I read Garance Dore’s profile of Lauren Singer and her no-waste lifestyle a few weeks ago, but I can’t get it out of my mind. I think about it when I go to the grocery store, when I use a ridiculous amount of paper towels every day and when I flip the switch for electric heat at home now that the mornings have a chill in the air.
Truth is, I do so very little to reduce my environmental impact and I’ve carried that guilt around with me for a while now. It’s inspiring to see this young person saying no to the guilt and just going after what sustainability means to her. I think it’s time that I do the same. I’m going to take her advice and just get started with it. Every little bit counts, right?
A few of my favorite quotes from the article:
“When I looked at myself four years ago, I realized that while I cared about the environment, I wasn’t doing anything at all that aligned with that except talking about it. So the exercise of making adjustments to my everyday life was so fulfilling because I realized I was living in a way that was exactly what I believed in.”
and
“If you look at the things that constitute zero waste, like using wash clothes instead of paper towel, saying no to plastic straws, neither of those things are hard, and once you incorporate those into your routine, it has a really positive impact”
and, finally:
“To myself, I think I’m just so much more self-aware now. I used to blame everyone else for the state of the world – politicians, and government and business, and it wasn’t until I stopped and looked at myself that I realized I had power to make a positive or negative impact, and I realized I was making a negative one. That helped me look at myself and really do things to change how I was living.”
Kudos to Lauren for the voice she’s giving the zero-waste movement and for the company she’s leading that aligns with her values, Simply Co.
Photo from garancedore.com.
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