The Green Ostrich

“I alone can’t change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa 

I know full well that my decision to not take a race t-shirt will not change the world. I also know that even if Nike stops issuing new uniforms to athletes annually, the climate emergency won’t be over. These actions alone won’t make a dent. The reality is that we need individual action, but more importantly, we need big business and governments across the globe to take real and extreme steps towards curbing emissions. But I keep taking action and speaking out because I believe in the ripple effect. 

My Actions Have a Ripple Effect on My Future Actions

When I first read a statistic about the percentage of donated clothing that ends up incinerated or in landfills (85%) and saw a picture of clothing from the Global North piled up in a landfill in Ghana, something happened. It no longer felt ok to consume, consume, consume, and then just donate the impulse purchases I no longer wanted. I had always tried to make good environmental decisions, but up until that moment, I didn’t associate my clothing with those choices. Seeing that image and reading that statistic flipped a switch in me. I started reading more about the environmental impact of both the production and end of life of my clothing. That ultimately led me to taking a course in Sustainable Product Design and the Circular Economy centered on outdoor clothing and gear and quitting my job in pursuit of a better way forward.

Armed with knowledge, I became more thoughtful about each purchasing decision I made. Not just clothes but any purchase. My regular Amazon deliveries of things I “need right now” started to dwindle. I found myself questioning my consumption habits. This questioning has led to more reading and learning. And that reading and learning has extended beyond clothing and beyond consumer goods to food, to travel, to digital consumption, and to our home. I don’t always make the right decision (in fact, I often don’t make the best decision), and I still have a lot to learn, but I know that reading one fact and seeing one image about donated clothing has helped me reduce my carbon footprint in a variety of ways. 

My Actions Have a Ripple Effect in my Community

I speak out about the actions I take not because I want applause or recognition but because I I hope it prompts people to think and to consider taking action themselves. Not necessarily the same action I’m taking, but some action. And speaking out works! 

A few weeks ago, I got a text message from a family member. She said, “You alerted me and I am now alerting others.” This person then went on to question other organizations about their so-called green practices (that it turns out weren’t so green). 

Soon after that, I heard from someone who runs a mission-driven small t-shirt business. She said that my speaking out had prompted her to think more about how she runs her own business and what she can do to reduce waste through small batch production and upcycling vintage tees.

Most importantly to me, I’ve noticed that my actions have an impact on my kids. They are young, but they have started to be more conscious consumers especially around things like single use plastics. They want to donate to environmental organizations. They pick up trash on the street. They read about climate change. When we ran a road race recently, they looked at the t-shirts and my son said to me, “Yeah – we won’t be taking those.” And before I know it, they’ll be taking that consciousness to the voting booth. 

My Actions Will Have a Ripple Effect on Business and Government 

Now the big one and the real reason individual action matters. Companies want to survive. Politicians want to be (re)elected. Those things happen because we take action. If I and others in my community speak out, we can directly impact businesses and governments. I spoke to someone at one of the big shoe brands a few months ago. She said that they are starting to make changes towards more “sustainable” (take that word with a grain of salt) products, but that frankly they weren’t seeing enough consumer demand yet. But when the consumer demand increases, the company’s motivation for innovation will increase as well. So tell companies that you want them to do better. Even better, tell them that you won’t buy their products until they do better. This extends way beyond shoe and clothing companies. Our wallets are a powerful force for change. 

Similarly, tell your elected officials that you expect them to take regulatory action to push for change. Maybe it’s regulation against greenwashing (more in a future blog) or traceability in clothing (like the New York Fashion Act) or increasing EV charging stations or new building codes or Extended Producer Responsibility laws (like Senate Bill 707 in California). Whatever it is, reach out to your representatives (if you are in the US, you can find your representatives here). If you don’t like where they stand, vote for someone else.

It’s easy to feel like the actions of one person are too small to matter. But it all matters. It’s too important for me to believe otherwise.