Why a sustainable mindset can save the planet?
An intention is the starting point of a process. It is a given that intention manifests once awareness dawns. The end result, of course, is the desired action. It is this cycle which is at the root of earmarking awareness days as a means to focus on the issues needing collective efforts . Celebrating 18 th March as World Recycling Day highlights the need to commit to it as a practice. The need to save planet from the catastrophic consequences of climate change has brought the focus back on recycling. ‘Back’ because, not so long ago, just half a century back, before society got steeped in consumerism, recycling was the way of life.
The culture of ‘use and throw’ can be said to be an off-shoot of Industrial Revolution. The easy and faster production of cheap mass produced goods made it easier for the populace to part with the replaceable belongings. The disposability of goods also dictated the next component in the loop- a lower quality good, as in this case the product was supposed to be single-use or limited use. As with any global trend, the “throw away” culture also caught on and the loyal bastions of “retention and permanent- use school” sordidly looked on as the consumerism began to rule the roost. That this habit extrapolated into the present dire straits of environment is an easy conjecture. Now we are at that stage of planetary evolution that if we do not collectively begin the subtracting of unnecessary consumer goods from our lives, as an exact opposite process of bit by bit adding up of disposables we indulged in for last half a century, the planet may choke to its end.
The sustainability mantra has now made inroads in all industries, literature, public policies, and even common folk’s homes. Just as it became fashionable to buy and buy again in throw away society, it is now an in thing to think sustainable. Given the precedence and documented evidence of sustainable culture practiced in all past civilisations of the world, going back to it should not be so hard. The only hitch to jumping on this bandwagon for individuals would be increasingly felt shortage of time to make decisions and take actions which ‘being sustainable’ involves; for enterprises , it would be the cost factor it entails, at least in initial phases; for governments, it would be letting go of immediate gains the consumerism translates into; and for societies, it would be overcoming petty fragmentation to dedicate itself to a collective cause. Despite, how humongous it seems, once set in action the cause has found its way and has snowballed into movements shaping the social psyche in many geographic zones.
Industries like hospitality, fashion and construction ( food, clothing and shelter at the core) find that being sustainable is in vogue but it is an expensive proposition to choose. Organic farm to table, organic crop to garment and green homes with reduced carbon footprint are gaining currency but only with the well-off population. Gen Z, millennials, the very ones who got exposed to the need for sustainability through the education imparted in schools, are the most enthusiastic takers.
Still, as yet, we are not at that stage that being sustainable has brought down consumption. At the most, it has translated into conscious choices of picking something over the other. At the very basic level of reversing the climate change cycle, what will make the most impact, is the practice of reducing consumption. Reduce, Reuse and then Recycle is the correct sequence of choices one should opt for. At this stage of mindset change, most societies are just getting into the habit of recycling. So may be the reversing of sequence- from recycling to reusing to reducing - may get us there now. The concept of ‘Refuse’, refusing anything that is unnecessary, unethical and unsustainable may shorten the aforementioned sequence. Whatever be the way, it’s the persistent individual and collective choice that will get us there. A safe zone for Planet Earth.