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How to become a more Sustainable Student … Without Breaking the Bank
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“Garments should not be forgotten due to trend progression”
We all want to feel we are playing our part in saving the planet. Alice Brooker suggests some ways in which, as students, we can be more sustainable. When it comes to being sustainable and eco-friendly, it’s near impossible to achieve perfection. For our negative impact on the environment to be minimised, we need to be able to afford to do so. WWF have reported that average wildlife populations have declined in size by 60 percent in just over 40 years; carbon emissions climbed by 2% in 2018 and David Attenborough has warned that humans have made a “tragic, desperate mess” of the planet.
“Reusable bottles, chucking a jumper on While money should have no correlation with how environmentally rather than friendly we can be, it tends to. Nevertheless, there are ways around the boosting the costs of reducing our environmental impact – even as students. heating and reviewing Clothing Beauty Fashion today is fast, cheap and disposable - it is no longer our shopping For student-priced beauty considered to be timeless. Garments are worn once and may habits and products, Wearth London sells never be seen again. Fast fashion must be destroyed by diets are all sustainable skincare products prioritising the sustainability behind the making of clothes. for under £10. Bramley, Weleda affordable Buying clothes with regards to protecting the environment and Lush are among other changes” must become fashionable. You can check the sustainability To shop sustainably it feels like our options are slim as students. Sustainable online store Reformation has its prices starting at about £50 and Gather&See at a much pricier £100 - to name a couple. Students are not their target market. When Pretty Little Thing offer us tops from £4, and the excuse of ‘what harm will it really do?’ becomes our mantra, refusing is difficult. What can we do if we cannot afford first-hand clothes with the sustainable price-tag? Consider the likes of eBay and Depop. Consider the array of charity stores in town. Dig out your mum’s outfits from the seventies. Borrow from your friends (and if they aren’t letting you borrow, find new friends). Garments should not just be forgotten “Dig out due to trend progression. Furthermore, if your mum’s we commit to spending less on fast outfits from fashion, it may lead to saving up for a the seventies. timeless, quality item from a sustainable Borrow from site.
your friends, and if they aren’t letting you borrow, find new friends”
sustainable beauty options. Say no to the Uber Eats this week and splash out on Lush’s fragrant £8 shampoo bar instead!
Diet
Despite some telling us vegetarianism is a case of ‘all or nothing’, it’s not. Everybody is capable of taking at least a day per week to commit to meat-free meals. Think about reducing human-induced greenhouse gas emissions or the estimated 12 billion animals’ lives lost each year due to food wastage. Adjusting your diet doesn’t have to involve a complete scrappage of meat, but any adjustment in this direction is more considerate towards the planet, your health and animals.
“It’s not all or nothing, but it is within everybody’s budget to be doing more”
With regards to students becoming more sustainable, the list is endless: reusable bottles, chucking a jumper on rather than boosting the heating and reviewing our shopping habits and diets - all affordable changes. Granted, first-hand sustainable fashion needs to somehow become affordable, and petrol for a journey in our car is sometimes cheaper than a train ticket. It’s not all or nothing, but it is within everybody’s budget to be doing more. Alice
Brooker
Page Design by Natasha Phang-Lee
rating of stores at https://goodonyou.eco.
