Sustainability and Minimalism

according to intergovernmental panel on

climate change

ipcc we need to keep the global

temperature rise below 1.5 degrees

celsius

in 2013 by when the world must have a

common emissions i will be

in

just 23 years young by 2050 when the

world should achieve net zero

i will be in my early 40s

india will be devastated by climate

change over the next 30 years

if we do not act now

by that time i will be only 44 years

here

according to a recent u.n report

an estimated 1 million species are at

risk of

extinction many within decades

the countdown

has already started

today i will be sharing how minimalism

is connected with sustainability

when i talk about minimalism don’t start

imagining you have to live like a son

allow me to tell you what minimalism is

according to joshua fields milburn

minimalism is a tool to eliminate life’s

excess

focus on the essentials fulfillment and

freedom

a great principle of minimalism

is

using the minimum number of resources

which accords perfectly with our

present-day need for sustainability

sustainability is meeting the needs of

the present without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet

their own needs

sustainability is directly related to

how we decide to consume unlimited

resources such as energy water food and

minerals

it also relates to the responsible use

of our resources and environment

respecting our biodiversity will also

make us more sustainable

we need to discuss ways in which we can

become more sustainable by using our iso

resources more responsibly and also by

tapping into renewable resources such as

wind and solar energy

minimalism is a method for using only

what we need to survive and waste

nothing

owning less

is great

wanting less is even better

things don’t define you you do

as i continue this journey of becoming a

sustainable minimalist

something that i have come to value is

the idea of eco minimalism a living more

sustainably

eco minimalism is being conscious or

mindful of what we bring into our lives

and how we dispose of those things

to me

living more sustainably is the intention

habits actions and decisions

i help to reduce my impact on climate

change and help support the environment

i have started with just consuming less

if i acquire less i have less to get rid

of

i have convinced my parents not to buy

me clothes regularly i think twice

before buying any stuff for that matter

the last time i bought myself a t-shirt

was in january 2020

i generally buy a size more than my

current size so i can use it for a

longer duration

i somehow like the concept of minimalism

for which sometimes i am being teased

too

but i tell them why i am doing so and

ask them do the same

some agree some laugh at me but i am the

one

minimalism and sustainability go hand in

hand because the less you accommodate

the more you’re conscious about the

world around you

given a current climate crisis

consciousness about our environment does

a lot good but bringing us closer to

zero waste

remember

simple can be harder than complex

simple is sustainable

we haven’t addicted to buying like we

have been addicted to sugar

how we buy clothes has changed

i recall my mother saying that she used

to get only two dresses packs a year

one on her birthday and the other when

there was any occasion

clothes were passed on to the younger

siblings or cousins which was considered

quite normal in those days

mending refashioning and caring like

hanging outside to refresh

airing them out instead of washing after

every rules is what is required

wash less loved one

fashion shouldn’t cause the earth

the dangerously high environmental cost

of fast fashion

is impossible to ignore

in which

thousands of tons of discarded loads are

being done in landfills

these items are largely leftovers from

the fashion industry

according to the world economic forum

the fashion industry produces 10 of all

humanity’s carbon emissions

it is the second largest consumer of

water supplies and it is the seventh

largest economy in the world

people buy 60

clothes than fifteen years ago

on an average eighty percent of our

clothes are worn just seven times before

being tossed

millions of tons of clothing items are

thrown away each year

you will be surprised to know that the

most popular fabrics in the fashion

industry are the most toxic ones

have a look at how long does it take for

a clothes to biodegrade

caught in one to two weeks denim

11 months silk one to two years

nylon 30 to 40 years

polyester 20 to 200 years look at

spandex such a definite sequence

never there’s an environmental impact

each time you hit the buy now button you

are helping power up the ships that are

running down endangered wheels of the

coast

amazon flipkart etc in the name of

vacuum is destroying the country with

plastics

the national green tribunal has directed

the polluters to set up a collection

system to take care of the plastic

shipping material recently we had a

black friday and people were going gaga

over it

it is not a bargain

if you don’t need it to all my friends

here

be more of a conscious consumer to

preserve this beautiful planet minimum

you don’t always need to buy trendy

clothes to be stylish

join the slow fashion movement move away

from the fast fashion and start a

fashion detox like me

if 20 000 people from all over the world

will join this

we can save up to 750 million liters of

water

and 2.5 million kilograms of carbon

emissions by simply not buying new

clothes for three months

slow fashion is the opposite of fast

fashion

it is a deliberate choice for consumers

to slow down their consumption and buy

less by investing in high quality pieces

that last longer

now coming to plastic

did you know that nine percent of the

plastic used every day is recycled

the other 91 percent is going to

landfills incinerators etc

so it’s simple

stop buying plastic

and companies will stop making it lower

demand means less production

the consumers make the market

if the consumers stop buying fruits and

vegetables packed in plastic resources

will stop selling them

emma watson has rightly said

as consumers we have so much power to

change the world by just being careful

in what we buy

consumerism leads to deforestation toxic

pollution climate change and the

extinction of species as just a few of

the innumerable problems tied to a

consumption

are you aware of how much water is used

to wash a turkish doll or a terry cloth

or towel

imagine we replace this with a simple

thin tall kamcha

it requires very less water to wash and

it even dries very fast

if all the hotels replace the turkey

stones with a plain gum

imagine how much water will be saved

it is said

that charity begins at home

break the consumption cycle

to do this we need to follow the

hierarchy or rather i should say the

biagi of needs

this was coined by sarah nazzaro

first

make good use of what we already have

stop and think

do i already have this item to do this

task

don’t use and abuse your

positions take care of your things so

that they will last longer

borrow from a friend if you need a

specific item that you don’t have

poured on the same things again and

again organize a swamp party with your

community

go to thrift mode

shop second hand when you need to add a

piece to your collection

or why not try to make it

bike should be the last

after all areas have been tried

waste not one part

joshua becker has rightly said

the most environmentally friendly

product is the one you didn’t buy think

about it

i will be sharing with you five

questions to ask yourself

how to reduce impulsive buying and be a

minimalist

first

will i still be wanting that item after

12 hours have passed

second

if it wasn’t on sale would i be paying

the full price

third

will the item still be in active news

after five years

fourth are we getting into the tracks or

do we love it

and fifth

don’t try don’t i already have something

similar at home do i need this one

the greatest threat to our planet

is the belief that someone else will

save

i am reminded of a

story where a village was suffering from

a drought the villagers prayed to god

for

god granted the wish with a condition

that the next day

each manager will have to take a jug off

milk and put it in a particular pond

each one of them thought that everyone

is going to put the share of the jug of

milk if i don’t do it it will cause no

harm

the next day

the pot was full of water not milk

because each one had thought the same

way

what i am trying to say is that in the

present circumstances

no one can afford to assume that someone

else will solve this problem

every individual has a responsibility

towards climate change and the

environment

we dream of changing the world but

sometimes changing a single soul is

enough for inside every human there is a

world

we need to embrace zero waste build

sustainable habits that last long and

become a minimalist without sacrificing

the planet

we don’t have to engage in grand heroin

actions

to participate in change

small apps when multiplied by millions

of people can transform the world

let’s create a wave of change together

if all of us commit to taking action we

will truly do it

i am doing my bit are you