Confessions of a Sustainable Shopper

5 ways to save the planet and the economy together. 

A sustainable lifestyle goes beyond just buying sustainable products. It also means tweaking habits and going out of the way to make sustainable choices. For the classic shopaholic, the world of choices is not new. What we will try to do in this blog is help you inculcate sustainable habits in all your shopping trips – whether it is the local market haul or the highstreet haul (which anyway isn’t very sustainable for your bank account :P). 

1. Always carry your own bags!
   This is sustainable shopping 101! A cotton bag is stronger, holds more, and is more versatile than any other eco-friendly carry bags. As far as shopping tote bags go, needless to say, our preference is the Rusabl Tote Bag.
   
   <tote bag image here>
   
   The best part about this bag is that it folds and fits absolutely anywhere! Even a pocket! (Talk about pocket-friendly!) Did you know a cotton bag can be reused upto 131 times?! With a bag that carries up to 15 kgs, imagine the amount of stuff you could carry in 131 trips! The Rusabl Tote Bag is totally a keeper when it comes to a shopping buddy who is in it for the long haul.
   
   
2. Follow green footsteps from the showroom to the food court
   No shopping trip is complete without a binge at the chowpatty or the food court. And both of those places are a great opportunity to cut down on plastic with an eco-friendly cutlery set.
   
   <cutlery set picture here>
   
   When you’re making up for the calories lost in shopping, must we add a big topping of plastic which could end up in a landfill? Instead, we recommend carrying the Rusabl Steelery Set in its suave jute pouch. The lightweight stainless steel cutlery makes it super easy to carry, clean and use the spoon, fork and straw set. What’s an add-on is that you don’t have to fuss about cleaning the cutlery either. Just store it in the waterproof pocket and clean it when you get home.
   
   Pro tip: Make sure you also carry your own Rusabl Bamboo Steel Flask with the beverage of your preference: piping hot tea or cool and refreshing lemonade!
   
   
3. Chalo, bhaiyya! Not auto-wale bhaiyya.
   In long-spread market areas we prefer to take a rickshaw around to save our stamina for shopping; but we fail to understand that it is really exhausting our planet’s capacity for burning fuel. So, instead of taking a cab or rickshaw, we recommend you use public transport or just take a good, long walk.
   
   PS: this goes for all fuel burning. Not just shopping.
   
   
4. Eco-friendly carry bags brimming with fast fashion? Oops.
   Fast fashion is fast-changing to keep up with the latest trends in fashion, right off of the runways after each fashion week. With the evolution of the internet, trends happen fast and are over even faster. This causes wasteful, impulse buying. It is not that there is a dearth of sustainable products in the fashion industry, but it is that the market share that they have acquired is quite limited. Which is why, it becomes the consumer’s responsibility to seek brands like Doodlage, Cellulose, Button Masala, etc that are eco-friendly.  Another aspect of fashion is the material that our clothes get made with. With the rise of demand for elastic clothing, most of our denims, t-shirts, and other clothes contain synthetic fibres that separate from the fabric and end up in waterways.
   
   Natural textiles like cotton, silk, khadi can be organically manufactured. In fact, cotton is even 100% biodegradable!
   
   

Oftentimes, we choose products that are sustainable but order them from aggregators with different shipment policies compared to a brand that cares about the environment. The irony of sustainable products arriving in multiple layers of plastic isn’t lost on us.  

For the same reason, making sure you buy straight from the brand is always more sustainable. Sustainable brands usually opt for shipment methods and packaging alternatives that are eco-friendly. This definitely assures that your guilty pleasure doesn’t turn into plain guilty. Better yet, there is a better chance of an entrepreneur’s good wishes being cashed out at the gates of heaven. Trust us, supporting small businesses pays off! You could even start small and give us a follow on our social media handles. We’ll wait. 

If you’re back to read this after you’ve followed us, WE LOVE YOU! And we promise you there’s more love where that came from every sustainable choice that you make. And a good place to start is your next shopping trip!