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Writer's pictureOyama Mbulula

Fire, fire, mother earth is on fire

Literally.



I am sure you have heard it or read about it, the global average temperature is increasing and sea levels are rising. This is having all kinds of negative effects, the extinction of animals, the reduction of natural habitats, droughts and threats of food and water shortages-which we have experienced here in South Africa. World war three will be about water...don't quote me.


We are all aware of these realities yet they feel so far off and scientific warnings fall on selectively hearing ears as we continue to consume and amass things. To be honest the impending doom can be overwhelming to think about, the gloomy post apocalypse image of a barren earth with scrawny humans scavenging for foo - that is what comes to my mind.


It is especially overwhelming when you consider that reality that whatever you do as one individual does not really make much of a difference because there is some big multi-national corporation that is emitting crazy amounts of carbon dioxide in the pursuit of profits.


That being said, it does not hurt to try right. And that is what I am decided to do when 2021 began, to make small - and I mean small - changes to be more environmentally friendly or sustainable or whatever the trendy greenwashing brands are calling it. These are the changes I made:

  1. I bought a biodegradable toothbrush. I change my toothbrush often and throwing away a block of plastic that will take millions of years to break down every couple of months just isn't a way to live; so I switched to something that would "recycle" itself through decomposition. Link to the toothbrush:https://www.faithful-to-nature.co.za/faithful-to-nature-adult-toothbrush-clear?gclid=CjwKCAjwqcKFBhAhEiwAfEr7zVeJeOqDMaZHoZ9lE8E_0xlQ5_EbjI0KC2gwu6OYR-D3uJIU25gghhoC-h0QAvD_BwE

  2. I embraced thrifting, for everything except the obviously unsanitary. Shopping second is not just better for the planet, it is also great for your wallet; and chances are the clothes you thrift are better quality than most items you buy brand new right now. I am sure you have heard about Yaga by now, it is absolutely great you should check it out if you haven't already. And there are great antique shops that sell solid wood quality furniture at mostly affordable prices like Something Used in Howick https://www.instagram.com/something.usedkzn/

  3. I went paperless as much as possible. I journal a lot, I keep multiple journals simultaneously so I go through a lot of paper so I switched to journaling on my computer really my secrets are safer on my computer than my physical journals.

  4. I switched to products in glass containers. If you are a skincare enthusiast like myself then you know how out of hand product hoarding can get, all these products are in plastic packaging.

  5. I tried to switch to a silicone menstrual cup. This was the biggest fail and most painful, inserting the cup felt like inserting a knife into my vagina and if I did manage to insert it, it was never secure. Like, I could feel it...it was just an extremely uncomfortable experience.


What attempts have you made to be environmentally friendly, however small or big? Share in the comments to inspire the rest of us.

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