A Company That Cares?

Well, it’s official—I now work in the environmental field. Yah, Waste Less Living! However, I must say, I find it that much more important to ‘walk the walk,’ and I’m telling you, it ain’t easy sometimes—especially when it comes to grocery shopping. I can’t shop anymore without feeling torn—I find something I would like to purchase, but it uses so much unnecessary packaging that I end up either buying it and feeling guilty, or not buying it and leaving with an empty shopping cart! Either way, I feel frustrated that more companies aren’t more aware of (and concerned about) their choices. Which is definitely a huge plus to working at Waste Less Living. Christine founded the company based on a sustainable business model, meaning profit comes second to bringing in a sustainable income for its’ staff and serving the environment. While it is so tempting to buy something that will save me time, I have to really think about who I’m giving my money to. Corporations have the chance to make a statement with how they run their business, and consumers have the chance to make a bigger statement with how they spend their money. We must vote with our dollar. We must remember that convenience isn’t everything.  I know time is precious, but certainly we can squeeze in twenty minutes once a week to cut up veggies and fruit and put them into reusable containers to grab on the go...? Every time I want to buy something, but feel bad that I’m contributing to that mind-set of ‘now, now, now,’ I try and remind myself that convenience comes at a cost. Individually packaged cereal and milk…individually wrapped dried fruit…these are very tempting, healthy looking options for my on-the-go lifestyle that could very well save me from hitting the fast food drive-thru. But at what cost? Even recycling that packaging isn’t ideal. Recycling is just delayed landfilling for the most part. So, what’s a busy girl to do? Well…I came up with a plan, and I think that if I take it slow, I won’t get overwhelmed (because we know where that gets me—remember that big slobbery, stagnant pool of frustration?!?!). What I’ve been doing is phasing items out of my cupboards. Now, I’m lucky—I live in a city that offers me a buffet of choices when it comes to markets. So, I try and buy at a place where I can purchase items in bulk. Rice, oatmeal, nuts, dried fruit, beans, lentils, and trail mix fill glass jars in my cupboards now, and it’s great! Not only does buying in bulk use less packaging, but it’s cheaper. Bonus round! And—nerd alert!—I even bought some light-weight cotton fabric to sew some reusable bags so I don’t have to use the ones at the store anymore! I know…I figure it’s only a matter of time before I’m illegally raising chickens in my condo for eggs…but hey, at least I’ll know they’re cage-free and enjoying life! But that, my friends, is a topic for a different day…