Ethically made
It all started with my learning about Rana Plaza Tragedy. Nobody should die to make my clothes. I had eaten a 16$ entrée of grilled fish at a restaurant on the week I first heard about the disaster. The jeans I wore costed the same amount on sale and the t-shirt was half that price. My first reaction would have been “I cant afford to spend more on clothes” but the irony of my other spending wasn’t lost on me. Of course someone suffered to make my garments. My second defensive argument was “sweatshops provide jobs to the needed” but brands like People Tree were paying a living wage while being based in Bangladesh. I needed to vote for the world I want, with my money.
I made some budgeting decisions and switched out the stores from where I consume.
Sustainably Made
Hurt vs Harm.
Hurt : If you punch me, I can press charges on Battery. You will probably be arrested for it.
Harm : If you SLOWLY pollute the air I breathe, flood my home, add plastic to my salt, make my food scarce, dump toxic chemicals into the rivers in my land, make the planet inhabitable for my children, … you will go scot free. You can derive personal benefit from doing so and live happily ever after if you have enough privilege to ride it out.
I rather be punched.
I rather be hurt than harmed.
I rather bear a pain that heals than misery that persists.
I do not want to cause harm to others.
It took me a while to realize the difference between these two words. “Since I don’t hurt anyone, I must not be harming them either”, is not a valid argument. There is a “good person” argument where “I never hurt anyone. All this doesn’t matter as long as you are a good person”. I don’t think it’s a valid argument either.
The concept of good vs bad, comes from religion. Centuries ago when the religious books were written, not hurting people was sufficient for a stable society. Muscle power was the currency of those days and religion found a way to prevent abuse of this currency. Today, the concept of good needs to expand to ‘do no harm’. Today, we can cause havoc and death by consumerism. Money is the currency of today and we have to find a way to prevent abuse. Environmentalism can be that spiritual tool.
I needed my clothes to be made without causing harm. Sustainably made objects became a focal point of my consumerism. Recycled content, Compostable content, organic materials, well made items, durable items, second hand items, thrifted items, mending, upkeep, patina, …. became the art I admired.
Minimalism
What the industry does, is one side of the story.
What I do, matters. Supply-demand are intertwined entities. I create the demand that is met by the companies. I cant put the blame on brands, corporations, advertisers, marketing gurus, the Joneses, …. and take no personal responsibility.
I wanted to consume less.
Minimalism seemed to promote such a lifestyle. Folks were learning to say “enough”. Owning less is encouraged. Owning less is glorified. It was the mindset I wanted to learn.
Minimalism was wonderful. I stayed here for a few years.
During this period, minimalism went mainstream. To make it inclusive and welcoming to the average Jo, the meaning changed to “own what makes you happy”. A person like me can say “I love shoes” and own excess of them. A person can say ‘I love travel” and pollute the shit out of our air by taking flights. You can consume objects/experiences, as long as it makes you happy. Does minimalism really mean anything at all, if everything can be classified as minimalism as long as “love is declared” ? A version of Minimalism seems to exist that is independent of sustainability.
Minimalism wasn’t enough for me anymore. So I left.
Sustainably Consumed
Every object/experience comes into existence from the earth’s resources and causes pollution. Not consuming it, is the most sustainable option. But how much can I consume to exist, without causing harm ?
I learnt about my ecological budget.
I can now use the tools provided to me by minimalism and decide how I want to spend my ecological budget. If travel is the most important thing for me, I can save up my ecological budget for a flight by eating plant based diet all year or by living in small homes or by growing my own food or using public transportation instead of a car, …. If fashion is the most important thing, I can save my ecological budget for it and use it. I can now exist guilt free and do what I love. This is the version of minimalism that was looking for. It has a eco friendly soul.
I genuinely do not think one version of finding happiness is better than another. There is no universal method of finding joy. We all come with different aptitudes for processing this world. I do not look down upon folks who enjoy crafts and beauty, as long as it is within their ecological budget. I do not look down upon engineers who work on building technology for liking gadgets. I would not go tell them “take a hike”. I do not think folks who wave the flag ” I have more important things than fashion to invest in” are better than the ones who enjoy their clothes. I will not accept unsolicited advice on “don’t shop for XYZ. Do ____ instead”, as long as I am living in my ecological budget. When I finish my budget, I know that I need to stop.
This is where I am at, right now.
Next rung : Zero Waste Lifestyle
Waste is what we dump into air, water, land and space. The act of reducing emissions, toxins that reach the water sources and the materials we send to the landfill – is a zero waste lifestyle.
To consider the entire lifecycle of the things we consume, is a radical act. To ask, “is it worth the resources it consumed” before “how can I style it?” is noble. To ask “can I use it for one more year” before “where can I drop it off for donation”, is a noble act. To take the train/bus, when you can fly, is a radical act. To vacation locally, when the Instagrammers fly to exotic locations far away, is a radical act of love. To walk away from mined metals that are used as ornaments, but come at the expense of ecosystems destroyed, is noble. To eat plant based, is an act of love. To refuse plastic, is an act of love. To support regenerative agriculture, is an act of love. To work towards a cyclic economy, is a revolutionary mindset.
I think I do a few actions to support this economy, but I need to get more serious about it. This is what is next for me.
Next rung : Low-carbon Lifestyle
We need to dismantle the culture that lets the factors that created the climate crisis, thrive. The fossil fuel companies are meeting the demand put forth, by the humans. If you shut them down today, a big chunk of the world’s population would be without food, water, transportation and shelter. We need to transition to a low carbon economy powered by renewable energy sources.
Next rung : Low-energy Lifestyle
De-growth, steady state economy, shared prosperity, universal basic income, leisure time valued, community values, … and other utopian ideas exist in this space. We chase happiness instead of growth. The books written by climate scientists on sustainable living give us a glimpse of what can be had. I think Buddhism exists in this space as well. As a human who grew up in an era where progress is measured by GDP, personal wealth accumulated and success of corporations, this lifestyle is hard for me to wrap my head around. But then, I have come very far from where I started. If this is a solution, I want to work up the courage to imagine it.