How and What You Buy Matters
I wanted to kick off my first impact post as a bit of a disclaimer and an introduction to my journey with consumerism – throughout this blog I plan to share brands and products that I really like, have contributed to my zero-waste journey of reducing/eliminating single-use items from my life, are making a difference and disrupting industry standards, or I find really interesting and worth sharing. However, in saying that, my sharing them is not an encouragement to go out and buy them. I’m a firm believer in using what you already have first and only buying what you need or will get a lot of use out of. So if I go and share a waterproof sneaker brand, but you already have 5+ pairs of sneakers at home, you probably don’t need another pair. If I share a re-useable razor, I’m not suggesting you throw out all your current razors to buy and replace with one of these.
Instead, use these as a reference for when you’re ready to purchase something new, or replace something old. Always try to use what you already have first. These products are going to end up in the landfill at the end of their life anyways, so why rush to throw them away when you can at least make them useful first.
My Journey
What (I think) is pretty cool is I was actually able to pinpoint the exact date I began making my swaps to reusable alternatives – November 24th, 2018. The beginning of 2018 was when I had started my project Project Plant Your Future, which lead me down many rabbit holes of learning about the importance of trees, to learning about deforestation, to learning about the leading industry causes of mass environmental destruction, to learning about plant-based and zero-waste lifestyles and what small changes can be made starting right in your own home. What started as a project for healing, has led to an entire lifestyle and mindset change.
One of the first impactful accounts and leaders of the zero-waste movement I came across, was Lauren Singer (@trashisfortossers), who in an entire year produced enough waste to fit in just a single mason jar. I remember being in absolute awe and shock at how something like this was even possible, and wanted to learn more. It led to me following many different zero-waste accounts and learning more about the countless alternatives to our common single-use items like straws, cotton swabs, menstrual products, floss, toothbrushes, etc.
My first ever order was placed with Lauren’s online store in NY -- Package Free -- and consisted of Dental Floss, Toothpaste, Bamboo Toothbrush, Menstrual Cup, and Biodegradable Bandage Strips. At this time, I still hadn’t even been exposed to the idea of fully package free, zero waste stores right in the cities I was living in. It was pretty shortly after though when I was on the search for a reusable razer that I learned about small boutiques selling re-usable items, to then discovering stores like Unmediocre in Port Moody and The Soap Dispensary in Vancouver. Over the years, I’ve come to learn that these alternatives are in more places than we realize – especially in smaller independent grocery stores that focus on sourcing more products from local crafters and small businesses.
Since these first initial purchases, it’s been an ongoing journey of learning how to purchase and live differently – from phasing out old purchasing habits, searching for forward thinking businesses when I travel, understanding what “want vs. need” means to me, working at a zero waste grocery store for almost 1.75 years (1.5 years as a Purchasing Manager), and giving myself some compassion when I don’t or am unable to follow a perfectly zero-waste practice.
Zero-Waste on the Road
This has been an interesting one to navigate and I’m still very much learning how to practice (will probably do a full separate post on this after spending more time on the road over the next year). It’s a challenging one because you don’t always end up in towns with bulk-options, nor do you have regular access to composting facilities, but I do what I can. One of the easiest ways for finding stores that offer bulk/package free/zero waste options, is by simply typing these words into google maps and checking out the stores that pop up. When typing in these key words on google maps, it will bring up stores with these words in their name, as well as reviews that use these words. Reading reviews has been super helpful for knowing whether a store will probably have what I’m looking for.
Some habits I’ve managed to adopt, on top of searching for bulk stores, has been cleaning out and reusing my yogurt and hummus containers for storing things, saving bags (like paper bags, chip bags, frozen fruit bags, etc.) to use for trash — as opposed to buying trash bags, and purchasing things second-hand.
What you can do
Start simple. When making any type of changes in your life, it can become very overwhelming rather quickly – avoid trying to tackle it all on at once.
Start by identifying the single use items in your home
Razors, cotton swabs, makeup wipes, pads + tampons, dish sponges, liquid soaps coming in plastic bottles, tissues, toilet paper (yes, even toilet paper), dish washer tabs, bags, cups/cutlery/dishware, paper towels, etc.
Figure out which items you are almost out of
Figure out what kind of alternatives exist
Decide where you want to buy + make your purchase when you’re ready
It can also be helpful to make the purchase a bit before you run out entirely of your old products. Humans often don’t like change, so anything you can do to help make the transition smooth, the easier it’ll be to stick with the changes.
What might seem like a lot of steps just for buying one product, will actually save you more time in the long run and help reduce ‘decision fatigue.’ Often, once you find a place to shop for one thing, you’ll find your stop for everything else. Just like you would when moving to a new town/city, it takes time to familiarize yourself with where to shop and where to go. I personally find it to be a lot of fun, and LOVE getting to check out all these stores that offer cool and/or local products – but I know it’s not for everyone, and can be rather frustrating when you already have enough in your day-to-day life to keep up with.
Some other things you can do include:
Opting for cardboard/paper packaging options at your grocery stores
Not packing your produce in the little plastic bags at grocery stores (you wash your produce at home anyways, what is that plastic bag really doing for you?)
Shop with smaller, independent stores
Invest in more quality products that are designed to last
Shop with businesses that have a repair policy and/or support other causes (Are commonly B-Corp and/or 1% For the Planet Certified)
Avoid impulse buying
Buy thrifted/second-hand wherever you can
Meal prep or plan your meals for the week and only buy the ingredients you need – to avoid food waste
Avoid buying online where you can – reduces the carbon emissions created through delivery and reduces the amount of packaging materials used
Save and reuse packing materials, wrapping, plastic + glass containers. All can be reused and save you money in the long run
Lookout for compostable alternatives
Resources for where to buy
I’m starting off by focusing on places that I’ve travelled to/lived in, but will continue to add more as I come across them.
Package-free Stores
Lower Mainland + Fraser Valley, BC:
PickEco Refills (Chilliwack)
Roots Natural Organic Health Foods (Maple Ridge)
Bulk Barn (Various Locations)
Unmediocre (Port Moody – The General and The Kitchen Store)
Hobart, Tasmania
Teros – Love the Earth
Scoop Wholefoods (Also on the mainland)
Eumarrah
Farm Gate Market
Salamanca Market
Unpacked (in Kingston)
Australia
The Happy Jar (Adelaide)
Afghan Traders Wholefoods (Alice Springs)
Around the World
Hawaiian Moons Natural Foods (Kihei, Maui)
LoLa, der Loseladen (Hannover, Germany)
Online Stores
Other cool, small businesses making a difference
4Ocean (Use discount code: HUNTERBERGEN20)
Last Object (Use discount code: LASTPLANET)
Zero-waste IG Accounts to follow
A few final thoughts
Ultimately, the largest culprits are the corporations creating the single-use, the cheaply made, the use-less + meaningless, the inefficient, the harmful, and the problematic products. The biggest change needed is a systemic one that would re-adjust the way goods are manufactured, transported, advertised, and purchased on a global scale. However, moving through life claiming that what you do in your personal life doesn’t matter is just as harmful, as it feeds the narrative that what we do doesn’t make a difference – it does. Industries respond to supplier demand, money talks, and if more people were to become more mindful of how they [you] choose to spend their [your] money, the more change is encouraged and required.
Another thing to note is that I recognize this lifestyle and many of these purchasing habits are unfortunately not accessible to everyone. With the way the industries work, and the cost of goods rising, businesses putting their money and time into endeavors like these costs a lot upfront; the only way to stay in business is by stacking on a decent sized profit margin just to be able to afford to keep their doors open. It’s unfortunate because a lot more people are willing to make these changes, but don’t have the luxury of time and money to invest upfront. It’s why it’s important that those of us who can afford to make even the smallest of changes, should. By supporting these businesses, increasing their revenue and reach, sharing their mission, allows them to be able to lower their costs on staples and important/useful extras to become accessible to the many.
In order for there to be change, we all have to change, at both an individual and a systemic level. Start where you can, and in time, see how things begin to shift around you.
This is only the beginning.
Stay passionate and curious,
Hunter 💛
