In this episode I chat with the incredible Jen Gale author of The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide* and The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting*. Jen is such an inspiration for all of us tired parents out there looking for ways to make our family life that little bit more green and sustainable.
We start by discussing Jen’s books which are an amazing compendium of advice for all things sustainable living. Jen started her sustainability journey by challenging herself to not buy anything new for a whole year, which opened her eyes to how she could make a difference when it comes to climate change.
“Everything we buy has an impact”
What I really love about Jen and her work is that she’s bringing the idea of conscious consumerism mainstream. So often when we start on our sustainability journey we’re bombarded with marketing and content around sustainable swaps and buying something new to replace what we already have. Whereas Jen’s philosophy stems from the idea that we all need to be slowing down and buying less and buying secondhand wherever we can.
We talk about some of the ways that we can practically achieve this, like giving yourself a a cooling off period before you buy anything.
Jen really wants everyone to have a go at buying nothing new and whilst challenging yourself to buy nothing new for a whole year probably sounds pretty daunting (it does to me at least) Jen has some fantastic advice on how to make it much more accessible: starting out for a week or a month, or focusing on one area of your life. There’s no failure, it’s about slowing down and learning.
“Talking about reducing our consumption feels very counter-cultural”
Jen mentions the really great research by Take The Jump about how often we should be using air travel (once every 3 years for short-haul and once every 7 years for long-haul) and we discuss ways in which you can still travel and have adventures abroad without having to fly.
I particularly love Jen’s approach to reframing how you think about sustainability to consider what you are gaining rather than feeling like you are denying yourself something. .
“I want to be able to look my kids in the eye in twenty, thirty years’ time”
Trying to live more sustainably with a family has its challenges, especially as there is a huge pressure to consume when you have children. Jen is really honest about the things that she does imperfectly and how challenging it can be to get everyone in the family on board. We talk about plastic toys and why we both agree these aren’t the worst thing for your kids to covet.
Something I often struggle with is getting friends and family on-board when trying to encourage them to be more sustainable and Jen shares some brilliant advice on tackling these conversations without feeling like you are being the “fun sponge”.
“We have more power than we think we do”
We also discuss that hopelessness that I know we all feel at times when it comes to the climate emergency. Jen gives such a good perspective on the ripples we all create when we as individuals make changes. By being brave about our changes we can help others be brave and start making changes too (even if you may never know about it).
Mentioned in this episode:
- The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide*
- Conscious consumerism
- Fast fashion
- Ikea
- Cost of living crisis
- Deleting Amazon
- Take The Jump
- Plant-based diets
- Year of buying nothing new
- Visible mending
- Pluralistic ignorance
- Anna Lappe
- Ecosia
You can find Jen at www.asustainablelife.co.uk and Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Enjoyed this episode? Why not listen to episode 12 all about Plastic-Free July next.
(*) indicates affiliate link.
