Opinion / How to spread the love this Earth Day: 6 ways to start living sustainably and consciously

Let’s be real, conscious living is just an elegant term for being aware. And it shouldn’t be intimidating, like getting an elaborate vegan recipe delivered to your inbox that calls for foreign ingredients like xanthan gum, seitan, agar and something else you can’t pronounce that you’re pretty sure can only be sourced from the moon. Conscious living should be as easy as deciding between high heels and high-tops, and with a little bit of practise, it becomes inherent, intrinsic and self-gratifying – kind of like your morning coffee.

As economies that grow, communities urbanise and individuals create and consume more than ever, the life we live has become fascinating, vibrant and dynamic, but the burden of our lavish lifestyles is being shouldered by the planet we live on. But we always want more and continue to lap up luxuries like delivery on demand, affordable air travel and air conditioning, while at the same time we endeavour to wage war on single-use plastic and do our best to combat climate change. Calming these calamities is no longer just up to small groups, NGOs or the government – it’s up to us.

Enter a growing number of organisations, like Green Is The New Black (GITNB), Green Monday, Green Queen (HK) and The Fashion Pulpit (SG), that are preaching for good and green, all executed with a touch of glamour. The GITNB collective in particular is on a mission to make sustainability sexy through what they call #LittleGreenSteps – a campaign that uses the codes of pop culture to convert the masses and then encourages them to embrace a series of small steps that yield big change. These not-too-difficult and easy-on-the-wallet strategies are easily adopted by individuals and organisations looking to live more consciously, one #LittleGreenStep at a time.

The vegan way isn’t the only way – but it’s a start

A yoga teacher once told me that the definition of yoga is balance. That starts on the mat as a physical manifestation but it’s meant to carry over into the way you live your everyday life, too. Have a little wine with your dinner, but do it occasionally and not every day: balance. Treat yourself to that pizza, but try opting for a vegetarian variation: balance. And no one is telling you to give up meat either, but try swapping it a few times a week: balance. This is the mantra that has been adopted by global companies like Impossible Foods, the creators of the revolutionary plant-based burger that looks, tastes, smells, and “bleeds” like the real thing. Even some of the world’s biggest celebrity chefs – such as Gordon Ramsey – are changing their stance on veganism and incorporating meat-free dishes into their menus.

Why? Because in some parts of the world, upwards of 80 per cent of agricultural land is used to feed the livestock that we eat. Forget about the carbon emissions that this approach produces for a minute, and think about the impact it has on the world’s food and water supply. Imagine if we could scale that back, just a little. Well we can. Whether for ethical reasons, concerns about the environment, or for health reasons, if we were to collectively make just a few more conscious choices when it comes to our diet, the benefits would be tremendous.

Say no to single-use plastic – sometimes