Sustainability is a concept you can’t work your way around anno 2022. Even though the message might not have reached everyone just yet (one might wonder how that’s even possible), a lot of us are more conscious than ever about the way we live, consume, dream even. The most motivated amongst us have adapted their whole way of living with global warming in mind. Eating less meat, consuming locally, taking public transportation rather than your car, preferring quality rather than quantity… They’re all ways in which we, as individuals, can make an actual change.
And those changes don’t have to be radical. Yes, you can adapt everything from the tiniest detail to the biggest component of your life. Yes, you can choose to be totally self-sufficient, to be independent from our consumerist society and to keep your ecological footprint as low as humanly possible. But instead, you could also choose to make little changes, making sure you keep on feeling comfortable. By opting to buy your veggies from a local farmer for example – for you, it doesn’t change that much. For the planet, however, it represents an enormous change. And a farmer, contrary to a big supermarket chain, really feels the impact of your purchase – so you make a contribution to your local economy as well.
Yet, even if you decide you don’t want to switch up your shopping or grocery routine, you could lower your impact on our climate spectacularly by just changing things up in your shopping caddy. Yes, most of us do have preferred brands, products you reach for each and every time. However, it’s worth taking a critical look at those products.
How are they packaged? What do they say about the provenance of the ingredients? Does the ingredient list mention any catastrophic components, such as palm oil?
Critical consumers
Chances are, you’ve already done this. According to a survey amongst 1.500 Belgian shoppers carried out by Tetra Pak, Belgians are getting ever more critical towards the products they buy. Even though only one in four isn’t brand stable, a whopping six in ten shoppers say their favorite brands are losing ground in favor of more sustainable alternatives, paying attention to both the packaging and its contents. Half of the respondents are getting more suspicious about food brands and no less than 80% is asking for more transparency. Sure, all those demands might not have a direct impact but as a consumer, every purchase you make or don’t make has an influence in the long run. So keep on asking for less packaging and more local products, because in the end, it’ll pay off.
