Living in Sustainable Symbiosis

The Sustainable Cities Index has just accredited the most sustainable cities in the world!
This year the list surprised me with London appearing above Copenhagen and Curitiba not even receiving a mention. 
What do you think about the latest rankings? 

1. Frankfurt

2. London

3. Copenhagen

4. Amsterdam

5. Rotterdam

(see hyperlink for the rest of the list)

http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/these-are-the-most-sustainable-cities-in-the-world--lJh0YR6fhx 

Have a look at this fantastic website! 
Lots of positive environmental actions going on in Australia with them. 

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www.planetark.org/campaigns/

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The most interesting, in my opinion, was recycling cartridges. 
It's often the most seemingly insignificant recyclable materials which make all the difference.

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So tell me something. What's something you threw away this week which could have been recycled? 
Maybe it was an electronic device that you couldn't be bothered to take to the WEEE recycling facility?
Maybe it was those old batteries you took out of your alarm clock or found at the back of a draw. 
In fact, maybe it was an old t-shirt or pair of jeans you couldn't be bothered to donate and just threw out instead.
Maybe it was an item you weren't sure about where it could be recycled? 

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There's plenty of issues with recycling schemes but I really advise you. 
FIND OUT WHERE those recycling points are and don't feel bad if you hoard your recyclables in a pile somewhere until you find the right place. I personally have a box FULL of paper I never got around to taking to the recycling centre. I have a bag of clothes I was meant to done/recycle since before Christmas. I have a stash of old light bulbs which i don't know what to do with. 

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Again, as you see, it's not an easy task. Even for an apparent 'Sustainability Activist'. 

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So this week you have one task! Just one. 
Locate a new recycling point for items you don't yet recycle and get in the practise of using it. 
Even Sainsburys has battery and plastic bag recycling points now ... all you need to do is remember to bring those items with you when you go shopping. 

Have a look at this amazing idea to reduce the amount of food you throw away each week
If it's no longer fresh enough to eat on its own then put it all together into a soup and voila you have an amazing meal, save money and reduce waste!

www.projectsunlight.co.uk/stories/376313/Make-Soup--Save-the-Planet-.aspx

It used to be that phones were just used for calling. As they evolved, personal hand devices came onto the market with texting abilities. Games arrived on your personal device and suddenly now in the age of smartphones we have thess amazing things called apps. Now many sustainability activits may dispute this, bringing to the table all the associated problems with mobile devices, specifically their substantial use of mined metalloids. There are the issues of social equity with the employees of these mines - often residing in developing nations -, the pollution which comes from these mines and its accumulation in water sources, sediments and even its biomagnification in food chains. Post production, their is the extensive use of electricity to charge these devices, aiding the continual rising demand for energy and continual growth of non-renewable technologies such as coal, oil and gas which are polluting the earth and contributing to climate change. Post consumption there is also a huge issue with recycling of these electronic devices. So how one earth could I call it good? How could phones be sustainable in any way?

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I reitorate what I have said in previous posts. Removing oneself from the current global system only ostracises you and effectively decreases your power and in actual fact, reduces the credibility of a sustainable lifestyle. Imagine what everyone else on the earth would think if you told them that in order to be more sustainable they need to stop buying electronic devices. NO! That is going to push people away and looking at the web address of this site you can see I feel very strongly about this. The 'green' image pushes people away. So instead I offer a new approach. 

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Embrace what we have and turn it around for good. 

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Smartphone apps are an absolutely brilliant tool for sustainability. Yes I DID just claim that.
You can get an app for almost anything nowadays. Just type it in and someone has made it. If you've ever watched Dragon's Den you will sometimes see someone arrive with an 'app' idea, but mostly they get turned down because there is just such a huge market already out there. Best of all, most of them are free!

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So how does this relate to sustainability?
Well I want to motivate you to start using your phone as a way to make your life more sustainable. I urge you to look for apps which will help you out in planning your life better.

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So I'm going to create a page on this blog where I will post all the best sustainability apps that I find. But go, and have a search.
Sustainability News.
Cycling trails.
Car sharing networks.
Products sustainability rating apps.  
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Have a search now and then check out my page for more ideas!

I'm super excited! You can now access my blog via your mobile device! 

Enjoy ... and remember all the mining that goes into making that little device.
ALWAYS RECYCLE IT!

So while you're browsing around the net, take a few minutes to have a look at this campaign...
Do you think it's all a brand ploy? Greenwashing perhaps? Just trying to make Coca Cola look good? Or could it be successful? 

What do you think? 

I don't know why I've never found this website before but I found this website today.
Rank A Brand, a great website for finding out "How sustainable is your favourite brand" 
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Oh there are so many more connections that this post could lead on to but I'm going to restrain myself from running around in circles and filling your heads with too much information. So as you can see from the title, this post is about brands. 
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What gets you to pick a brand? 
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The cost? Ladies, you will understand me when I say that our 'pampering products' can get rather expensive. As a student I personally choose my shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser etc. due to its price and if it's on offer then it's going in my basket.  
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The packaging? Mens deoderant. This is a huge one where packaging plays a huge part in my opinion. I remember my brother choosing his deoderant spray just because it looked really manly with the black can and graffiti-style text. 
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The advertising? How come creme eggs have become such a huge thing around this time of year? Just think about it. 
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Anyway, without further ado, we arrive at the main point of this post. Brands are all very good at catering to our needs and they always have a specific ploy with certain people in mind that will be drawn in to buy their product. But as always, how do we choose to use this purchasing power? Again, back to the creme egg. The brand value is estimated at £45 million and in a 12 hour shift they make the weight of 3 elephants in creme eggs (www.theguardian.com/culture/picture/2013/mar/29/creme-egg-everything-you-need-to-know). DOES THAT NOT SHOCK YOU?! How did one little egg become so popular? 
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Big brands. They have so much revenue and so much power but some brands are beginning to realise they need to cater towards people like you and I. People concerned with the environment and ethics. And so Greenwashing was born. 
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Greenwashing: Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image (Oxford Dictionary)
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"How much can we trust that we are buying responsibly?"
"I buy fairtrade food but I don't ever look at brands for anything else"
Does this sound anything like you? I was feeling these exact same feelings about 6 months ago until I found sites like Rank A Brand which helped me out huge amounts. It all gets rather confusing when it comes to anything other than fairtrade and so most of us take the easy way out by never going any further than that. But there is so much more to purchasing power than just fairtrade. 
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So head on over to these websites and have a look around. Don't be dismayed at the bad brands you buy from, I'm not asking you to suddenly never buy from your favourite clothing shop, or never buy your favourite chocolate bar or shampoo again. But it's the thought. The slow conversion away from the worst brands, which can make YOU into a more sustainable person. 
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www.rankabrand.org/

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www.goodguide.com/

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And then just if you're interested, there are a few interesting articles to read on this website:
www.sustainablebrands.com/

Happy Shopping!

This thought process runs on from my previous post. I raised the point that we should not remove ourselves from society no matter how dire the future looks because removing ourselves from society effectively results in us reducing our power to change things.

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I hinted briefly at the consumer power of our shopping habits. So what did I mean? Consider your transnational corporation supermarket, whether it be Tesco, Sainsburys, Waitrose or even M&S if you like a certain quality. Now what determines what they bring into stock? Us. They stock the products that the consumers buy most and will make therefore attract the most customers and bring in more profit. I personally shop at Sainsburys and I know my nectar card monitors my shopping habits and preferences because it gives me vouchers for items which I regularly purchase and gives me a deal which entices me to buy slightly more than I usually do. (And that is no lie, watch your vouchers carefully and see for yourself!) So the idea behind our purchasing power is that when we buy more of a product, it will be in higher demand and in reaction, supermarket stock will be catered to these buying habits. We can complain and campaign all we like about Fairtrade and detoxing from bad chemicals in clothing, reducing the amount of food thrown away from supermarkets, food miles and imports, you name it and there’s a campaign group, but if no one wants to buy the more ‘sustainable’ products then the supermarkets won’t invest in buying them. Now be honest, hand high in the air all of you who don’t then change your personal behaviour. Yes, my hand went up as well. I have only started changing my habits in the last year in some aspects of food but by no means in other areas yet. However we desperately NEED to realise just how strong our consumer power is and how IMPORTANT it is and start acting. Money changes everything and can be the driver of change, inch by inch, for large transnational companies.

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If you’ve read my homepage you will remember my depiction of the response of most people to these huge issues. If I solicit some more they would sound a little like this:
"The problem is too big to be solved"
"One person can’t change anything"
"It’s too expensive to live sustainably"
"It’s too much effort to change my habits"

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Well if you’re thinking that then here are some VERY SIMPLE things to get you and I started on improving our consumer behaviour and working towards a less hypocritical lifestyle which require only a little effort on your behalf.

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Greenpeace Detox – watch out for this label in your clothes, it indicates less harmful chemicals being used to make and dye your clothes

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Box schemes – reduce your carbon emissions from food imported fruit and vegetables. I am currently on a 2 month fast from any fruit and vegetables outside Europe and it actually makes cooking a lot more experimental and fun. Don’t go for big brand boxes like Abel & Cole, as good as they are, try and find a local box scheme (I use Sunnyfields, based in the NewForest just outside Southampton). Even on a student budget it actually turns out no more expensive than normal.
 www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/food_and_drink/1203512/five_of_the_bestorganic_veg_box_schemes.html 

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Buy the ugly ones – I found this campaign the other day and I think it’s absolutely wonderful! This could be a much easier option than the box scheme if you aren’t into making such a big change to a box scheme
 www.culinarymisfits.de/ 

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Local Co-operatives – Again, I’m only on a student budget but one less night out and on £10 out my bank account a year and I can invest in renewable energy and help support this industry and make it more accessible and viable (and of course, you get part ownership in all profits they make!)

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Charity shops, clothes swaps, buying Fairtrade, knowing your fish labels, apps made easy … there’s just so many more suggestions. There’s too much to go through! So keep reading and I will expand on more of these in the posts to come.

So just a quick post to start off this blog. 
My first major attempt at a more sustainable lifestyle is choosing to buy produce from local farmers. 
Why? 

1. It puts money back into the local community and not out into the pockets of large multi-national corporations (social and economic reasons)

2. It reduces food miles! Less carbon helps us on our way to reaching the UK's 80% carbon dioxide reductions by 2050 (environmental reasons) 

3. SURPRISE! If you buy from a proper local farmer and not the big brand 'box schemes' then it's at least £20 cheaper! I only spent £12 on this lovely set of vegetables ... and remember, I'm on a student budget and this is still affordable for me.