WORLD WE IMAGINE PART 1

 

I think there are many things in the world that can be improved whether it’s unequal access to education and healthcare or more local problems like food insecurity and homelessness in LA. However, a lot of these seem unachievable given the scale of the problem. One way to make the world a better place that can start from ourselves is to become more conscious consumers. Consumerism is a big part of our lives nowadays, for example I can buy just about anything off of Amazon within one tap and have it arrive on my doorstep within a day. However many of us, myself included, turn a blind eye on Amazon as a company and their problems such as the poor treatment of their workers or their environmental impact. 

Another similar instance is Halloween shopping. Thanks to fast fashion, it’s easy to fall into the mindset of “it doesn’t matter if I only get one wear out of it because it was so cheap, I can throw it away after.” This mindset neglects the environmental impact of how long it takes clothing to naturally decompose and would only contribute to more landfill, not to mention how problematic sweatshops can be. Admittedly, life is much easier and faster now than what my parents had in their college years. Many people have been spoiled by the convenience of things such as Amazon prime or fast fashion, at the expense of the environment. 

A goal of mine is to become more conscious and intentional with my lifestyle choices and purchases by questioning what I consume and how I consume. Given my position, is this the most sustainable option I can comfortably afford? Are there better alternatives? For the latter question, I need to consider whether or not I really need the item I am about to purchase. Not only do I want to reduce my environmental impact but I also want to support the right people and businesses. However, it is also important to realise that not everyone has this privilege. 

This is ironic because upon graduation, I will probably end up working in a large corporation that does not care about the environment as much as they claim to. Businesses have definitely made changes towards sustainability but I am still sceptical about how performative it is. Over summer, I interned for a consumer packaged goods company which by nature, have created a lot of waste. This year is the first year where employee KPI for bonuses is based on environmental sustainability. But I am not sure how this is measured exactly since it was just briefly mentioned in the onboarding presentation by HR.  During my internship period, I could see this change with how one of their brands transitioned to smaller packaging while maintaining the same volume of product. I hope that companies continue to make changes towards environmental sustainability.