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Ecofrugality A Fad?
By Daphne | May 15, 2008
Ecofrugality is about lifestyle changes not a fad.
In two years I would like to see how many people are really taking the time to do what they are doing now if they are in a better financial position.
A generation or two ago, people reused items because they bought the best they could afford and then used it until it wore out. Even then certain things were reused or repurposed. Anyone who made jams or jellies or needed a jar, didn’t go buy a new container, instead they reused a glass jar or other container that they had. The popular use of the plastic bag made citizens less likely to reuse things basically because it became so easy to dispose of items.
So, what does that mean to us now?
Reuse. Recycle. Repurpose. The phrase has been around for years. Except there have only been a few people who have really espoused this a lifestyle. Most of those who do are teachers or those who work with children, especially where funding is short. They gather materials where they can to help their praxis in the classroom. If there were unlimited resources available would the people espouse the three R’s? Maybe not.
A few years ago many people did not buy coffee at a coffeeshop regularly, and those who did drank it in a mug. Now coffeehouses and other restaurants offer one use cups and containers. The convenience and status of having a cup from a certain place made you “hip.” Now there is a hipness and trend to BYO. Bring your own bag, bring your own cup, bring your own container. Is this newfound espousal of saving the planet due to altruistic beliefs about sustainability? Or is it more about being able to say that I take my own _______ cup, bag, container… “because I’m trying to be more eco-conscious” or because it is the new trend?
When stars do it and the mainstream media starts to cover the issue of ecofrugality and ecoconsciousness then many people begin to take notice. Don’t do something because others are doing it. Do it because you want to make a difference and a lifestyle change for yourself.
If you change your consumption habits due to the lack of money; will you resent those changes and rebel against them when you are more financially secure? Don’t become a radical ecofrugalist because your favorite star is one or your neighbor is one. Even if you change one thing and stick with it, that is more important than beginning several things and not finishing one.
Topics: May 2008 |