Is Sustainability Accessible?

We see sustainability marketed everywhere. The climate crisis is prevalent online, often making its way into our daily feeds or news cycles. We often see experts urging us to switch to “green” alternatives. If we reduce our consumption, we can save the world. All it takes is using metal straws or buying more expensive products. Avoid fast fashion, buy reusable products, avoid plastics, take public transit, the list goes on. There is so much we as an individual can do to aid in protecting Earth, but who has access to the resources needed to be able to participate in sustainability?

Sustainable living can mean a lot of things, but for the most part, it means living in a way that reduces the demand for natural resources. These practices often take place within small everyday actions, such as what you eat, what you buy, and how much you travel. Eco-friendly alternatives to common items are relatively easy to find, although they are traditionally more expensive. Some studies have noticed that going green is trending, which leads some companies to raise prices on sustainable goods in order to make a larger profit. This price rise widens the gap between those who can afford the “luxury” of living sustainably and those who are just making it by.

The marketing of sustainable living is typically geared towards an audience of middle to upper-class individuals, who can afford to pay for more expensive products. It can be hard to tell which companies are actually sustainable and which are just greenwashing products in order to appear sustainable. Some people simply just don’t have the time or resources to research every company that they buy from and switch to one that is more geared to eco-friendly practices. This means that simply on the basis of access to time and money, sustainability is out of reach for the majority of people. Affordability for the average person outweighs the concern for the environment. How can you save the world when you can’t save yourself?

In addition to this, companies are sure to market sustainability to consumers, rather than to large producers of pollution. The blame is put on individuals instead of the goliath companies that produce exponentially more waste than the average person. It can feel helpless to individuals to make a dent on these issues when the people who are largely responsible are not taking action. What is one straw compared to a mass of animal waste from a CAFO? Of course, individual action is incredibly important, and one person can make a small difference, but many feel that it’s hopeless to even try when presented with such a large issue.

To truly make changes around the rate of climate change, large companies and institutions would need to take action. We would need to make significant changes to agriculture, animal consumption, the way that food is provided to individuals, water management and consumption, energy sources, and the consumption of other natural resources. Most of these action items are much larger than the average person, they rely on large companies and providers to make changes. The health of Earth is directly correlated to the health of people, and yet people in power are lagging in making changes.

At the end of the day, individual action is important, but living sustainably is difficult. People are often not able to participate in sustainable actions due to wealth, time constraints, or access to eco-friendly alternatives. We cannot hold the individual accountable for a much larger issue. Structural constraints prevent many people from being able to make changes, but if you can afford to, any small action is an important contribution to saving our planet.