It's not about telling people what they should do because that's unhelpful; you never know someone's personal circumstances. My website, livinglightlyinireland.com, is full of tips for living sustainably and I try to back it up with evidence from journal articles and government reports. I want people to think differently about how they live. People are still looking to buy "stuff". Instead of "shopping their wardrobe" or borrowing from friends, they are buying from eco-friendly clothing brands. They buy books instead of going to the library. The rate of consumption in Ireland is just crazy. The most sustainable garment is the one you already have, or the one you borrow from a friend or one you buy from a charity shop. And charity shops are starting to curate and edit their stock to make it more of an enjoyable shopping experience.
There’s a difference between the low-hanging fruit that will have small gains, and the low-hanging fruit that will make a big difference. My website lists a lot of those low-hanging gains, for example, switching to the Ecosia browser instead of Google means the advertising revenue your browsing brings in will be used to plant trees instead of going to Google. That’s a small thing to do, it doesn’t cost you any money or time. Will it make a huge impact? Probably not as much as you reducing the number of flights you take a year. But sometimes even something small like bringing your reusable cup to the coffee place can give you the motivation to tackle some of the bigger changes.
At a minimum people should try to switch to green energy, it doesn’t cost more and it is generally quite easily done. We should all try to use public transport as much as possible but that’s not an option for everyone.
If people are looking for some general rules of thumb, I always say “the three Fs” – fuel, food and fashion. These will have a much bigger impact. But some days we are only able for the low-hanging fruit.
Elaine Butler, founder Living Lightly in Ireland