If there’s a different option, choose the one where you can reuse the packaging and don’t have to toss it away. Before you purchase something packaged in plastic, consider if you need it. We simply forget to bring reusable bags in the first place. How much waste do you generate each week? What is it? Food, packaging, paper? How much of that could you refuse, reduce, reuse or recycle? We all still use plastic bags, but not because we want them. Who sponsors the food advice you’re reading? Is there maybe a financial gain involved? Do you know what’s in your processed food? Would your grandma say it’s food? Consider and explore alternatives for the sake of your own and the planet’s health. It’s the soil and the water that determines the quality of the food. Where does your food come from? Do you know its source? The source is not the supermarket. “We live on a planet where pigs eat more fish than sharks and where the domestic house cat eats more fish than all of the seal in the North Atlantic Ocean.” Check out the conscious Gift guide for Ocean Lovers for some ideas on free, zero waste, and useful ocean-friendly gifts. As opposed to jewelry made from turtles, corals or sharks. This is art that doesn’t harm the environment. Support the local coconut art and straw hats in the Caribbean. Help the good brands, those without lobbying power and big advertisement budgets, to climb the ladder. Support the small entrepreneurs and go against mass consumerism. Supermarket CEO finance his second boat or are you bringing benefits directly to a family by shopping locally? Help to shorten the supply chain, which reduces transportation energy cost, use of packaging, and increases nutritional value, and benefits for those down at the bottom. Who do you give your money to? Do you help Mr. Buying a new ‘eco’ car is often not more environmentally friendly than using one that already has been produced. Rethink shoppingĭo you need to go shopping? If so, do you need to buy new clothes, gadgets and gear? Take over second-hand, borrow from the neighbour, save resources and things from the trash pile. Sailing will give you that pause, to think, reflect, and plan for the way forward. The most fun and effective way to make a change is by finding out yourself. Start questioning where things come from, how it has been made, and by who? Where do things go after we throw it ‘away’? By making a shift in our thinking, and putting our inspector hat on, we can better engineer our lives to reduce our environmental impact. Whether you go around the world or to the market around the corner, thinking ahead helps. Responsible living is about how you think, buy, plan and prepare, and where. Making a difference and living sustainably is not just about having solar panels on the boat or roof (although I believe it’s a great investment to reduce reliance on fossil fuel). You are also what you buy, use, put, wrap, and present yourself with. People often say ‘you are what you eat.’ I can certainly resonate with that. Of short-term thinking.” - Jacques Yves Cousteau “We are living in an interminable succession of absurdities imposed by the myopic logic Rethink-Refuse-Reduce-Re-choose-Repair-Reuse-Recycle Rethink
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