10 "Sustainable Products" I Don't Buy

[@headstanding_Penguin]

Swiss here... Paper bags in my area can be used about a year or two, depending on the care (sometimes less than 1 trip, sometimes longer), cheap plasticbags where often reused too (for example as trashbags in rooms which then go into the big trashbag. Bigger, more stable plasticbags are more or less endlessly useable in most cases... Also, we burn non recyclable trash, the air comming out of those plants is filtered and cleaner than the roadside air, the warmth is used for heating entire neighbourhoods or for electricity...We don't have landfills anymore since a long time ago. Atm they are investing in recycling more plastics, up until now it was only possible to recycle PET, Milkbottles, Batteries, Glas, Tincans and Alucans...Edit: and paper, cardboard and green waste/kitchen scrabs/compost The main problem in the US are Landfills, not the materials used. Landfills are bad no matter what is piled up and dumped... 5:14

[@sustainablejungle]

I wish the US had such an amazing recycling and trash disposal infrastructure! Unfortunately, given our size and the legistlative differences between all of the states, I'm we're not likely to catch up anytime soon, so for now, a lot of the onus is still on the consumer to select materials with a better end-of-life outcome, since our waste streams here are still so grim. :(

[@fuzybear15]

Great points, thank you for going into the details on why the swaps aren't as sustainable as marketing leads them to be. I wish there was more Zero-waste bulk stores around to allow the buyer to bring what they have and leave with what they want. We purchase concentrated laundry detergent and have been using the same large plastic container for 5 years.

[@sustainablejungle]

Agreed! We need more bulk stores and ideally every supermarket just had bulk only. High five to reusing the same laundry container for 5 whole years!

[@shurgars]

Good video. Thank you for displaying the numbers for plastic vs. paper. I feel so many people don't use logic, instead they just go with what "feels" green. Here's the solution to the "bag" problem: Use a backpack. Pros: - It can easily last up to 10 years, even with daily usage. - It's more ergonomic. - You can haul huge loads. - You can take it easily on a bike (almost impossible with other kinds of bags) - You can use it for other things when not shopping, so it's not a dedicated "shopping" item - You don't lose it easily like with the reusable bags Cons: - Some people think backpacks are for poor people and that they are gross. Enjoy.

[@sustainablejungle]

Great suggestion! The only con I can really think of is that some stores don't allow backpacks now with the rise of theft. I heard a lot of Walmarts are like this now (can't confirm as I don't shop there) but I think a collapsible backpack you could just carry in folded up might do the trick in these cases.

[@khrysalis0289]

Not a good solution for bulk family shopping

[@justlola417]

(This was just a stream of thoughts not necessarily connected to each other about the topic) The only alternative to these products that actually is guaranteed to be more sustainable is to not get them. I learned the three Rs of sustentability at school, reduce reuse recycle *in that order*, with recycling being the least efficient, but nowadays it seems like it's the one people focus on the most - because it's the one that gives permission to keep consuming, so companies push for us to forget the other two. You can't say you help the environment while buying tons of new products every day, you're lying to yourself if you think you can. And branding a products as sustainable is 90% of the time just another marketing strategy created to sell more stuff to people who don't need it.

[@sustainablejungle]

Thank you for sharing. 100% agree, reducing our consumption is the only full proof solution that we know is the better option. Once you get into the LCA analysis of products it gets super grey. Otherwise, if you need go for secondhand first.

[@Queina1]

I used to buy cases of bottled water, now I get my water delivered, two 5 gallon jugs a month. Having that cold water right there, means I'm drinking even more water than I was with the bottled. And I'm not having to go back and forth between the fridge, cause my water HAS to be cold. I have a stainless steel water bottle that I refill from the dispenser. I used to have a set of metal straws but I think one of my kids made off with them when they moved out. So I need to get another set. I do have a larger silicone straw that is perfect for drinking thicker beverages, like homemade smoothies. And I have a set of 6 large canvas cotton bags that I use for shopping. I love how durable they are and if they get dirty, I can just throw them in the wash with the towels. I was using tide pods but since I live in a place now with crappy laundry facilities, I'm going to a laundromat that only uses plant based laundry detergent, that they provide for free. And they have industrial sized machines so you can do less loads with less water. I already planned to stop buying cascade dishwasher pods when I run out and use just powder instead.

[@justlola417]

Great video!!! There is no simple answer for this, it's all complex and we don't have enough information to be sure about the actual impact of any of these products. The thing is, the expectation of sustainability is pushed onto the consumer, while it's the companies that produce the majority of waste and pollution regardless of what we decide or not to buy. So there are thousands of products created to "sound" sustainable at the consumer stage (they're recyclable or produce less waste or use less electricity etc), so we feel like we're helping the environment and don't feel guilty for consuming more, and don't demand more transparency and sustainability on product production. But if you analyse their whole life cycle (from material extraction, to energy source, water use, transportation, production, and then how they're discarded and the actual processing of that waste) they're actually more wasteful. Because we can't be aware of every single stage of a products life cycle, it's easy to be convinced that they're better for the environment because they have one step that's "cleaner" than alternatives and that's the one they advertise. ALSO newer processes aren't as known or regulated, so we don't know what to look for and they oftentimes are more impactful.

[@sustainablejungle]

Spot on! It's such a mess of a topic. But as you say when you actually look at the full LCA of a sustainable product it often isn't as sustainable as it's marketed to be. I think the only foolproof solution (without having all the data for every single LCA analysis) is to just reduce what we buy or buy secondhand. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

[@mariavako]

The only thing to make stuff sustainable is companies making it sustainable. The only way to stop single use straws is to stop producing them, and introducing instead the reusable ones - like any kitchen utensil. Then we can have them in hospitals, hotels and restaurants, as we have forks, knives and spoons. In order for fabrics to be not toxic, fabric companies need to produce them like so. In order to make people appreciate what's done by hand or sewing machine, school systems need to teach kids how to sew. But.. I guess big systems are not doing that.

[@doviart-fashiondesignersli5161]

Good points, yet I would argue in favor of the natural leather because of it's durability and comfort compared to any vegan leather and let's face it unless we all become vegetarians or vegans there's always be leather to use.

[@begaydocrimehailsatan]

Second this, especially if it's vegetable tanned. Kristine Vike has a great breakdown kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGfRfn6KgquIiNksi=03uhpgyHuTHqmZiI She has lots of great content about textile sustainability

[@justlola417]

Agreed, I'm not aware of any "vegan leather" that doesn't include plastic in its production (I wouldn't consider cork as a type of leather, it has none of leather's properties at all, it's just a different material altogether, you might as well use fabric), and all these products release micro plastics constantly into the environment, don't last, and aren't recyclable (no plastic is infinitely recyclable btw, there's only a finite amount of times you can recycle it before it's unusable, and there is also waste in the recycling process, but especially for blends of plastic+other materials, it's even harder to recycle)

[@sustainablejungle]

Good points, vegan leather is definitely not the silver bullet. I think traditional leather so long as it is sourced, tanned ethically and sustainably it has its merits for sure.

[@JehanineMelmoth]

… or use cactus leather, pineapple leather, grape leather, hemp. I wish people would stop referring to faux leather as vegan leather, as though we chose it and it’s the only option and only we vegans use it. Many of us make the effort not to. Ditto almond milk. Plenty of non-vegans use it, whether because of dairy allergies or they just like it, and plenty of vegans don’t. Using these terms the way you have seems like just an excuse to bash veganism.

[@TeaReesa26]

@@JehanineMelmoth when it comes to leather-like materials, I’m pretty sure the term “vegan leather” comes from the manufacturers as an attempt at greenwashing, not from the consumers as an attempt at bashing veganism. I also wish people would just call things what they are. It would make everything simpler.

[@khrysalis0289]

Very good video, I just want to make a quick point on almond milk. Criticizing specifically almond milk in favor of dairy milk using water use as the first argument is strange. From our world in data, 1 liter of dairy milk takes 628L of freshwater, while almond milk takes 371L. Animal farming also uses far more land (including arable land) than any plant milk. Sourcing locally does not avoid this issue. I do agree that if people are buying plant milk they should just buy oat.

[@eclect]

Oat milk is pretty sustainable but soy milk isn't that much worse and is far better nutritionally, especially if you're on a plant based diet

[@khrysalis0289]

@eclect I agree, I think soy is my favorite of the common plant milks.

[@kyx5631]

A cocktail bar in the town I lived in gave wide diameter, uncooked macaroni pasta as straws. I thought that was a super cool idea - they don't get soggy, are stiff and can obviously be bio disposed. I won't try and compare environmental impact of production of pasta vs paper straws, but I still think about it almost 10 years later.

[@a.v.p-m]

Super informative and helpful! Appreciate the research being presented clearly

[@TeaReesa26]

I do want to point out that commercial honey bees are not the “essential pollinators” people think they are. They’re an introduced species in North America. When conservationists talk about saving pollinators in North America, the European honey bee is not among them, and treating it like an essential pollinator actually does damage to conservation efforts and to native pollinator populations. Which isn’t to say I’m against honey bees. Or that concerns about exploitation of these critters aren’t important. Or that they don’t play an important role in agriculture. I just think it’s essential that people don’t confuse introduced domesticated bees for essential native pollinators.

[@kiterafrey]

I may be biased as I find them beautiful, but we should really be working hard in North America to try and encourage the survival and breeding of Monarch Butterflies. Non-native Wasps are known to eat their larva, so it can be hard to protect them. But planting local wildflowers they prefer will help them at least have productive food chains.

[@Tigger75]

The bowling alley near me started using corn starch based straws. Out of curiosity I gathered all the straws my family used and brought them home to compost. I left them in my composter for 2 years and they looked as new as the day I got them. I eventually pulled them out and threw them away in the regular trash. I've read these need to be composted in one of those industrial facilities. The closest one to me is about 40 miles away in a different state.

[@eclect]

I use a metal straw at home and decline straws when I'm out. I hate the way the new post-plastic disposable straws feel, and they aren't even sustainable. We took a relatively minor problem and "solved" it in the worst possible way. Makes me worry for the future

[@mh8576]

Very helpful information. All of it. Thank you!

[@sustainablejungle]

Anytime!

[@g-racer6683]

I definitely use plastic bags at the grocery store, but I also reuse those plastic bags as small garbage bags for my bathroom and litter box trash cans. Ultimately nothing is perfect but we do what we can and try to adhere to low waste

[@Queina1]

I used to do that too. Line my bathroom and bedroom cans. But then plastic bags were banned in my city, actually might be the entire state now. And so I have to buy small garbage bags instead. But to be fair, the bags I buy now biodegrade much better than those plastic shopping bags.

[@antiantipoda]

When you talk about leather tanning, you show images of dying fabric in India. Not the same thing at all.

[@JourneytoSustainableLiving]

Would sourcing organic almonds from local farmers be good too? 😮

[@sustainablejungle]

I would say that is definitely a better option. In face if you're buying almonds I can't think of a more sustainable option.

[@lindatisue733]

❤❤❤ Great content. Research impact of different sports/ recreation. Golf verses hiking or riding a bike.I see so many abandoned bikes, how long should we use a bike to "make up for not driving or using public transport?

[@sustainablejungle]

Good question - not something we've looked into but I would imagine you'd have to use it A LOT - and given the resources required to make and run a car unfortunately I don't think there would ever be a 'break even point'.

[@badgerclan17]

Almost everything I own comes from resale stores, garage sales, etc. When I'm done with them they go back to the thrift store. They also recycle a lot of what they can't use. Still some ends up in landfill, but I don't have to agonize over which materials were the most wasteful or polluting to manufacture.

[@sustainablejungle]

Nice! I am 100% on board the second hand market! By far the most sustainable way to shop.

[@Queina1]

I buy a lot of stuff second hand too. We also have an organization here that recycles and reuses electronics. And they have a store to resell anything that is still useable. I donate all of my electronic stuff to them. And bought my most recent computer from them too. It's used but it works and has the cool light up RGB fans and so I'm happy. They had a volunteer program before covid so people could go in and help disassemble computers and other electronics. You put in enough hours and you get a free computer from the store. I did that. And they really do recycle every single little part that they possibly can.

[@mjojo25]

Oh no! I’m Getting the recycled plastic bags. I thought the biodegradable ones were better for the environment. I had no idea.

[@sustainablejungle]

If it's going to landfill then definitely recycled plastic. If your biodegradable bags are compostable then you can still use them for organic waste - going to an industrial composter.

[@meridian6265]

The best alternative for plastic straws I saw was pasta. There are long sticks of dried pasta with a hole in the middle and you can throw them in the organic waste after usage. Obviously in areas where straws can be washed and reused this is still better - but for things like fast food chains it could be a better option than paper or plastic as it is biodegradable and does not dissolve at all.

[@arthursmarthur]

Probably wouldn’t be good for ppl with gluten allergies tho

[@sustainablejungle]

Very creative solution here! If you could make the pasta tasteless and gluten free - I'm sure that's possible.

[@kiterafrey]

Genuine question, why can't eco-laundry pod companies use something like cellulose? I've heard it is compostable and biodegradable. (I'm only just at the laundry part of the video while writing this.)

[@sustainablejungle]

Great question! Unfortunately, cellulose is also a very greenwashed material. While yes, cellulose is plant-based and technically in a pure sense biodegradable, the process by which it is typically rendered into a bioplastic often changes it so that it's not truly biodegradable. In a case like this, I think it would be really similar to PVA, in that it would dissolve and break down in wastewater treatment, but not without leaving some impact on the environment. The study I'm linking below is an interesting one on the biodegradability of cellulose in liquid that classifies cellulose derivates based on this. It's a fairly technical study, but the graphics demonstrate the point that not all cellulose is manufactured equally, and from a consumer standpoint, it's really difficult to say which is which. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653524001917

[@kiterafrey]

@sustainablejungle Thank you ❤️

[@lindatisue733]

Oatly donates to Trump. 😢

[@doviart-fashiondesignersli5161]

plus oat milk is the worst of them because of the trans fats and sugar it contains

[@lindatisue733]

@@doviart-fashiondesignersli5161 AND in Sweden, Oatly doesn't have those thing, they use it in the US because it is more profitable.

[@sustainablejungle]

Sadly, that's the case with most of our packaged food in America. The European equivalents don't have nearly the amount of preservatives and chemicals in them because of stricter bans on artificial ingredients, which is actually why I eat almost an exclusively whole food diet (no oat milk for me!).

[@MollysDevice]

@sustainablejungle This isn’t true. They ban some chemicals we allow, and we ban some that they allow. We also more thoroughly label the ingredients in our foods on labels.

[@Corilo91]

@@doviart-fashiondesignersli5161 Oat milk contains virtually 0 trans fats. Cow milk, on the other hand, contains 2 types of trans fats.