unhinged zero waste habits to STOP in 2024!

it turns out many zero waste teachings are either unnecessary or downright harmful, despite what eco influencers tell you! in part 1 of this series, we talk about a few sustainability habits + beliefs to think about leaving behind in the new year. why? so we can grow as earth people and invest our limited resources (time, money, and energy) into the things that ACTUALLY help!

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◦  DROPPS | zero waste laundry + dishwasher pods

◦  ETSY | support small makers + shop my favorites!

◦ A SIMPLE PLANET | refillable hair care

◦  FOODCYCLER by vitamix | countertop food recycler

◦ REEL TOILET PAPER | tree-free tp delivered to your door

◦  EARTHHERO | zero waste personal care, etc.

◦ MOUNTAIN ROSE HERBS | shop ethical, sustainable herbs in bulk

◦ BACK MARKET | fight e-waste with expertly refurbished tech
[use referral code 13529b6e830500dc for $10 off your purchase]

◦  PACT | earth-conscious basics

◦ SKILLSHARE | learn new creative skills

◖ SOURCES:

◖ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - can we stop being unhinged
0:31 - do-it-yourselfer beware (habit #1)
3:44 - unhealthy obsession (habit #2)
7:38 - chemophobia + cleanwashing (habit #3)
12:17 - blind faith (habit #4)
14:08 - thank you for being cool

all music in this video was written + recorded by my band, the mites

[allisonfromearth]

if you enjoyed this video stay tuned for part 2! are there any habits you thought were sustainable but later found out the opposite? how about any you’d like to stay committed to but just can’t keep up long term? share with us please!!

[susandean]

I feel as thought we have been firmly convinced that we can buy our way out of the environment crisis -stasher bags, beeswax wraps, tooth tabs, whatever. I think however that the reality is that the only way out of this disaster is for all of us to consume less of everything. Unfortunately buying less s*it is not the most popular concept.

[mushkyzajac]

DIY can produce more waste because we don't necessarily have the tools, time, or space to produce products in the most efficient manner. You bring up a very good point. Sometimes DIY is better, and sometimes it's not. We need to realize that DIY doesn't automatically mean less waste.

[insidiouschaos]

i’ve mostly given up on “zero waste” and now focus on just minimizing waste - i buy the biggest container of laundry soap i can find (minimizes plastic packaging and i dont have to buy it as often!), i try to get good quality shoes and clothes if i need new ones (especially shoes i focus on leather shoes that can be conditioned and resoled for years), instead of buying bottles of gatorade i buy the powder and use my own pitcher (the container of powder makes eight gallons which means i dont have like thirty bottles to throw away!)

and honestly, following these are also cheaper in the long run (not necessarily up front though, it’s not for everyone) - buying in bulk means you arent paying for three to four times the amount of packaging, good quality shoes and clothes dont need to be replaced nearly as often, and the gatorade powder costs as much for an 8 gallon amount as like two of the 8 pack bottles.

[chaos]

thank you for spreading the truth about cleanwashing, organic lies, and chemiphobia. the fear of "chemicals" never made sense to me after learning that TABLE SALT is a chemical compound that we put on our food all the time. That was like 6th grade lmaoooo so I dont get how people with fully developed frontal lobes are still saying things like "chemical free" and "chemicals are bad" when it makes 0 sense

[johnwise]

I was an organic farmer for decades. I don't use "organic pesticides". I grew strawberries using composted manure and cover crops for fertility. For weeds we hoed and used geese after harvest(geese don't like the taste of strawberry leaves, but love grasses, dandelions and other weeds). Insect pests were seldom a problem-I used a parasitic wasp to control the worst pest.

[janetstonerook]

I have finally given up on removing all plastic containers from my home. And I don't try to repurpose or recycle everything. Instead, i just cut down on buying stuff in the first place. Simplifying my purchases and frugal use prevents a lot of trash in the first place.

[jennaeisel]

I'm not a rocket surgeon, but I am a chemical engineer. I understand that not all lab items are bad, and not all natural items are good, Mercury is not easy to come in contact with nor arsenic in forms that hurt you unless someone did some lab stuff - so that's not natural (they at least did some garage chemistry). Point is it's not a bad rule of thumb to consider natural things to be good, and lab made things at least suspect - especially if you see the word cholor, fluoro or bromo in the ingredients! It's painful communicating health science information and advocating against legacy chemicals like PFAS and other classes as we learn about them without the knowledge that there are crunchy blogs out there and people out there who care too. It give me hope that there are some in the general population not willing to trust the PR line of the J&J's of the world and make simple products that make sense for our environment and our bodies. and pocket books sometimes. Don't be afraid of chemicals as we are all made of them, but it's not a bad idea to suspect industrial chemical companies of trying to pull a profit while disregarding human health, if a product doesn't smell right or your skin doesn't like it. This pattern of behavior has been happening for a while. Just be aware is all I'm saying.

[Meg.Radiant]

I just found your channel and YES. I have a science background and sometimes I just have to shake my head at some of the claims. Subscribed! Also, whenever someone talks about "chemicals" I always want to shout that WATER is a chemical. Just word salad to scaremonger.

[holloo]

Your body is the greatest chemistry lab on earth. It takes the food you eat, chemically deconstructs it and re shapes it into diffrent molecules so your cells can absorb then and repair the body!

[synthetic_animal]

Thank you so much for making this video series! I went hardcore zero waste back in 2017 but am coming to terms with how silly, out of touch, and harmful some of the popular zero waste practices and problematic mindsets were back then.

In the end, I don't regret it at all though— the movement really helped open my eyes to how wasteful our society is and helped me establish a new intentional way of consuming and creating. It helped me save money and buy less in general and inspired me to cook more as well as thrift most of my clothes.

But I do love how our collective mindset is shifting to a more reasonable, sustainable approach— and shifting the blame from individuals to major corporations! I'm really loving how a lot of the sustainable influencers are making videos like these reevaluating the hits and misses of the movement :)

[bpcc-b]

Yeah, when someone says it’s natural I always think so arsenic

[rainforestspirit]

I'm 99.9% sure that the miyoko's butter wrapper used to be compostable. I remember reading this on the back of the container and we would compost them in our backyard. But it isn't on the label anymore. So the influencer that you followed might have been correct when they posted the info at that time. I still use it because it is the best tasting vegan butter and doesn't contain palm oil. And yes, there are nuances to palm oil but I am tropical conservation ecologist so my view is that it is better to not buy/support palm oil since that agriculture industry destroys the rainforest (which is the most biodiverse ecosystem on land and also typically is better at storing carbon than other terrestrial ecosystems).

[julesf]

I work in net zero health policy and I just wanted to say THANK YOU. Healthcare emissions are HUGE and we need to prevent people from coming to hospital with melanomas or dental issues because they're scared of using toothpaste or sunscreen because it's damaging to the environment. Look after yourself, it will reduce emissions in the long run.

[linzertorte]

I was listening to an interview with Bea Johnson and she suggested reusing condoms and I was like, oh, this is wacky territory…

[tiskihuora]

I used to be a hardcore hippie and did a lot of unhinged stuff, including:
- using soap nuts/berries (so basically same as washing my clothes with plain water)
- not using spf and then using super expensive mineral one that irritated my skin
- not using toothpaste for many years and then using only fluoride-free 🙃bc third eye or smth and now I have zillion cavities
- not using shower gel or shampoo etc etc basically just using water and maybe soap if I had visibly dirty hands or feet
- not using deodorant, only coconut oil (luckily I don't sweat that much)
- coconut oil for face and body even though it worsened my acne and dry skin (bc plain oil does not hydrate your skin)
- so much essential oils, esp tea tree and pathcouli
- using cocoa powder and rye flour as dry shampoo (didn't work)
- drinking spirulina every freaking day thinking it would cure my anemia ( it didn't)
- not using pain killers, birth control pills etc bc scary big pharma chemicals
- instead using high doses of super foods like ashwagandha, golden root etc which triggered a manic episode
Aaand so much more... Must´ve smelled pretty good back then 💩

[hollyhock.and.lavender]

I’m glad that you mentioned that essential oils generally are safe, but can be misused. I use lavender oil in my laundry to keep mildew smell from forming when I hang dry stuff or…forget it in the wash for like an entire day. Works like a charm, no issue. I also use it as a bug repellant (along with cedar wood oil) and I’ve only had a tick once! They’re also anti bacterial, anti fungal, anti microbial, etc (depending on the kind) so they can be good for cleaning.

But like…wtf are people doing putting them in FOOD. Not diluting them enough, not doing skin patch tests, using them on their cats and dogs with only as much info as the doTerra rep gave them, putting them in soft mucous membranes, I just can not. People know better than to eat dish soap or bathe in bleach but they’ll eat borax and put tea tree oil on their dog and think it’ll be fine.

I’m a low chemical girlie. Absolutely on the crunchier side. But like…come on… Also attempting herbal medicine but using essential oils instead of following instructions and using raw plants…You can get seriously sick and in some cases worse.

[pyewacketkitty]

Thank you so much for sharing this info. My dad is a PhD chemist, so we roll our eyes a lot at all the hippie dippie claims and outright lies made by companies nowadays just trying to make money off of ignorance with good intentions. Actually knowing what's what does far more good.

[ceciliagarcia]

I follow my grandmother`s zero waste habits, and I also use the clothes she and my aunts gave me, as well as kitchenware they used for years and years and still work perfectly fine, etc etc.

[holloo]

Synthesised versions of natural things are usually quite a but safer than their natural counterparts because they are much more consistent. Less variability equals more consistent results.