To be sustainable...
Sustainability, tricky word... It can mean different things depending on where your focus comes from or what you aim to achieve.
It stands for the ability to maintain something at a certain rate or level throughout time. We hear it often used in relation with economic growth, and this economic growth is more often than not, sustained by the use of resources that are produced in ways that may not be sustainable.
In this last case, sustainability refers to the ability to maintain the natural systems were resources come from throughout time, aka environmental sustainability. Most of the natural resources needed to manufacture what we consume today are grown or extracted in developing countries, with high poverty levels.
As a global community we decided a while ago to try to preserve Earth's biodiversity and forests. It was observed that, in order to do so, the locals needed to take part in this. Because of the high levels of poverty observed in these places, it was concluded that conservation should come hand in hand with development, meaning: the local population should be helped to develop and thrive. This is known as Sustainable Development, and is at the heart of most environmental legislation in third world countries today. The aim: to support development -also through the use of natural resources- in a way were this is done so that it allows for ecosystems to support the extraction/use of their resources whilst maintaining their biological function. Read: stay put for all the other elements within it, like animals and plants, to continue thriving in their natural habitat.
The dialogue around sustainability, the one including social and environmental aspects, is complicated and complex and there can be debate about how efficiently this has been done so far, or how to interpret and measure the results.
It often feels like little is being achieved, and there is always a huge amount that remains to be done. But we prefer to take a philosophical stand and appreciate the complexity of human existence and human endeavours, and to recognise the mammoth task that is to strive for sustainability. The proper one. And we choose to root for it, to talk about it, to let you know what is what, and to shout about cool things happening everywhere to help us live a more sustainable life, it is possible!
It's hard as a single individual not to feel overwhelmed by the challenges we face living in these times, we all would like to feel we are contributing towards positive change but the issues the world faces are so huge! what can one person do?
Well, we believe we could all do with one thing: doing things slower.
Take time to consider our choices, as they have a multiplying effect that shapes the way things are done. Whether it is fashion related, a holiday, or the next pot of yogurt; we need to take time to understand what we consume, take time to make the right choices..
Thank you for reading our blog, especially if you reached here! We wanted to convey a bit of what we are about, what makes us tickle and why we are so slow! ;)
xx
Mireya