Five eco-friendly habits that are basically just money pits
The number of people who are trying to make environmentally friendly choices, who are willing to change their consumption habits and take more conscious steps, is increasing day by day, when the effects of climate change are visible, even catching our eyes due to the devastating effects it causes. This is great! However, misunderstanding of ecological life or choosing it for the wrong reasons such as "popular and cool" can create the perception that it is expensive and difficult to make ecological choices. However, when these misunderstandings are cleared, ecological life is good not only for our planet but also for our pockets.
Let's take a look at these five habits, which have become widespread with the popularization of ecological life, but do more harm to our pockets than to the environment.
1. Plastic enmity
Yes, plastic is a big threat to our planet, as it does not dissolve in nature and releases toxic chemicals over time. But that shouldn't mean demonizing plastic. We all have plastic tools and equipment that we already have at our disposal. Throwing away sturdy and already purchased plastic items that still work just because they are not environmentally friendly, and buying products made of much more environmentally friendly materials instead, always harms your pocket and our planet. Using what we have until the water runs out and giving priority to eco-friendly alternatives when a new one is needed will be a much more effective solution than being against plastic.
2. Replacing everything you have with eco-friendly alternatives
Do we really need a bamboo cutlery set when we can use metal cutlery in our house, or “eco-friendly” specially designed cleaning cloths when we can cut old fabrics and make washcloths? Trying to have products that ecology bloggers and influencers market by showing them attractive and necessary is of no use to anyone. Every consumption has a carbon cost. The more we reduce consumption, the more we can move our consumption habits away from the focus of appreciation and emulation and make them need-oriented, the more economic and ecological steps we will have taken.
3. Buying environmentally friendly products online
The carbon emission of online shopping is five times that of normal shopping! The result is not surprising given the energy spent on storing the products, the fossil fuels consumed during packaging and transportation. It is a fact that online shopping has many advantages and makes our lives much easier, but if we have the opportunity, doing our shopping face to face is a much more environmentally friendly behavior.
4. Getting too hung up on packaging
It is an undoubted fact that plastic packaging, which is disposable and not suitable for recycling due to its thinness, harms the environment and wildlife. However, how environmentally friendly a product we will buy cannot be measured only by whether it has an environmentally friendly packaging. The content of the product, the pollution it causes during the production and transportation stages should also be taken into account. Considering that environmentally friendly packaging is more expensive, choosing a product with clean content but in plastic packaging instead of a product with a compostable package that creates environmental damage in terms of content will be both an economical and ecological choice.
5. Focusing too much on consumption preferences
Of course, it's great that all our possessions and habits are eco-friendly, and of course, our consumption choices have a huge impact on our planet. But we can do much more for the environment than to buy or not buy things. Participating in voluntary work with non-governmental organizations such as garbage collection or planting trees, supporting organizations or individuals that support environmentally friendly changes, enables us to do much more than we can do alone, and to be a part of a much bigger and faster change for the better.
