What to do if you can't lead a zero waste lifestyle?

I have received an email from someone who have concluded that I must be generating a ton of waste considering my position as a beauty blogger and that I should promote a zero waste lifestyle instead and make good use of my influence and voice; she then mused that there are local vloggers who are now transitioning into cruelty- free beauty and zero waste lifestyle so why can't I?

I wish she knew how I actively support environmental organizations through education on my platform, workshops, and donations.

I don't lead a zero waste lifestyle, but I should not be shamed for it. And if you're like me who can't lead a zero waste lifestyle, here's what to do instead.

For starters, I admire and I have much respect for those who are leading a Zero Waste Lifestyle; at times, I wish I can be like you; most of the time, I wonder how you do it. I've once considered going zero waste, but after a careful and thorough assessment, it will impact a lot in my life, specifically my livelihood so I decided to help mother nature in other ways instead. I still have a long way to go, but everyday, I am learning.

Here are my problems with the Zero Waste Lifestyle movement and why I can't transition to it:

Zero Waste lifestyle advocates try to convert by guilt- as someone who's been running a community on Facebook, the best way to move others and inspire them to follow is to explain your cause in an amicable way, respect their dissenting opinions, and to move on when you can't find yourselves on the same page.

As I said, I respect and admire Zero Waste lifestyle advocates, but some of them tend to be aggressive and try to be superior that it drives people away from the cause instead of opening them up to it. Zero Waste lifestyle is a way of living; we all have different realities and face different situations everyday; for some, ZWL works, and for some, it doesn't; there's no one way to live.

Zero Waste lifestyle is a privilege- coming from me, it doesn't count when I say I can't afford this privilege because I'm in a position where I can so let me exclude myself from this narrative. The problem of privilege comes in when ZWL advocates suggest for everyone to switch to this lifestyle, even the poor, without thinking properly about the feasibility and context.

Do you know why we're a big player in the sachet economy? First, it's important to understand why sachet products are invented in the first place. According to a friend who used to work for one of the biggest companies that produce some of the top mass beauty brands in the world, sachets were invented not only for convenience, but also for the poorest of the poor to afford their products; not only that, it's also a way to penetrate remote areas, minus logistics issues.

A sachet of shampoo is about P4.00. An eco- friendly, sustainable, zero waste bottle of shampoo starts at P200. We're talking about a P196 peso difference, a kilo of rice, canned goods, and transportation type of difference for the poor. A majority of the Filipino population live in the poor and below poverty line; 2015 national census showed that 21% of Filipinos live below poverty. This is your sachet economy. A majority of our population is left with no choice but to use sachet, which is one of the biggest environmental pollutants.

Zero Waste brands are not accessible- the ZWL is still a growing economy, at least here in the Philippines and most zero waste brands can only be purchased online; in order to purchase zero waste products, you need to order and generate lots of plastic and paper waste due to courier pouches and waybills; doesn't sound like zero waste living to me.

For the record, I do not intend to downplay the effort of ZWL advocates; hey, at least you are doing something and it's a start. The beauty that I see in this growing lifestyle transition is finally, people are realizing how bad our trash problem has become.

Photo credit: Pinterest

I Don't Know If Zero Waste Lifestyle Actually Means Zero- from the little I've read about the zero waste lifestyle, the true primary goal of ZWL is not garbage reduction, but a total reassessment of the life cycle of material things; garbage reduction is the outcome. If you buy a reusable cotton pad in high hopes of reducing the amount of disposable cotton pads you generate every week instead of repurposing materials that can become cotton pads, you're still generating waste, albeit little, but still, it's waste that ends up in landfills; let's also not forget all the fancy schmancy packaging that these zero waste products come in as well plus your courier pouches and receipts. When people move into buying zero waste products, demand rises and production rises, which leads us away from the true goal of the Zero Waste Movement, which is to reduce waste by restructuring production and distribution.

Zero Waste Lifestyle is more than just addressing personal garbage; it's a reassessment of our relationship with things, understanding the impact of this lifestyle, and lowering risk by understanding the ecosystem of consumption, production, laws, and the economy. That said, it seems like a daunting way to live because it's demanding a complete change in lifestyle and mindset.

What to do?

If you can't completely go zero waste living, you can still, in your own way, minimize your environmental footprint; here's how I do it:

Photo credit: pinterest

1. Be mindful- So you are checking out groceries and realized that you forgot to bring the eco bags you purchased from another grocery trip you had last week so you buy one again. We are all guilty of this in one way or another; to be able to take part in the reduction of production, we have to form mindful habits by keeping tabs of the things we own. If you always forget to bring your eco bags, keep one in your car or bag, or add it in your grocery list so you will remember to bring them the next time around.

2. Just stop buying- shopping is therapy, but not so much for the environment. Find other ways to reduce stress and anxiety like jotting down in a journal, working out, taking up a new hobby, reading a book, or getting a massage. Take a look at the things you own often so you will be reminded of what you still have and can use, thus reducing the need to buy.

3. Go for gallons and refillables- I've been practicing this since last year; for common household items such as dishwashing liquid, hand wash, kitchen cleaner, detergent, go for brands that offer refills or gallon versions; refillables will surely reduce packaging waste and gallons can be easily reused or recycled, at the very least.

4. Reuse- reuse is a theme that is ever present in the zero waste lifestyle movement and it's something that anyone can do even if one can't fully transition to this mode of living; reuse laundry plastic bags as trash bags, reuse paper bags as gift bags, reuse boxes for trinkets and accessories, and as gift boxes; take a closer look at the relationship of your chores and household items to know how you can reuse items the smart way. Ever since I started reusing the plastic bags of our freshly- laundered clothes, I never bought trash bags anymore!

5. Make a few environment- friendly lifestyle swaps- surely, there are some habits and items that you can swap for more environment- friendly alternatives; I've mentioned some in number 4 and to add, instead of buying bottle water, bring a water flask instead or dine in more instead of taking out.

How about you? Do you think the zero waste lifestyle is for you? Share your thoughts and experience!