Talking Sustainable Living Tips With Influencer Beth Lucy
The dangers of fast fashion
Beth and sustainable living go hand in hand. She shares; sustainable tips, reviews, travels, fashion, and lifestyle through her Instagram and Blogs. Beth kindly answered all of our questions about sustainable living, providing insight into the toxic side of fast fashion and tips to get you started on your sustainable journey!
Beth, thank you for taking the time out to talk to me! So, tell me a little bit about yourself. What is your business?
Hi! I love animals, cozy nights in, and chocolate. But my true passion is sustainable living which I document on my Instagram @bethlucyblogs. I work with eco-conscious brands and promote their products, but I also offer coaching calls and work as a social media manager on @ecosocialmediacoach. In addition, I work with influencers and brands on their social media strategy and how to grow their account or monetize it.
What made you want to start your sustainable living blog?
I decided to dedicate my Instagram account and blog to sustainable living because I wanted to share my tips on living consciously - hopefully, convince more people to adopt eco-living and slow fashion!
Why is sustainable living so important? Especially given our current climate!
With the climate crisis becoming even more urgent, I think it's important that everyone tries to live as sustainably as they possibly can. Of course, it is unrealistic that everyone can become a vegan or go to zero waste, but we can all make small changes to our daily routine or change our shopping habits to be more eco-conscious.
For people who want to start/look into a sustainable living but are unsure where to start. What do you recommend?
I 100% recommend starting by only making a few changes to your routine and day-to-day. For example, you could try to be more conscious of your electricity use or make an 'eco swap,' such as swapping your plastic water bottle for a reusable one.
The fashion and animal agriculture industries are two of the most detrimental industries for our planet. If you don't think you can cut out fast fashion completely, I recommend reducing your consumption of fast fashion. You could do this by limiting how many items of clothing you buy a month, unsubscribing from fast fashion emails, and deleting these apps. You could also download more sustainable apps, such as depop, eBay, and vinted, which encourage second-hand shopping.
You could approach food the same way! If going vegetarian or vegan is difficult, reduce your meat and fish consumption first. Some ideas on how to do this could include: becoming a pescatarian or having a 'meat-free Monday.' Also, researching what substitutes you can use for meat and fish in your meals and foods that are a great source of protein, iron, etc. This way, you can slowly transition into a vegetarian or vegan diet!
Furthermore, what are your top tips for sustainable living?
Shopping locally is super important for an eco-existence and would be my number one tip! By shopping locally, you reduce your air miles by buying second-hand, from thrifting online to in-person in charity shops. I also think supporting local eco businesses is crucial for a slow-living lifestyle.
For food, I would also recommend making local purchases. You can reduce your carbon footprint by buying from local farms or businesses for your fruit and veg. I understand the extra cost can make it hard, so look for organic or 'wonky' fruit and vegetables in supermarkets. Organic food is often more sustainably sourced, and 'wonky' food is often unsold and thrown away, so you can reduce food waste and save money by buying it! You could also try and reduce your use of personal vehicles. For example, walk, 'Carpool' or share lifts with others and use public transport more.
I see from your blog account on Instagram that you are an advocate for slow fashion. However, fast fashion is becoming more recognized on social media, and people are beginning to acknowledge its negative impact on the environment and workers.
In your own words, why is fast fashion so catastrophic? And why is slow fashion the best way forward?
Fast fashion is damaging to our planet because these companies are overproducing - creating excess waste, underpaying their workers, and exploiting our planet's finite resources. Unfortunately, due to the acceptance of fast fashion and its normalcy, its catastrophic effects on our planet often go unnoticed or overlooked by consumers. If more people purchase slow fashion, we could stop trucks full of clothes going to landfills daily and the unethical overproduction of clothes at a low cost for companies.
Fast fashion is detrimental to our planet since most fast fashion companies have a bigger range of clothes. Which they constantly add to, meaning they overproduce, encouraging overconsumption. Many fast fashion items are sent to landfills and break down in a landfill for 200+ years due to their unsustainable materials, which are not biodegradable. Some clothes are burned in landfills, adding to the enormous emission of greenhouse gasses during the manufacturing process of fast fashion garments.
Slow fashion shopping is the best way forward since these companies care about their impact on the planet, ensuring their entire supply chain and manufacturing process is as eco-friendly as possible! They also pay their worker's fair wages and usually counter deforestation with positive tree-planting schemes with each order.
Why do you think companies, like SHEIN, have such a big audience considering their bad reputation with sustainable practices?
I think SHEIN has a big audience as they always accommodate new trends. But unfortunately, most fast fashion consumers are willing to overlook the damage these brands have on the planet because they like the clothes they buy from them; they aren't willing to change their consumer habits. SHEIN is also very problematic since they appeal to teenagers due to the affordability of its clothes. Most teenagers cannot buy luxury clothes, which is usually more ethical, so they buy unsustainable fast fashion.
Fortunately, charity shop clothes and second-hand online clothes are usually just as affordable as fast fashion, so hopefully, more young people will find pre-loved clothes instead!
Lastly, what are your top 5 sustainable products?
1) Sustainable period pants and pads - These are so good and help stop a lot of plastic from going to landfill! An aspect of our lives we often forget can be made sustainable.
2) Eco-cleaning products - I stopped using plastic for washing up and now only use bamboo products!
3) My beeswax food covers help keep my food fresh!
4) Zero waste deodorant - entirely natural and biodegradable.
5) I use lavera, RMS, and juice beauty for eco makeup!
Follow Beth via @bethlucyblogs on Instagram.
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