Eco-responsible consumption means looking beyond the simple consumption of the product. It is to see all the consequences, whether positive or negative, which will occur following consumption on the environment. Obviously, there are several ways to consume while considering environmental impacts. The goal being to minimize the harmful effects, we will see certain good consumption habits to adopt to achieve this as well as certain products to avoid.

Food

At the grocery store, it can become easy to buy many products without thinking about the impacts these consumer goods have; whether in production or transport. It may therefore be interesting to give ourselves some tips to adopt in the future to improve our food consumption: 

• Make a list of necessary products to purchase and postpone superficial ones until later 
• Choose local and seasonal products (strawberries and corn from Quebec in summer) 
• Read and check the eco-labels on products (environmental, social or economic benefits) 
• Reduce your consumption of red meat 
• Avoid overpackaged foods 

At home, certain ways can also be used to become more eco-responsible on a daily basis in the kitchen: 

• Replace single-use products with reusable products (bags, straws, packaging, etc.) 
• Adopt the concept of zero waste (completely or in part, read the article “”if you want to learn more about this topic) 
• Cook your own meals as often as possible 
• Prepare snacks and lunches for work and school with reusable dishes and bags to avoid polluting with non-reusable products

Clothes

The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. Producers emit more than 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 into the air each year. Obviously, some companies pollute less than others. Here are some methods to carefully select your next purchases:

• Favor clothing made from ecological raw materials such as linen, hemp or ecological leather 
• Avoid synthetic materials like polyester or nylon
• Prioritize ecological or local brands
• Swap clothes (use thrift shop applications like Depop, Vinted or Vestiaire Collective) 
• Buy your clothes at thrift stores when you can 
• Use resale sites like Marketplace or Upcycli
• Our products are corresponding to all the above

Lifestyle

Every day, several habits can be adopted to become more and more eco-responsible. Whether it is to go to work or to reduce the amount of waste in the house, it is possible to find good habits according to your lifestyle. It is, eventually, a large majority who will be able to adopt these different habits and therefore make a difference:

• Focus on public transportation or carpooling, when possible, for your daily trips 
• Practice eco-driving and carpooling to reduce your fuel consumption 
• Sort your waste (recycling and compost)
• Repair instead of throwing away 
• Gradually introduce reusable hygiene products 
• Reduce the time spent in the shower and water consumption in general
• Reduce electricity consumption by lowering the temperature of rooms in the house or by closing the lights in unoccupied rooms

To avoid

As it is possible to adopt good habits, it is also necessary to know the bad habits to adopt if we want to be more and more ecological in our daily lives. Products and goods from certain countries where standards are less strict regarding the environment or from industries that are harmful to the environment should therefore be avoided: 

• Reduce the purchase of products from the oil industry 
• Reduce the consumption of foods containing palm oil and its use in the preparation of dishes 
• Avoid ultra-processed foods 
• Avoid clothing produced in countries where some people are exploited or have poor environmental standards such as China or Bangladesh