8 "Sustainable Swaps" That AREN'T!

[@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!

[@mh8576]

Very helpful information. All of it. Thank you!

[@sustainablejungle]

Anytime!

[@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!

[@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. :(

[@a.v.p-m]

Super informative and helpful! Appreciate the research being presented clearly

[@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.

[@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.

[@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'.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!).