Our Earth Allies for this week are Vicky and David from @reusablenation
Check out their website here!
Emily
Who are you and David?
Vicky
Two South Africans living in Melbourne, David and I are two people trying to leave the world and society in a better state than we currently find it.
We are passionate about figuring out how to live without using up excess resources and how to help others and communities reduce their waste, consumption, and impact on the environment.
Emily
How did you end up founding Reusable Nation?
Vicky
At the start of 2018, during what was probably the plastic-free, zero waste movement’s heyday, we made a joint decision to give going zero waste a go. Having a background in publishing/writing and being a diarist in general and a thorough researcher, I decided to start a blog and social media pages to document and share our progress, learnings, and research.
I did not expect to gain so many followers or to make so many genuine friendships among the incredible sustainability community I found online, but I did and inspiring others and being inspired by others spurred me to keep going and cemented Reusable Nation as an official ongoing passion project.
Emily
In what ways does Reusable Nation contribute to the environmental movement?
Vicky
We feel that we contribute by showing that there is another, different and better way to live individually and as a society that doesn’t overconsume or waste but rather respects the Earth’s precious, dwindling resources.
We hope that by being an (imperfect) example and sharing ways of low waste local living, we inspire others to decrease their personal impact, to become active citizens that advocate for and/or implement environmentally sustainable solutions in their communities and ask businesses and governments to do better, to discover the benefits of sharing resources and being part of a close community, and to foster a general love of and respect for the planet and other people and a desire to pass on a liveable planet to future generations.
Emily
What role do you think individual action has to play in the push to champion environmental justice?
Vicky
Since starting, we have learnt and grown immensely, realising the intersectionality involved and the systemic change needed for environmental justice and that individual change on its own will not be enough, but we still believe that individual change has a role to play alongside systemic change as a catalyst to further understanding and a gateway to more engaged citizenry and overall activism, as in our case, as bottom-up change through anti-consumerism and the use of money to invest in the world you want, and as an example that enables others to envision more sustainable living and invites others to change too.
For us, it also means living according to and not feeling disjointed from our personal values. We believe that collective action through both social movements and lifestyle movements supports system change. It is not an either or – either systemic action or personal action. Change what you can personally AND join a local group pushing for systemic change that resonates with you.
Emily
What advice would you give to someone unfamiliar with the waste-free lifestyle but interested in getting involved?
Vicky
Since starting, we have learnt and grown immensely, realising the intersectionality involved and the systemic change needed for environmental justice and that individual change on its own will not be enough, but we still believe that individual change has a role to play alongside systemic change as a catalyst to further understanding and a gateway to more engaged citizenry and overall activism, as in our case, as bottom-up change through anti-consumerism and the use of money to invest in the world you want, and as an example that enables others to envision more sustainable living and invites others to change too.
For us, it also means living according to and not feeling disjointed from our personal values. We believe that collective action through both social movements and lifestyle movements supports system change. It is not an either or – either systemic action or personal action.
Change what you can personally AND join a local group pushing for systemic change that resonates with you.
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