Sustainability Causes And How To Support Sustainability

I got recently asked to share and write about what causes I care about and why, and I thought it was an interesting idea which I don’t know why I haven’t written about before. I hope it is obvious from my blog that I care deeply about sustainability, how to make my lifestyle more ethically sustainable and how to inspire others along the road.

Sustainability in itself incorporates a broad spectrum of different causes; there is no one cause that could handle all that is happening around the globe from climate change, to ocean pollution, animal abuse and inhumane working conditions. I do think all of this is part of the sustainable framework. Causes that fall under sustainability are so numerous it can be difficult to pinpoint which is a good place to start. According to “Before the Flood” documentary the biggest polluters on our planet that are driving the climate change are burning fossil fuels, deforestation and agriculture, on the other end numerous reports are sharing that ocean pollution is killing the marine ecosystems.

DOCUMENTARIES TO UNDERSTAND SUSTAINABILITY

To help understand what needs help there are several documentaries that also spread awareness and if you haven’t seen them then I definitely recommend them!

• Before the Flood – Climate change, how it is affecting our planet and what can be done to prevent further temperature rise.
• Racing Extinction – Animal extinction, what is affecting it and a little bit about how it can be reversed.
• Chasing Coral – Although this concentrates mainly on coral reefs it addresses how climate change is affecting our oceans and what will happen if it continues at the current rate.
• Plastic Ocean – (I haven’t seen this yet, but it is on my watchlist) About the plastic pollution and how it affects our oceans.
• The True Cost – How fashion industry has an effect on climate change, environmental erosion and inhumane labour conditions.

CHARITIES AND CAUSES TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABILITY

Here are some of the causes that I am inclined to support, spread a word around and follow.

• Marine Conservation Society – A UK based marine conservation society that concentrates working towards healthy, pollution free and sustainable seas.
• Conservation International – Is a US-based international conservation programme: “Our long-term goal is to safeguard the world’s essential ocean and coastal biodiversity and most productive ecosystems in order to maximize the long-term ecological, social and economic benefits for people and nature.”
• Oceana – In an international advocacy organisation that is focused on ocean conservation. Their vision is to win over policy victories with countries that are leaders in marine life governing.
• RSPB – Bird and other wildlife conservation, mostly based in the UK.
• Soil Association – Soil Association is a charity and an organic certification based in the UK. It works towards providing sustainability by providing a good framework for organic farming in food, textiles and beauty items, and providing those small businesses with support towards making their organic business work.
• Labour Behind the Label – An organisation concentrated on changing the way garment industry workers are treated across the globe, especially in areas that make most of our clothing. They campaign for change, spread the message to customers who in return can push further, lobby with legislation makers and put pressure the companies that still allow this. Making employees working spaces safer can transfer the number of toxic chemicals used in making garments.
• Rainforest Action Network – Is a US-based but internationally working organisation working on preserving forests around the globe, protecting the climate and uphold human rights.
• Trees For Cities – Is a UK-based charity working on planting trees in the UK and internationally into urban areas to clean the air, revitalising areas and improving people’s lives.

There are many other charities and projects that could use help and these were just a few that I felt I wanted to mention.

In addition, I really want to mention two businesses that I am very impressed about. Ecosia is a search engine, which in reality is an extension to google, but it generates ads money to the company which they use to plant trees around the world! And Done Good is a browser extension, which can be used while googling or browsing websites. If there is an ethical alternative to the items you are looking at it will provide a pop-up alert on the side of the browser to let you know about it. In addition, it alerts you if the company supports the current US president or sells any of his products. Both of these extensions are free to download and use, but the Done Good is currently only available in the US and Canada.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

I think when it comes to sustainability and protecting our planet we should start with our own actions; stop using single-use plastic, stop littering, using more renewable energy, recycling. That is already a great start and many people don’t need to do more. But if you are passionate and want to commit to making our planet better not only for us but for the next generations to come there are additional things that you can do:

• Spread the word about the issues and how to overcome them.
• Support causes that you find important in fighting the climate change and other global or local problems.
• Donate money to a charity or organisation that is working on these issues.
• Donate your time by organising fundraising events, documentary viewings, information sessions or even just gather within your local area to discuss how you can make a difference there. Eventbrite is offering a discount to non-profit and fundraising groups who organise their ticketing and registration through their website. It is a great resource to have!

 

Just writing this post got me excited to help out with ocean conservation and thinking about whether I should organise an event as well to spread the word or even have a documentary screening in my local area!

What causes do you support? Share them in the comment box below, I would love to hear about them!

With love,

Lii

 

Disclaimer: I did not receive compensation for this post. All the opinions are my own.

The Two Sustainable Documentaries to watch

I find it sometimes difficult to find all the information that I want about companies or problems in industries. When watching these two documentaries I realised why. The reality is disturbing and even more horrible at times, than what we could imagine. I felt depressed to learn the truth, but also appreciative and I got new motivation towards more sustainable decision making. So if you are not too sensitive, I would recommend both of these documentaries. They are eye opening and informative, and I believe them to be important to see!

RACING EXTINCTION

This documentary’s main objective is the extinction of animals and how human’s are affecting it. Because of this reason, this documentary touches  a much wider problem. Why the animals are getting extinct, what is driving it and what are the possible effects of their extinction. In addition, it shows you the dirty secrets of different parts of the world.

This documentary is beautiful and moving. This documentary is depressing and at points, I felt like I was loosing the faith in mankind and over this world. I cried a fair amount. After watching the documentary and feeling sad for the world for like 15 minutes, I got new energy and motivation to become more sustainable and make a better decision.

TRUE COST

It wasn’t too long ago when I wrote about this documentary ( you can read about it here), but I do think it is one to watch about the sustainability. It considers mainly fashion and textile industry, but it is relatable to other industries as well. It tells the many layers of the industry within the supply chain and the problems before and after the making of the garment. This documentary offered some advice on what people should do and, although, it was depressing I got a lot of motivation to be more sustainable.

Racing Extinction is available in the UK on Now TV, Amazon and iTunes, you can check more about it on their website. True Cost is available in the UK on Netflix, Amazon and iTunes and you can check more about it on their website.

 

Do you have advice for any other documentaries about sustainability?

Pics are from Racing Extinction and True Cost websites.

With love,

Lii

Overdressed and the True cost -review

I mentioned ages ago, that I read the ‘Overdressed’ book and how excited I was about it. I also watched the documentary ‘True cost’, which I thought was an excellent addition to getting the whole picture of the issues in the fashion industry. Well, close to a whole. I am sure there are still many problems that have not yet come up to the public eye. First of what I would like to say is that if you like fashion and shopping for fashion, you should read and watch these. I think everybody should know the backgrounds of items they love so much. Not so that people would stop shopping, but so they would be shopping smartly, with intention and understanding. Also, I really think these two should be read/watched together. What one leaves out the other fills in.

Overdressed: The Shockingly high cost of cheap fashion by Elizabeth L.Cline

This book goes through very well the insane mass consumption of fashion in the USA and the history of how they got to it. She is writing this from a USA point of view, however, I think it can be somewhat transferable to the European consumer as well. Elizabeth is not really blaming the consumer or the businesses for problems in the fashion industry but rather explains how the system is intricate and has so many layers it is difficult to tackle.

Basically, she explains how fast-fashion is a horrible problem in many ways from exploiting labour to poor fitting fashion and masses of textile waste. Unlike articles about all these problems, however, she does explain what she thinks would help to slowly resolve at least some of these problems.

I was really interested in why there is no more support for small businesses and makers and why are the conditions in developing countries not improving in spite of all the media attention.

Elizabeth’s writing is very interesting, thorough and clear. I found it very easy to read although with somewhat mixed feelings. Where the book is interesting, it is also very sad and depressing and it made me feel a bit powerless, nevertheless of her tips. Although after reading it I felt this urge to do my part in moving towards slower fashion. The only thing I would have wished to have more in the book is the sustainability and other environmental issues, as she only scratches the surface on these issues and rather sticks with the labour issues.

True cost movie (available on Netflix)

This movie does touch some of the issues mentioned in the book but concentrates more on the environmental problems, such as toxicity and erosion, which are usually overlooked in articles and in the media when talking about the problems in the fashion industry. I really liked how in depth they took this subject without blaming the consumer but exploring the wider implications. They questioned the economy and capitalism as a part of the driving forces in this problem, which rarely is mentioned and they talked about what we could do if we shopped sustainably and ethically.

The documentary was filmed well and Andrew Morgan has done a great job directing it. It was interesting and grabbed my attention, but also made me a bit depressed. The only thing I was wishing a bit more from the documentary was showing more the problems we have with the waste resulted from the fashion industry.

As a result of watching and reading these, I felt the need to do more and better and a little empowered to move in the right direction. Whereas previously I felt I didn’t have any options, now I feel I do. Yes, it is depressing but it is also so informative! There are so many companies and people who think they can get away with doing just about anything and this is one of the ways they can be exposed.

I definitely recommend checking out both of these and when you have please leave me a comment. I would love to discuss these issues further! And please let me know if this is something that you are interested in reading more about on my blog.

 

Pics from Take Part and Going Zero Waste. You can also read more about the topic from those resources.

 

With love,

Lii