“Living a sustainable lifestyle is a journey, not a destination.”
Photo by Manja Vitolic on Unsplash
Happy Earth Day 2023! The theme for this year’s celebration is “Invest In Our Planet”, and what better way to celebrate it than by starting to live a sustainable lifestyle? No financial capital necessary.
There are ways to invest in our planet, which include planting trees, reducing plastic consumption, participating in advocacy, and opting for sustainable fashion choices.
Adopting a sustainable lifestyle may appear daunting at first, but there are easy steps you can take to get started. Here are some pointers to get you started:
1. Educate yourself
Learn about the environmental impact of your lifestyle and ways to lessen your carbon footprint. Reading books or articles, watching documentaries, or attending workshops could all be part of this.
2. Reduce energy consumption
Start by turning off lights when you leave a room, unplugging electronics when not in use, and utilising energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances.
3. Use sustainable mobility
Instead of driving alone, try walking, cycling, or taking public transportation. Consider carpooling or getting an electric or hybrid vehicle if you must drive.
4. Reduce water usage…
…by taking shorter showers, repairing leaks, and adopting water-efficient appliances or practices.
5. Buy sustainable products…
…manufactured from environmentally friendly materials such as bamboo, hemp, or recycled materials. Look for fair-trade and locally sourced products.
6. Reduce waste…
…by using reusable bags, containers, pads, water bottles, or any other products to reduce trash. Purchase things with minimal packaging and recycle what you can.
7. Consume a more sustainable diet
Limit your intake of meat and dairy products, which have a large carbon footprint. Choose produce that is locally farmed, organic, and in season.
As a bonus to celebrate Earth Day 2023’s theme, here are five resources for you to get started on sustainable living if you are based near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:
1. Biji-Biji Initiative: Learn about the environmental impact of your lifestyle, read articles, attend workshops and more
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The Biji-biji Initiative is a social enterprise that promotes sustainability in Malaysia. The organisation creates social and environmental impact in Malaysia by offering both companies and individuals solutions that support their efforts to be more sustainable.
By using discarded materials, basic electronics and passive building techniques Biji-Biji aims to inspire our surrounding with fresh and fun approaches to sustainable living. They are also moving towards a smarter and more responsible future through:
- Sharing Sustainability
Biji-Biji promotes a sustainable lifestyle by designing and building products that incorporate discarded or rejected materials, such as art installations, furniture and bags. These sustainable builds and installations are often integrated with custom electronics for more interactivity and engagement. - Sustainability Consultancy
Biji-Biji can help you incorporate sustainability practices in your company. They offer sustainable consultancy and can help you implement the Sustainable Goals in your business. They can also help you minimise waste and save on important resources, bringing your team on-board through workshops, skills and development training. - Sustainable Events
Biji-biji specialises in organising green, responsible and ethical events. This is a need for the environment as events typically generate high amounts of waste as it involves temporary set-ups, with high human traffic, in a short period of time.
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In essence, Biji-Biji provides you with alternative and responsible solutions for your event, including ethical door gifts, responsible builds and installations, food waste management and waste reduction.
2. UNPLUG: Buy sustainable products made by artisans in one place
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Every item at UNPLUG is curated with the people and the planet in mind. If you’re looking to get off the fast lane to reconnect with sustainable living and mindful consumption, they’ve got you. Explore their global selection of meaningful, sustainable alternatives – all sourced with good intentions.
With conscious choices, UNPLUG is more than just a store, it is about sustainable living. Their curation is guided by a set of sustainable metrics. That way, the shop can ensure that every item they put on their shelves is directly contributing back to the people and the planet.
3. Eats, Shoots & Roots: Create your own edible garden for a sustainable diet
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Eats, Shoots & Roots started as an intention to bring urban communities closer to nature, through the growing of food. With a small capital, a small house in suburban Petaling Jaya was the first melting pot to bring together agriculture experts and people who wanted to know more about their food and growing. With rapid growth, gardening products like the Seed Boxes and Organic Repellents were later introduced and sold to help the growing community of edible gardeners kickstart their gardens with ease.
4. Kloth: Be part of the declutter and recycle movement
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Kloth is a women-led social enterprise that aspires to become the catalyst of textiles, clothing and plastics circular economy in Malaysia, Singapore & Australia; offering environmental & social impact solutions for the community to play their part in decluttering and recycling. If you’d like to recycle your items, the organisation has provided the Kloth Cares Fabric Recycling Bins in Malaysia and Singapore. They even offer bin servicing and pick-ups.
5. LOOOP.FUN: Rehome your pre-loved fashion pieces through consignment
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If you wanna rehome your preowned clothing or browse a curated selection of quality garments from your local community, you’ll be able to find gently-loved Baju Raya, special pieces from local brands, unique vintage pieces, and more at Looop.Fun. The consignment boutique also believe in the responsible donation of clothing to those in need.
If your pieces do not get selected to be sold during their curation process, you can opt to donate them to organisations in need through their “LOOOP for GOOOD” programme.
We hope this guide serves you well in your sustainable lifestyle. Keep in mind that living a sustainable lifestyle is a journey, not a destination. Begin with little modifications and gradually establish a sustainable lifestyle that works for you 🙂 Thanks for reading and living a mindful lifestyle!
