keep doing what you love! <3 I really enjoy reading your blog as a regular reader.I wanted to write to you before a few days. I’ve faced some of the difficulties, so couldn’t. Leave it 🙂 Here I am 🙂 Thanks for sharing things with us 🙂 Happy blogging 🙂
Thank you so much!
This was a great read! Sustainability is the very core of how we successfully get through life
eco friendly life style is so important if we want to keep the planet healthy! Great article!
Love the exo friendly products! You are right, it’s so important to find balance also as a newer blogger!!!
Thank you!
Let’s help save our planet by starting as a blogger and an advocate. Spreading this message to others too.
Yes we do need sustainability. And I agree with eco friendly products.
Great article and read! Our family is also striving to live a more sustainable lifestyle. It is so rewarding and is better for us and the environment.
Thank you so much for looking holistically at sustainability! Sometimes people are very strong in one area (usually the environmental) and then forget the other elements. As a small business owner who tries to focus on holistic sustainability, this intersection of social, environmental and economic sustainability is where much of my work does, so this was very validating. Thank you! 🙂
Thank you! And yes- the concept of sustainability is all about balance! I would like to hear more about your business.
Happy to share the link here, hopefully it works! But it’s an online store that sells exclusively fair trade goods. Currently, I’m only shipping within Canada, but there’s also a big education component, which knows no borders! 🙂
https://rosettefairtrade.com