Sustainability vs. Life in Plastic
How I started
Growth No.8 Brooch
For those of you who are familiar with my work, you will have noticed my focus on plastic in the latest collections ((In)organic Growth, Life in Plastic - Not Fantastic, Plastic Reef, Would you like a bag?). You might even say that I developed a bit of an obsession with it. In a way, I guess that is true, because I spend a lot of time thinking about the ways in which I can use it to make pieces of jewellery that are aesthetically pleasing and original (something that is very important to me). When approaching such a popular subject, I expected a lot of artists to have used plastic in many different ways, and while I never intend to copy anyone, the chances of that happening accidentally are higher than usual. Therefore, I also spent a lot of time researching any ideas or techniques that I wanted to use and making sure that someone else hasn’t done before. But enough about this, I might write on this subject in a future post. Moving on to a subject that has been written about many times: sustainability. I’m not planning to say the same things all over again, there are lots of articles out there for you to read, but what I will do is tell you about what I am doing in the hope that it will inspire you to follow my example.
How much plastic is in the world
Unfortunately, I am not one to live waste free, although I wish I was able to fit all of the non-recyclable waste produced in a year in a jar (much like these people). In this day and age, when everything, from peeled onions to soap, comes wrapped in plastic, it’s very hard to avoid the ‘enemy’. One thing I want to make clear from the beginning is that I am not a radicalist; I am not saying that we should ban all plastic immediately. Some plastic is necessary in certain circumstances, and I believe that if we only used plastic when we absolutely had to, we could actually recycle all of it, and not just a very small percentage of it. To quote The United Nations Environment Programme: Only 9% of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled. About 12% has been incinerated, while the rest — 79% — has accumulated in landfills, dumps or the natural environment. (read more here).
The point that I’m trying to make is to say no to plastic as much and as often as you can. It might sound hard, but it’s easier than you think! Start with the easiest things and go from there - it worked for me. Just like anything, getting out of your comfort zone can be daunting, but baby steps will get you there. Have a look at two of the things I did:
1. Shopping bags
Mauve & Rose Red Links Earrings
First things first: shopping bags - possibly the easiest change to make. With all the tote bags that are being given away for free, I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t have at least one hanging from the back of their door. Admittedly, they might not be the best quality (more on that later), but it can be a start - fold it up and have it with you at all times. That way, whenever you go shopping and the cashier asks you 'Would you like a bag?' you can say 'no, thank you, I have my own'. You won't believe how good that feels!
You can choose to buy better quality bags, that are longer lasting or even make your own. Everyone knows how sustainable reusable bags are supposed to be, but the truth is 'cotton tote bags require 327 uses' in order to be carbon neutral. Therefore, even the free totes you get at events are bad for the environment, because they will break before getting enough uses out of them - so choose wisely.
Throughout my work, I am trying to reuse as many single-use plastic bags as I can, to stop them from ending up in a landfill. For example these earrings.
2. Wrap-free: no single use plastic
Ring 4,5 x 3,2 x 1,7 cm Size M/N (UK) Sea Shell, Upcycled Plastic Bag
Another thing that is easy to change in your lifestyle is to buy loose produce. Not everything is available to buy with no package, but most fruits and vegetables are. I either reuse paper bags that I have from various shops, or use small string bags when I buy potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, oranges, bananas, apples and anything else that doesn't need to be in a plastic bag or net. I always look around and choose the loose produce rather than the pre-packaged ones. I've even seen peeled onions wrapped in a plastic bag?! Seriously, it takes 2 seconds to peel an onion, why would you buy that? If we'd all make this small change, the demand for pre-packaged fruit & veg would go down and *ideally* we'd only be able to buy loose produce.
Have a look at the pieces from ‘Would you like bag?’ collection to see how I used plastic packaging, including fruit/veg nets :)
Get inspired
I believe that starting with these two changes is a good beginning into a more sustainable life. There are lots of companies, artists and social media accounts that have adopted the same concept, and I'll leave you with a list of a few of the ones I follow:
Charlie Feist (from which I also have a backpack)
Whose work do you follow on social media? What changes have you made or you plan to make in your life towards a greener life? Let me know in the comments below.
‘Til next time,
Yours truly,
Sabina
P.S. Any suggestions of subjects you’d like to know more about are welcome! Let me know in the comments below. x