/ot/ - off-topic

My biggest weakness was clothes and lately I've tried to really cut back on any new purchases. I repair and alter my clothes myself if it can be done simply and I'll take it to a tailor if not. I try to buy more second hand stuff now too so I don't feel like I'm contributing to the fast fashion industry.

Repurposing old clothes is hard though, especially things like tights. At this point I throw out old or damaged-beyond repair stuff when I really wish I could turn them into something else.

i dont eat animal products. i bike or walk instead of driving because i live in a capital city so its easy af to get around. i don’t shop online. i buy all my clothes from secondhand stores, anything that wasn’t was a gift. i recycle everything i possibly can and keep an infographic from my country’s guidelines to see what i can’t recycle. i make things out of recycled materials- especially tons of bird feeders and flower pots. i like using thick plastic drink bottles to make the bird feeders, it works really well.

also have a compost bin and this year i’m planting a few thousand trees on my dad’s property, and then we’re setting up an apiary within the next 5 years. i plant native flowers every year to keep bees in my garden, my neighbour has natural milkweed under his deck so every year we are a hub for monarch breeding and cocooning. incredible to watch.

eventually i want to expand on these things and look into solar energy for my home and for my future home, i would love geothermal heating.

>>407812
samefag from above but i just wanted to suggest that if you have animals, you can cut up an old tee shirt and stuff it with the old tights (after you hand wash them in the sink to get any dirt out) and sew it into a little pillow for them!

>>407824
Aw, this is a cute idea, anon! Thanks!

ive been trying to stop supporting all the big companies like amazon, nestle, etc. by not buying from them, but its surprisingly hard, since theyre everywhere, especially for books amazon often has the lesser known ones that i cant find anywhere else. i just try to buy as many as i can second hand from other stores.

for food, i try to stick to food that has been produced in my own country, or in one of the neighbouring countries to reduce food miles. i have problems with anaemia so i dont think ill be giving up meat as plant based iron doesnt get absorbed as well, but i dont eat much meat anyways maybe once a week at most.

i stick to public transportation and walking to get around, although i guess ive always done that, i feel like buses, trams, metros and walking feel a lot safer as well as more environmentally friendly than cars. ive considered getting a bike but knowing how drivers are in my country thats probably not the safest option.

its a bit shit that nothing i personally do will have a meaningful impact though.

Great thread idea anon.

I eat less meat and the meat I do eat is either poultry or fish once in a while. I'm a huge propagator of the zero waste movement but I also think that as a movement it is very misunderstood. People think being more ZW means being rich and able to afford sustainable brands but most of what ZW consists of is what people did back in the day, especially during the Great Depression.

I'm not talking full ascetic monk mode but cooking your own meals, bringing your own containers for things, bringing a reusable bag for groceries etc. Thrifting is great, but using what you already have is even better. A lot of people online think they need to have a "starter kit" and start ordering metal straws online and glass tupperware but the plastic tupperware you have is perfectly fine. It's zero waste, not zero plastic. By throwing something away and replacing it with a plastic free alternative if it is still good to use and ordering zero waste supplies online, you're defeating the purpose.

There's a lot of resources online, some are great (most notably Bea Johnson) but some of them can be rubbish and unsafe like homemade baking soda toothpaste. A modern human being can never become truly zero waste, it's just a name. The important thing is to get as close as you personally can given your circumstances. If you want to know more about something maybe I can help too, if you like.

Anyway, I've been down this rabbit hole for 3 years now and it's a lot easier than in the beginning when I was completely lost. The best thing is, nobody really notices until I tell them how much I make vs how much I spend and why. People think you are immediately going to become some musty hippie but this isn't the case.

I'm not completely year's-worth-of-trash-in-one-jar good yet (mine would be full in about 2 months), but this is as good as it gets for a student on a budget in a small northern country with no bulk stores or own food production. The best thing is, it's a ridiculously cheap lifestyle and I've saved a ton of money. Prices here are pretty high so this is a personal achievement of sorts. I also started a makeshift greenhouse garden on my balcony and it's a ton of fun! And I've made friends with local supermarket workers who aren't used to people talking to them, they always give me discounts for bringing my own containers and especially the ladies are really supportive.

>>407812
You can turn them into tawashis (reusable cloth kitchen sponges)! They're pretty good for scrubbing because of their ribbed texture.

>>407846
>its a bit shit that nothing i personally do will have a meaningful impact though.

I think a little change is better than no change. You should be proud of yourself, anon! Hopefully as moreand more people become aware the small changes will become bigger.

>>407849
>A modern human being can never become truly zero waste, it's just a name. The important thing is to get as close as you personally can given your circumstances

I think this is so important to remember. People put themselves down for not being able to be fully green but practically nobody is. The important thing is to do what you can.

I've started growing food like tomatoes, raspberries and strawberries. It's not much but I figure it's better than nothing, especially since these are the fruits I like that ALWAYS come in plastic tubs at my supermarket. All the others, like bananas, oranges and apples, I can buy without plastic.

I also switched to bamboo toohtbrushes. I bought them in bulk so it actually worked out cheaper than if I'd stuck with plastic toothbrushes. I highly recommend it! I even went to the dentist for a checkup after a few months of using them because I wanted to make sure they were okay since the bristles were softer but the dentist said my teeth are still doing great. No plaque or anything if anybody is worried about it.

Single use water bottles are out of my life. It is made of plastic but I intend on using it forever so it's better than buying water bottles from the store. I live in a country where the tap water is drinkable so I'm having no issues so far.

I use reusable cotton pads, bamboo cotton buds and a konjac sponge for skincare.

One thing I'm annoyed about is period care. I have really heavy periods so I know I'm contributing horribly on that front. I bought a cup and some period panties but I'm really struggling with the cup. Does anybody else use one? Any brand recs? I use lunette right now.

>>407852
There's already been huge changes. There are so many stores that sell in bulk, some chains are banning plastic wrapping for fresh produce (Albert Heijn in the Netherlands for example, Carrefour, many stores in SEA…). People are listening. Adidas is selling shoes made out of recycled ocean plastic. Our Planet is one of the most watched documentaries ever thanks to Netflix.
But one thing you'll notice is that all of these things businesses do start like this in the news: "X is trialing…" "Y is experimenting with…" "Z will start to offer a sustainable alternative…" they're doing it not because they care but because they are scared for the bottom line, the same reason we were pushed to buy disposable products in the first place (steady stream of profit). That's why it's important to keep pushing further, because if it's a shit product they'll just say "we tried that and people didn't buy it so not our fault".

>>407856
I’ve used the diva cup for several years without any problems! I’d literally recommend them to anyone. I love them because you can even wear them on those “wait is my period going to start today?” days without suffering from the awful gross tampon dryness. a lot of people say there’s a learning curve to insertion but I’ve never had any issues with leaks/following the directions.

I haven’t tried other bands (besides a disposable cup brand) before because diva was always the biggest cup maker you heard about but you couldn’t pay me to go back to tampons.

What brands do what >>407857 said Adidas does and makes clothes from recycled materials? It's always nice to know where to go when you wanna buy something sustainable.

I know H&M and Monki allow you to recycle your clothes in their stores, even if they weren't purchased from there, and they use those to make their sustainable fashion. I like seeing the rise of recycled clothing and sustainable materials in high street stores. I'm trying not to buy new stuff but I do like that there is somewhere to take my unwearable, undonatable clothes.

>>407864
Thank you, I'll check them out.

>>407868
I get a lot of stuff from Reformation. They use deadstock and repurpose vintage clothes. I'm sure if you google you can find a list of sustainable brands

I buy almost all my clothing second hand and attempt to mend or alter anything that tears or frays. I follow a great subreddit called r/visiblemending, would really recommend giving it a browse. It's about using the mending process to tranform your piece, rather than trying to hide the mend. Pic related. I think it's gorgeous.

Other than that, I never buy single use plastic bottles or bags, I try to bring packed lunches and my own cutlery when I'm at work rather than buying and using up takeaway plastics, I don't use make up or shaving equip, take short showers, use reusable menstrual products. I also barely eat any meat or dairy and try to cook from whole foods.

My green failures: I drive a lot. I live in a country with shit public transport and shit infastructure but I love the outdoors and drive a lot to different places for hikes and things. I have a small car with a small petrol engine but I know it's not great.

Thank you for this thread! What a wonderful idea.
I work on living greener but I'm not rushing it. I live a vegan life-style with occasional fuck-ups which I try to cease (for myself, too).
Something I could work on is the amount of plastic in my life. It fluctuates but I can work on that. Like, I can definitely buy more lose potatos and stuff because that works perfectly for me.
I also often go for glass containers which I still consider better than plastic.
Something that I also wanna reduce is the buying of palm oil as an ingredient. It really doesn't feel right anymore for me to do it but I occasionally do.
I do feel confident in a lot of organic products although that is a complicated topic, too
I feel pretty confident about successfully avoiding Nestlé and Coca Cola products.
I can also cut down on fast fashion because I like to thrift and go to clothes trades

I'm balancing improving my lifestyle and not stressing it and micro-managing when it just ends in pain.

It also helps to meet people with similar interests because it makes life and the emotional challenges of the modern world 1000000 times easier

Honestly, girls, take it easy. Plan for the long run and don't beat yourself up

Ooh I've been wanting a thread like this! And thanks to contributing anons for all these suggestions.

I'm already car free, line drying clothes, buying everything secondhand, composting, and using less disposables, but still building my reusables collection. I cut red meat out of my diet but most bean-products make me gag so I don't know if I'll ever be able to go full veggie. I also take long showers (OCD) but I'm trying to work on that.

My big problem is my husband and his family. They're all heavy fuel burners and just don't see excess the way I do. Right now we live 3 miles from the closest bus stop/grocery and I make the trip two days a week, but his parents are constantly pressuring me about how I need to get a license. On top of that my husband's been dropping hints that he wants to move to an even more rural area, which would put a hard stop to my public transport days. It just sucks. Environmentalism is the only strong conviction I have and I hate that even the people closest to me don't understand that.

>>407849
Does baking soda toothpaste not work? I was hoping to try it out.

>>408105
It does work but iirc it strips down your enamel, which you really don't want.

I like this idea for a thread! Recently just switched out all rat poisons for traps. It's not as pleasant for me to deal with, but I just did some research and realized that the deceased owl I found that I assumed was killed by a crow had actually died from consuming a poisoned mouse. It's crazy to see how insanely common this is with all birds of prey

>>408107
nta but doesn't that mean it doesn't work? if you strip your enamel you'll get cavities more quickly.

This thread inspires me to be better! I already don't eat animal products, take public transit, buy second hand clothing.

I buy a lot of fruit/veggies in plastic because I love the convenience of having everything chopped up for me lol but I will suck it up and cut my own veg. I want to compost more too.

This thread also put diva cups etc. back on my radar. I have been meaning to try one out.

>>408126
If you prefer your fruits and veggies chopped up, you can take a reusable tub to a salad bar/supermarket deli. They're generally okay with you filling up your tub instead of one of theirs as long as it's of a similar size. You just have to ask them first. I do this for lunchtime convenience. I have a tub that is about the size of one of their medium salad tubs but I pay for a large salad tub to avoid any complaints. It's a bit more expsnive but pre-prepared stuff always is.

>>408105
If you're looking for a toothpaste in a different tube or you're after a fluoride-free alternative, Euthymol is a pretty popular choice.

>>408105
related to this, does anyone have advice/insights on being car-free?

i don't have my license and because i'm currently in university, i rarely need to drive too far/can walk to the store, school, etc., or just use public transport.

i live in the united states though, so would being car-free my whole life work out? i know that in other countries it's easier but things are a lot more spread out here, and it's seen as really strange not to have your license. is it unrealistic of me to be like this?

>>408136
nope it’s not unrealistic at all. but it’s not for everyone. as long as you live in a large enough area so you’re not forced to be going huge distances you’ll be fine. judging by your post i wouldn’t worry about that.

the other big issue though is if your job requires a license or for you to bring your own tools and such, that can get iffy. but i don’t have a license either and i’m doing just fine.

>>408136
also samefagging to add i actually know a few people through my parents in their 50s+ who don’t drive at all and they’ve saved so much fucking money it’s sickening. sometimes random people are dicks about it but who cares tbh

I've recently been inspired to be more eco-friendly. I've been trying to cut down on impulse spending as well as making the most of what I already own. I'm also getting used to not using single-use plastics. I have to admit, it's been a very hard transition for me, mainly because I live with my family who can't really be bothered with green living and my friends dont really care much either. In fact, I havent really brought this up with my friends because Im afraid they'll see me as a do-gooder and bandwagoner, even though I've come to care greatly about this subject. Idk I've just found it difficult in ways I didn't expect. But it's not going to keep me from trying!!

>>408140
If you live in a walking city it's easier but if you live in a city where it's hard to walk everywhere it becomes kind of a hinderance. My dads mom spent her childhood and adolescence in nyc, she never got a DL until she was in her 40s. I'd live in a city that isn't hellishly expensive tho, unlike nyc

>>408155
Good choice, don't let them bog you down. Whether or not they accept what you're doing won't make your actions any worse or better. Good luck anon!!

>>408136

I can only speak for one region, but I'm born and raised in the Boston area and I'm not the only one in my family who's lived her life without a license. I'm not adverse to learning someday, but I just really haven't needed it. When I want to get around a little further (getting to the beach in the summer, apple picking in the winter, fun travel stuff) I use the commuter rail or Peter Pan buses, and with a little planning for walking or calling a cab/rideshare if necessary, I find that I can live a life that never feels impeded.

>>408136
AYRT and it's absolutely doable if you're willing to sacrifice some comforts.

Urban areas aren't a problem for public transport. Suburbs can have fairly decent bus systems but sometimes the timetables are hard to work with, like buses that only come once an hour or aren't running between 9pm and 6am. You can choose to limit your housing options to places that are close to work/shopping/good bus lines but they might be harder to come by or be in bad neighborhoods. I find some frequent lines that go through sketchy areas areas also go through nicer neighborhoods further down the route. Also practically every bus line passes some kind of food store so you don't necessarily need to live close to a one, just near a line that eventually takes you to one.

It gets hard to do some social things, and anything related to transporting pets or furniture might mean calling in a favor or using a ride share service.

And most people are accommodating. There might be dicks but generally the more self-reliant you are, the more people are willing to meet you halfway. Hell, I've had bosses change my schedule without me saying anything as soon as they found out I didn't have a car.

I dont trow away trash since i was 7 years old, i ALWAYS put it in the trash can (if there are reciclable ones, even better). I also use mostly glass, im surprised at how many things are made from plastic and i avoid buying it at all, i try my best to re-use/mend things and clothes too (it's also fun because i like a lot tailoring).

I only turn on lights/electronics/anything if a really need it, then i just turn them off inmediately (My family helps me out with this which is pretty good)

Im kinda low-maintenance, so i dont buy almost anything outside essentials. I buy veggies and fruits directly from farmers (which is normal in my country) and i don't use plastic bags.

As for clothes, im used to buy from second hand stores and i don't really care about brands, with good taste and creativity you can manage to create good outfit combinations and people will not even notice (i also use my moms 90's clothes because they're ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ as fuck lmao). I recently discovered a lot of enviroment-friendly brands that make clothes and accesories from recycled materials like >>407877 and im all for it!! there's something very special on wearing an accesory or a dress made with the enviroment on mind.

I didn't like meat since the first day i tasted it, it's just not my thing and will never be, i pretty much prefer to eat veggies/fruits because i like their taste/texture more, its convenient too because my family has an story of high cholesterol/obesity/heart attacks.

I bathe once a day, i know anons will think is gross but i mostly stay at my home doing nothing and climate here is currently cold so i dont sweat that much (also we cant waste that much water).

I think my green failures are that i sometimes use too much toilet paper and wash a lot my hands because ocd, but im trying to overcome it, it deeply embarasses me.

I know our planet is kinda (almost absolutely) fucked right now, but im happy i don't contribute to it anymore and i do my best to help, if nothing works and we finally die then yikes but at least i tried.

>>407846
Try thriftbooks.com for used books. Even if they don't have it in, they might have a listing for it and you can put it on a wishlist for when a copy comes in. And, of course, there's always Ebay. I tend to get a lot of my book second hand too, simply because it's cheaper.

As for me, I'm not nearly as environmentally conscious as I wish I was. I live in the boonies and public transport is pretty hard to get in my area, so a car is needed. I do buy clothes second hand on occasion and have been given clothes, which helps, not to mention i rarely buy new clothes period. But yeah, on the whole, I'm still more wasteful than I want to be.

I have noticed a shitload of solar panel fields have gone up in my area in the last couple of years though, which is pretty cool. Apparently we're the second state with solar power, behind California. One of my neighbors has solar panels on their house too, which is neat to see.

Nice read, talks about why even biodegradable plastic is not so good after all. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-solutions-waste-pollution/

people on twitter who bitch about the environment and make environmental friendly tweets are the same type of people to throw they mcdonalds bag out the window on the express way. prove me wrong.

sorry for necro, but does anyone else have trouble trusting mainstream environmental activism. a lot of the things people were screeching about when i was a kid, like the save the rainforest thing for example, turned out to be bullshit and did more harm to the environment than good (afaik).

im always extremely sceptical about people screeching about things like having fewer children, or going vegan, because it sounds like the same type of bullshit "activism" as before. i think its just trying to wrongly put the blame on people, especially poor 2nd/3rd world people.

>>441992
If you think the recommendations to go vegan, have fewer children, buy less fast fashion or live a less vastly overconsumptive lifestyle in whatever manner you want to pick today ever apply to anyone in developing countries then you haven't been listening properly.

>>441992
Being old enough (in my 30s) to remember the rainforest hysteria of the mid 90's I'm definitely jaded by it and skeptical of the current activism. It was a money printing machine under the guise of environmental activism back then, I have the same thoughts about the current one.

Some time this year i was going about to leave Wal-Mart when this person opened up there car door while driving along the parking lot and just threw out their trash from their food and drinks. I gestured at them and then they parked a few cars down from us. I was pissed and grabbed their shit and put it back on top of their car. I know it would have been smarter to throw it away for them but impulsive actions y'know. Apparently they stayed inside the entrance of Wal-Mart just to fucking watch me like a bunch of creeps and came back out and were recording my boyfriends car and shouting some shit i couldn't hear. I thought it was pretty funny they were recording me though, considering they are the ones that littered and i didn't even do anything wrong? Obviously they realized it was wrong in the first place if they were paranoid enough to see what i would do.

I can't stand littering. I don't even know when i became environmentally conscious, I used to be not so great at it but then something switched one day and became the person who picks up other peoples trash and will nag at people who throw their cigarette butts out the car. People tell me it's Darwinism if an animal is stupid enough to eat trash, and no it is really not and why is it so fucking hard to do the right thing and throw away your waste? To recycle? And maybe even compost?

Ugh I swear typing this got me a little worked up, haha

>>442006
Have you by any chance watched Planet Earth 2? In it there is a scene where they are filming an animal in a rainforest, and in the behind the scenes episode there is an aerial view of the patch of forest. It shows how much of it disappeared in the time they filmed the shots for those scenes, and almost none of it was left. All taken over by agriculture. It seems that is the biggest threats our forests face besides dozing them down due to needing more living space.

Or maybe I am not understanding correctly?? I'm taking it that you mean the rainforests aren't in imminent danger? It's not just the forests but every animal in it that risks extinction. But please correct me if I've read this the wrong way and maybe explain please!

>>442024
what i mean is the rainforest campaigns i remember were focused on fires or something like that, and i remember all these classes we had in primary school on how cute little animals are dying and that the forest fires need to be stopped, but as it turned out the forest actually needs the fires in order to survive, something about how it releases nutrients in the grounds, and the efforts to stop it actually led to more of it being destroyed.

maybe im misremembering or im retarded but idk. i distinctly remember learning this in geography.

>>442032
Burning land is to make pasture land for farmers. They have to make the soil suitable for their needs.

>>442006
Yeah and people were also crying about Nestlé but now nobody is. Doesn't mean the problem isn't there, just means that people either lost interest due to being bombarded by other inane shit or someone was using it to make money. Nestle is still alive and well bottling taxpayers' tap water and profiting off of droughts and pollution just like back then.

I barely see any insects flying around anymore compared to my childhood. I remember seeing butterflies quite often but now I don't even remember the last time I've seen one.

>>513817
It's no secret insect populations are down I believe. However it depends on what area you live in as well probably. I live in an urban area but a forest starts right behind my house so I see more butterflies than ever now.
I remember seeing an article about people noticing less trouble with insect splatter on their windshield which is probably correlated with less insects.

>>442018
very late reply, but sometimes when I'm walking in my city, I'll usually see men in suits throw their cigarettes on the street while walking. I wish I had the balls to pick up the butt that they didn't even put out and just smear it onto their suits or grab their face and shove it into their eyes. I already hate smokers for just stinking up the air around me, being inconsiderate assholes who litter too is just the cherry on top.

>>513853
I'm living in a central european country with lots of agriculture, and the decrease of insects in the past few years is so obvious it's pretty scary.
no surprise tho, since most of the landscapes are insecticide soaked monoculture fields without any wild spots. some farmers tend to have 'green areas' inbetween their fields, but they're mostly so tiny it's a joke.
Some people I know have an industrial canola plant next to their property, and there isn't growing or living ANYTHING in between the canola plants.nothing. no mosses or tiny weeds or whatever stubburn small plants who normally always grow somewhere inbetween.
since there have been bans on a few specific pesticides, the only plant other than canola which survives there now is a bit of wild chamomille.

>>514263
addition, this is a bit of a rant:
Farmers are'nt getting any support from the government in terms of changeing their agriculture towards being more sustainable for the environment.
Lots of them can't even afford to fulfill the bureaucratic requirements to be certified as an organic farm even if they wanted to. (not that the state of 'organic' solves all those problems but insects and soil fertility are key factors for a working ecosystem).
For a wealthy country, with the resources to improve or even secure their sustainability to not fuck up your ecosystem permanently which you're absolutely dependent on, this is literally retarded.

Some /ot/ threads are still open, others are closed. Why though? what happened?

Wtf why is everything locked???