Small Things You Did Today to Reduce Your Environmental Impact

I have mesh bags for produce.

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That’s what I have. But I bought them.

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Stuff like green beans that’re loose i have in a container of some sort, or wrapped in a tea towel (which is how I store greens in the fridge anyway). I’d be super intimidated to dump a pile of green beans on a grocery conveyor belt, hehe.

It’s definitely something that felt like a total pain in the ass for a few months. I walk or bike everywhere, but usually walk to the store, so I need things to fit nicely in my backpack/bag and also not to be too heavy. I’ve had to change my methods for sure! Especially with the amount of food I eat compared to a lot of people I know.

I do now and then use bags of some sort, like old tote bags, if I need more for bigger things like green beans at the farmer’s market, or if I were buying large quantities of grains or legumes regularly, etc. It’s half happenstance that the things I usually buy don’t require that and half changing my habits slowly over time. And little things like doing the math and realizing that for me it’s fine to use a teatowel or yogurt container at stores that don’t tare.

The biggest reason I didn’t purchase new stuff was because of money, not because of awareness of the cost of production, so it’s not at all that I think I’m some eco purist. More mustachian than climate warrior, for sure. That habit has however made me explore my current possessions before looking for something outside my home.

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I think that overall katscratch I agree with your point… But for me and apparently everyone else, we want mesh produce bags :joy:. I don’t shop at stores that are okay with taring or anything like that anyway. And I’m really enjoying storing my produce in my bags. They are new though, so exciting!

And my thing… I bought used clothes using used bags. And no takeout type garbage

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I feel like I should clarify this conversation and viewpoint was in the context of owning a store claiming the label zero waste. Is it really zero waste if you are selling goods that do have an environmental impact to create, rather than offering existing alternatives? Systemic questions, not personal critiques.

I have a problem with the marketing of eco products, not with people buying something they will use! New things are fun and motivate people to make changes. I am not immune to that, that’s for sure - my growing home gym is proof.

I also am in a phase of life where my circumstances mean I can push my comfort boundaries around things like how and where I procure food. It does not at all mean I think everyone else should do the same :heart:

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This is a fascinating read:

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Noooo not my chocolate.

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I’m just giving up all other food. Not chocolate. Never chocolate!

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I have produce bags that my MIL gave me that I first thought were useless and then I started shopping at a farm gate where they sell non-prepackaged beans and cherry tomatoes and spinach leaves and suddenly I used them all the time.

I’m pretty sure the guy who runs the farm gives me a discount, maybe based on the bags or because they see us walking there. There are no decipherable prices on anything and I have never spent more than $30 on a weeks worth of organic produce/eggs, even when I try to buy more each week and even when I asked how much the mushrooms were one week and they were $10 and I bought two lots… everyone else I have seen at the stall spends over $100.

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It is 100% my experience with farmer’s markets that pricing depends on if they like you etc. Walking, reusing bags, cute couples or cute babies all qualify you for discounts. As a student walking up with our exact amount of money and saying “we have 5.50…can we get a handful of beans and some carrots instead of full containers” would result in loads of produce and some cookies.

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Needed to order more solid shampoo and conditioner, so looked carefully at what else the makers offer: going to try a solid deodorant bar, which would create less waste than the natural deodorant in a plastic tub I currently use, and a solid stain remover which would stop me from buying stain remover in plastic bottles. Fingers crossed they both work well!

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I’m using a solid deo without a plastic case now! I loves it. I just have to dampen it every few days and keep it in a little container

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Is this an all natural crystals thing? Or are there versions for the stink monsters among us?

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Made the leap. Ordered TP and paper towels from Who Gives a Crap. Lots less plastic than the Kirkland we’ve been using for a long time.

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Got produce leftovers.

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I’m on aromaco from lush. No antiperspirant, decent deodorizing but if I have too many feelings I have to go swimming or use hand sanitizer to kill my stinky bacteria. But that’s true of any deo for me. Or use a zinc one once a week or so .

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Does it irritate your skin at all? I’ve been unable to go to more natural deodorants because baking soda really, really irritates my skin :frowning:

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We put a “leftovers log” on our fridge and now we KNOW when we cooked stuff and need to use it up by at a glance instead of poking around the fridge trying to work it out. Between that and preparing vegetables as soon as they get in the house, we’ve cut most of our food waste out. An important part for us was having 3 weeks on the bit of paper so that food cooked late last week doesn’t get lost. We year off the bottom week to keep on the fridge when we make the new 3 week page.

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I really enjoyed that! Here’s a talk I just watched with a similar message. I’m going to see if I can find a decent water footprint calculator this week to compare the foods we normally eat.

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