Less is Certainly MORE for a Sustainable Planet
If the COVID-19 lockdown has taught me anything, it’s that I need a lot less.
Less of everything. From luxury goods to food to alcohol to consumables; clothes to electronics to TV channels and club memberships. How many watches does a man need? Does having many make me more valued as a man? Is it an endorsement of my self-worth?
It has put my life in perspective. Made me question what I truly see as important for me to be happy and have peace of mind. After all, isn’t that what it all boils down to? Our happiness? Everything we do, we crave, we strive for is inexorably linked to our search for peace and happiness. It’s a continuous and sometimes frustrating journey.
But what if that what we seek so desperately is in fact what we are immersed in every day? Time with family, the love of our children, a simple meal shared with loved ones. Time to focus on our own mental health, and physical fitness. Time to enjoy the sounds of birds, a good book, or appreciate a beautiful sunset.
Today, I began reading an article of sustainable fashion, and how the big brands of the fashion industry are starting to realize the importance of being sustainable. Well… about f’ing time! Did it have to take a pandemic for that realization to dawn? The shallow hedonistic fashion world is only second to the oil industry in terms of pollution, creating a negative impact on the planet. And the only way we are going to make the industry truly sustainable in a meaningful way is to simply buy less.
In many ways, the fashion industry is very similar to the fast food industry. It does nothing for you but attempt to give you a severe attack of FOMO if you aren’t wearing the ‘cool’ clothes for the ‘right’ season. We think our self-worth is linked to our latest pair of jeans or expensive boots, or branded leather product or wrist watch, when in fact, they are nothing but transitionary material ‘fixes’ that do nothing for us in the long run.
In the lockdown, what do many people crave the most? Those I have spoken with crave time with family, with grandchildren, with friends, time on the beach, in jungles, hiking, walking, riding bikes in open places and, of course, I will not judge the very few that miss shopping or going clubbing.
But let’s focus for a while on waste and the planet.
Do you know that it takes 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt? So, your ‘responsible’ purchase of bio degradable cotton is in fact depleting the planet of a monstrous amount of water in the process. The chemicals that go into the dying of a garment is another massive polluter and a huge factor in the death of freshwater fish and marine life around the world, as not every brand insists on the responsible disposal of chemicals as a part of their compliance. Do we have an idea of how much tonnage? Yes… tonnage of waste fabric is either incinerated or sent to landfill on a DAILY basis!
In the US alone, the average is over 40,000 tons of fabric per day. The impact on the planet to manufacture just that wasted fabric alone, could result in catastrophic long-term damage to our water bodies, air quality, and land quality.
Towards this effort, I went through my closet and reduced my clothing by more than 50%. The simple rule I used was, If I hadn’t worn it in 6 months, it goes. The only exceptions were the very few suits and jackets I own. Likewise, I have gone through my leather shoes and trainers as well, and a big pile of clothing and footwear was sent off to people whose needs are greater than mine. My commitment is to up-cycle my clothes wherever possible (a friend of mine dyes my faded clothing in darker colors to extend their usefulness), and to reduce my purchases to only those that are absolutely essential.
Please don’t think I am advocating a minimalist lifestyle or a return to a caveman existence, but I am encouraging us all to take a peek into what truly brings us happiness and where the true value in our lives comes from and consume less. After all, as of now, we still have but one planet we could live on. Let’s not destroy it for the people we love the most. Our children, our grandchildren, and the generations to come.
