Sustainable Living Isn't Always Glamorous

Why do we choose to make eco friendly changes? Some of us may have decided to out of 💚love for others. Some maybe to be healthier. Some through religion or spirituality. And maybe some because it feels good to be helpful.

The last one may sound kind of selfish or, for the wrong reasons, but we can’t argue no matter what the reasons are it does feel good to be acknowledged for doing good things.

🗄Businesses know this, and are acting on it. And with this, we’ve seen overconsumption continue. Only this time it’s hiding under the guise of sustainable or eco friendly living.

Eco friendly changes aren’t always glamorous.

They don’t always command the spotlight.

🌏True sustainability doesn’t look like buying a bunch of products that are eco friendly, or constantly making Instagram worthy lifestyle changes. Sustainability can be boring, in the background, or even dirty!

All products should be green

Not to say the recent rise in eco friendly products isn’t a good thing. I mean, come on...we are an eco friendly product company! And actually, all products should be as eco friendly as possible. They should also be better than their previous unsustainable counterparts.

All products should be built so they either break down in a way without harm to the earth or while even being beneficial to it. Everything should be able to be ♻️recycled over and over again. That is the future.

With the recent momentum we’ve seen in the purchasing of eco friendly products, this will become the norm.

Products that solve an environmental problem have a place

Of course all products have a place in this world. From the most basic tools in human history, to complex specific devices, the things we make serve a purpose and have gotten us to where we are today. But products “having a place” and “filling your place” are very two different things.

We at LastObject have said again and again, that the true sustainability of our products come from the fact that they offer a better alternative than the previous unsustainable versions that we’ve seen. It isn’t necessarily better for the planet if someone never used facial pads in their life but decided to buy reusable cotton rounds, especially if they don’t have a use for it.

Our products are meant to replace the alternatives. All products have a place in this world, but no thing at all is always the most sustainable option to choose, if you don't need it. 👞

Some unglamorous yet effective lifestyle choices

📱It’s the laptop or the phone that we’ve had for years but still seems to work. Or how about that old reliable car that’s pretty fuel efficient and never breaks down? It’s the local, low footprint meal that was pieced together from the farmers market that doesn’t look so pretty, but it sure is tasty and nutritious.🥒

It’s thrift shopping or buying second hand. It’s using the reusable💧bottle we already have instead of buying another fancy one every year. Or it’s simply not buying things we don’t need. It’s getting rid of the clutter, and living in line with our values.

It’s sometimes about focusing on the important things as opposed to the material things, although sometimes material things do need attention.

Maybe you need a high tech phone for work or otherwise, so maybe an old phone won’t work. That’s fine! Because sustainability is also about what works best for us, not everyone else.🚙Maybe you hate driving and don’t really need to, in that case maybe a bike, train, or bus is even more sustainable than a Tesla or any electric car. We all have different needs, and many of those needs will mean that the changes we make won’t always be what society thinks as the most exciting. 

It’s okay to receive 👏🏽praise for the changes we’ve made in our lives, but we should be cautious not to only make changes which shine in the 🔦spotlight. Those changes have their place, and quite frankly LastObject products are pretty IG worthy, but there is much more than the spotlight.

As we’ve learned about what parts of our lives impact the planet the most, we’ve realized the real meaningful and impactful changes aren’t always visual, they aren’t always entirely enjoyable or aren't especially easy.

However, one thing that all these changes do have in common, is they are all very rewarding when we make them.👍

We should stick with the changes that we know as being very effective in helping the planet, ones that work for us, even if it is a type of change that no one will notice except ourselves. 🌱