You have certainly heard of the popular zero waste trend recently, which, translated from English, means "no trash." What does zero waste mean? Simply put, it is a concept based on the idea that one should use as few products as possible that cause environmental pollution. The most popular and official definition of Zero Waste is the one proposed by the Zero Waste International Alliance, and it reads as follows:
Zero Waste is an ethical, economical, efficient, and visionary goal to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use. Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources, and not burn or bury them. Implementing Zero Waste will eliminate all discharges to land, water, or air that are a threat to planetary, human, animal, or plant health.
Is such an attitude even possible? Are we capable of imposing such rigor on ourselves? It can certainly be developed. However, at ANSIN, we remain slightly more flexible on this matter—after all, no one is perfect, and we allow ourselves space for mistakes. We are definitely much closer to the less waste philosophy. In our opinion, it is worth—as with everything—starting with small steps. Who knows, maybe one day we will manage to reach the ZERO level? If you are at the beginning of your journey, feel free to use our zero waste ideas and start by changing a few habits, which we describe below.
1. Reduce plastic in your life
How to reduce plastic? It is enough to forgo plastic bags while shopping and choose products without packaging. You can also use reusable cloth bags or pouches to pack your products (you can increasingly find ones made from repurposed curtains). Pay special attention to vegetables and fruit—this type of food is often packed in extra plastic. Be sure to choose the version without it during your next shopping trip.
2. Your own bottle or cup? Yes!
Did you know that in many cafes, you can order your favorite coffee in your own cup? Moreover, many of these places reward such orders with an extra discount. Living without plastic is good for the planet and for your wallet. With this point, we would also like to encourage you to use reusable bottles—simply fill it with water before leaving the house and keep it with you at all times. In this way, you will save money again, as well as space, use less plastic, and you will never have to lug cases of water from one place to another again.
3. Make shopping lists and plan your menu in advance
Do you like to plan? We know that not everyone is a fan of writing out meal schedules and preparing detailed shopping lists. That's okay—you don't have to plan your menu a week or more in advance right away. Even 2-3 days is enough. This way, you can be sure that you won't waste any food. Before your planned shopping trip, we recommend checking your fridge, cupboards, and freezer thoroughly to avoid buying unnecessary products that you might already have in your kitchen.
4. Sort your waste
The less waste philosophy and zero waste say that it is very important to remember to sort waste properly due to its subsequent fate. Some groups of trash can be reused in the cycle through the recycling process, and here we can make it much easier. To do this, be sure to check what sorting rules apply in your area. It is worth it for all household members to know them. Initially, it seems difficult, so print out a cheat sheet and hang it in a visible place near your trash bins.
5. Buy less, but better
And here you are probably wondering: "And a fashion brand is writing this?". Yes! At ANSIN, we prioritize quality first. Thanks to responsible production and choosing materials from the best sources, by shopping at ANSIN, you can be sure that you are choosing a product for a longer time. In our brand, we additionally focus on eco-friendly materials, e.g., TENCEL™ or micromodal™. Thanks to this, we not only limit the microplastics ending up in the water but also make your skin breathe better. We wrote more about materials and their properties HERE. When creating ANSIN t-shirts, we also gave up any non-ecological forms of product packaging because we want to support living without plastic. We ship them in solid and compact cardboard boxes with fully biodegradable filling, so you can receive the package intact and not worry about generating extra trash. Start with small steps, limit buying clothes only to those you wear, avoid impulsive purchases, and take care of your clothes.
Taking care of the environment is currently trendy, and we are very happy that we have started moving in such categories. Let's take care of our planet by acting responsibly. The impact of the clothing industry on the environment and ecology are very important; we will certainly mention this on the blog many more times. However, we encourage you to make small changes right now. Start with our 5 points first! Be sure to let us know in the comments how you feel about this issue and how, in your opinion, we should take care of the environment. We are curious about what stage you are currently at!
Patrycja from ANSIN
