Apr 16

Apr 16 What does sustainable living mean?

What does sustainable mean?
Sustainable: able to continue at the same level for a period of time.
~ Cambridge dictionary
Sustainable: To create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations.
~ definition from the Department of Energy

Sustainable is such a buzzword now. Thrown around at parties to signal how “green” you are. I’m not sure how many people can even define the word. After 25 years of working towards a sustainable life for me, I’ve found that” sustainable living” really is a subjective thing based on what kind of life style you want to live. There are so many ways to be sustainable but they are all different based on your desires, health, skills, life situations… Sustainable living can start with you and expand out to your family, community, your business or work place.

Take the minimalist movement for example. Minimalist try to declutter their lives and bring in as little excess consumable goods as possible. Instead relying on shared community things when they need something. Like eating out at establishments that are organic and local, buying only second hand if they need something new. Having on the minimum number of items necessary for each person in the house hold to use. Not owning transportation, having hobbies that don’t require any specific tools or materials.

This is in stark contrast to people like me who homestead. Our definition of sustainable living is living a life that can be done by us with minimal help from outside sources. Growing and putting up your own food, making your clothing, collecting your own heating sources, making your own furniture, maintaining your own house and vehicles if you have them. This life style is more about finding a way to live comfortably if something were to happen to the normal supply chains they provide us with food water, shelter and power. It’s all about gaining the skills to recycle and reuse the things around you. Think, washing dishes with plant friendly soap and then tossing the dish water out under bush or trees. Keeping chickens to have fresh eggs, using manure the to make rich compost , which you spread on garden that you plant seeds in you saved from last years harvest. Do we want to live like Laura Ingalls in Little house in the Big Woods? Yes.

I recently wrote to my newsletter subscribers about my definition of sustainability with in the context of my soap business. All of which holds true to my philosphy on sustainability in the rest of my life as well.

Here’s part of the newsletter:

This definition is kind of stuffy and generic to me ( from the Department of Energy). As a lover and creator of the soap and other skincare products you love and expect from me, sustainability means making decisions that align with my personal values—choosing local, low-impact, and lasting over fast, flashy, and disposable. It's the definition that guides every product I offer and every relationship I build. I'm not going to sell it to you if I wouldn't buy it and use it myself.

I like to start with the simple thought, "Will this item, if left out in the environment, decompose and go back into the earth with in six months to a year?" Think, could I have made this in the 1780's? If the answer is no, I try to avoid it. In the tiny context of personal hygiene that makes a huge difference in my buying preferences.

What does that look like in a practical sense?

is it possible for me, in a setting that isn't industrial, to make this product?
are the ingredients capable of breaking down in a non-harmful way in the environment?
can the labels be recycled, reused, composted or burned safely?
is the shipping materials for my products recycled, compostable, burnable?

My goal is to do the heavy lifting for sustainable bar soap and skincare products so you don't have to think about it. Every time you choose to spend your dollars with me you know that I'm going the extra mile to make sure you have a product that is as "earth friendly" as possible.

For people like me, we want to have as small of a consumer loop as possible. Anyone remember the 100 mile diet or food sheds? Imagine expanding that out to “fibershed” for wool, cotton, hemp and linens all grown and made in the USA. Bring back local blacksmiths, potters, carpenters. Bring back all the trades.

Attainable Steps Toward Sustainability

So as much as I dream of returning to pre-industrial America. I know that isn’t possible, living off grid these days often means you need a car (believe me I’ve contemplated getting a horse and riding down to my local hardware store, but roads are not horse friendly anymore, neither are parking lots), if you want power you need solar panels, just about every item in bulk comes packaged in plastic. Most jobs and transactions with other business and people are done via computer…

Rarely are massed produced items manufactured in a manner that is recyclable, bio-degradable, or repairable. But there many small business out there working on making this a thing. Many of them are even right here in America (or your own country if you are reading from some where else).

Sustainable living often is touted as lifestyle where you have to get rid of everything of convenience in order to save the planet. I don’t think that the right way to go about helping people to change. No one has zero impact on the planet not even hunter gathers or wild animals. Imagine trying to live like a hunter gather from 10,000 years ago, you’d live in small band of people maybe 20-50 tops. You need like 20 acres a person to find wild edibles and game. This would definitely not work for the whole world to do in our current age. Also most people don’t have the skills anymore to live that kind of life style.

Ten Important Traditional Skills

What can you do instead? The steps to sustainability begin with taking a look at your life and seeing where you are at and where you want to go. Generally, I think taking steps to live a life that has a regenerative nature is one that can be sustainable. The steps below are susggestions in no particular order. Pick one and try it. If it’s something that you can fit into your life in the long term then it’s sustainable.

Buy your food closer to home. Find farmers, ranchers and get a CSA box. I’m member of Utah’s Own, a listing of local ranchers, famers, and artisans who make, grow and raise things in Utah. Maybe your state or country has the same.
Grow your own food. (This is actually hard to do if want to eliminate the grocery store. That’s not the point though) Start small with several food your love and work up.
Shop small and local. Think about what you buy on a weekly or monthly basis and see if you can’t find a small business that makes those things in your town or state.
Buy handmade or artisan when you can. The big reasons for this is quality and repairability. If you buy something made by someone local, most often if it breaks, they will repair it for you or you can learn to repair it yourself. Also artisan made goods will be much higher quality than something from a factory overseas because that artisan is directly responsible for customer satisfaction.
In conjunction to the above point, become a savvy used items buyer. I have a friend who’s super power is finding used things. If you are skilled enough and shift your mind set just a little towards repairing and fixing up older and used items you can really make a sustainable difference. Why buy new furniture that comes wrapped in zillion layers of plastic and styrofoam when you can find a lovely older dresser on KSL or other used listing sites and refurbish it?
Start learning to DIY things. Making your own stuff is wildly satisfying. It’s the reason I started living the life style I do. Check out my 10 Traditional Skills to get started.

These are just a few of the easy suggestions. There are so many more depending on how deep you want to dive. What do you think about sustainablity? Leave me your thoughts in the comments.