You may have come across the 3 Rs of sustainability – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – or even the 7 Rs (or even 9 Rs) of sustainability (see our previous blog on this). We will be examining these in a little more detail over the next few tips.

Rethink

We are surrounded by people trying to persuade us to buy more, to consume more. We might even work in a job where we are employed to do this! We live on a finite planet so we cannot keep consuming at the level we do, let alone increase our levels of consumption.

Before we are persuaded to buy something else we need to stop and think! Here are some questions we might ask ourselves:

  • Do I need it?
  • Do I really need it or am I just wanting it because of an advert, because someone else has it or someone else is pressuring me into getting it?
  • Is there too much packaging?
  • If I need it, is there a better alternative made more sustainably or with less packaging or materials.
  • Does someone I know have one and can share it with me?

Rethinking our habits around consumption can improve the world in many ways including reducing our environmental impact and building a sharing community.

Stop and Think!