#DoWeReallyNeedThis?

#DoWeReallyNeedThis???

So you may ask me what are we talking about? This post is sort of an extension of my previous post CPR. Here, I am talking about the zillion little and big plastic or other materials which we are using in the world today especially in the developed countries which has also trickled to the third world countries. Studies say that at least 3.5 million tons of plastic and other solid waste a day is being generated per day, 10 times the amount a century ago!!

For instance, see the below picture...it is just a one time use thingy which is used for God Knows what?? These are the kind of things which are getting stuck in the respiratory systems of our aquatic friends and causing them to choke to death.

So, I request anyone seeing this blog to create a new hashtag called #DoWeReallyNeedThis? Like the other day, I saw a WhatsApp video saying almost all of the toothpaste tube covers are just thrown away and hence it is something which is not needed 'at all'. It is not just toothpaste covers, there are so many other things like this around us which they usually call as 'one-time-use-plastics'. But this is not limited to just plastic items....in the sense of minimalism, this applies to a whole lot of other things which we use in our daily life....just once or we don't even know what the active purpose is for a product...let me give you few examples to share my lens - Cloth hangers in shops, Tags on clothes, Packing bubbles and so on. All these things really don't need to be there or can be easily replaced by some other item. Human being are ingenious by nature and it is not going to be difficult for us to crank our gray matter to come up with more eco-friendly alternatives.

I found many more examples in a WhatsApp post I came across... hopefully this will help us all get thinking in the right direction wrt this topic...

Mindful Consumption...

Overtime, I have realised that I am  taking far more from the Universe than I will ever be able to give back. Hence began the pursuit of how can I be mindful of how much I truly need and what impact it creates when I am taking anything for my momentary pleasure. Be warned, I am no saint. I have needs and desires. But the constant exercise of differentiating between needs and desires has been an eye opener. The point is not about living unfulfilling/incomplete life, endeavour is to live responsibly, to live with conscience.

For instance,
1. Do I really need the water that is being poured in my glass at the restaurant? Will that water not go down the drain (literally) when I leave my table? Am I being fair to those who are walking miles for drinking water and yet what they get is hardly safe enough to consume?
2. Do I really need to wrap that gift by buying ‘free’ gift wrapping paper? Because that shiny/ non-biodegradable paper is going to be trashed (literally) once the gift is opened?
3. Do I really need to buy gifts when I am not sure if they will be used and needed by the receiver because I want to look good? Isn’t it wiser to buy fruits or dry-fruits with the same amount of money and with almost certainty that they will be consumed?
4. What do I do when I am at buffet? Do I listen to my stomach or do I fill my plate with everything available (either because its free or because I have paid for it all)?
5. What do I do when the guy at Subway (the foodchain) offers me two forks and four tissue papers when I am going to be eating alone? Do I return one fork and three tissue papers (or all four, if I carry my own hanky) to him or I just walk away from the counter and throw away unused forks and tissue papers?
6. Just because something is ‘bio-degradable’, should I use it? Can I even avoid a paper bag or a cloth bag because a tree was chopped to make that paper and earth was subjected to atrocities to create the piece of cloth? Can I ‘reduce’ my consumption even before thinking of ‘reuse’ or ‘recycle’?
7. What happens when I go to eat Thaali and there are so many things I know I might not eat (for eg katori of Dahi or that Bengali mithai) .. Do I return it immediately so that it can be offered to someone else or do I let it sit on my plate and leave it untouched only to be thrown away later?
8. Do I really need that cotton Kurti because it looks cool? The fashion industry is far more evil than what meets our eye. From what it does to the environment while growing cotton and jute to how it treats humans to how it treats textiles and garment waste is mind-bogglingly dirty.
9. Do I really need that extra pair of shoes because I don’t have 'that' particular shade of orange? Do I take into account that once processed, footwear is almost impossible to degenerate on face of the earth (including leather)?
10. Do I need to cook elaborate meals when guests visit me? Can I cook just enough so that everybody including myself can have a great time and no food is wasted (or we don’t continue to eat same food for next three days well after it has lost all its nutrients)
11. Do I need to buy things just because they are in sale and they are cheaper? Do I need to buy them because there is ‘return policy’? I was reading a case study on how big retail conglomerates dump returned goods in the ocean and its unbelievable how our oceans are constantly being subjected to waste created because of our greed.
12. Am I respectful when I am visiting a tourist destination? Do I take rules such as ‘keep silence’ ‘do not litter’ seriously enough? Do I allow the place to consume me or my overbearing presence consumes the place?

Also what options do we have to reduce the use of plastic in all departmental stores, toy industry and so many more. Please provide your suggestions and let us see how we can make our life more simpler and plastic free atleast to some extent!

#DoWeReallyNeedThis? Ask yourself this question daily and see how we can better clean up Mother Earth and be more mindful!

Happy World Environment Day folks! Please just don't stop it with one day celebration and activism.