CHENNAI: Be it the ignored old table cloth, the untouched dress section in our wardrobe, or some rusted materials leaning on the edges of the wall — they have the potential to be repurposed in all the ways possible. Well, the adage, “Change starts with you” can be a great propelling force towards the strides of sustainability.
If one sticks to the mantra 5Rs of sustainable lifestyle — refuse to buy, reduce the times of purchase and reuse the existing product, repair when damaged and the last is recycle into a new commodity — it can bring in a sea of change. In the words of environmentalist Robert Swan, ‘The right time for action is now’. What does it mean to lead a sustainable life in 2025? Chennaiites put forth their thoughts on making some conscious choices for a better life.
Fashion forward
When you buy any new garment, ask yourself: “Do you need it or want it? Make the purchase only if you really need it,” specifies Jahnavi P, fashion designer and a team member at Tula India, a clothing store. The designer takes CE through a step-by-step guide before buying clothes off the rack.
After purchasing, comes the next question: How will its end life going to be? If you need it, then you are going to use it often. Think about when and how you are going to dispose it. The answer could be after using it multiple times and when the fabric gets old, all the starch would have come off and it would become soft. You can use it for newborn babies as a diaper or wiping cloth because it absorbs more water. You can also use them as mats.
She says, “It is better to be late than never taking the sustainable road.” The other question you can ask yourself before making the purchase should be: What am I supporting by buying this piece of fabric or a garment? Does it abide by the values I support? When you buy cotton cloth, you can be unsure if it is pure or its quality is better when bought from known sources. You can check if the said material is machine-made, mill-spun, or machine-woven; or is it natural or chemical dye? Take time and do your research. If you are not able to find answers or if the brand is not transparent, then something is fishy.
Government-citizen involvement and benefits
Taking action towards climate change is important as climate crisis is an ongoing menace. “Modifying our day-to-day activities can be a start to this change,” shares Krishna Kumar Suresh, founder-president of Thuvakkam, a non-governmental organisation. He mentions a few steps that the government can take and individuals play a role.
A tree for victory: Cities are developing in terms of architecture, accessibility and facilities, but it is equally important that greenery sprawls too. It is not only the government’s duty to do so but also an individual’s responsibility. Every house should have at least one tree.
Affordable green energy: Many offices, hospitals, and schools have switched to solar energy. It is high time that individuals install solar power in their homes too. There are households where solar heaters are put to use, which is a good first step. Moreover, the government is offering subsidies to those who utilise solar power under the Chief Minister’s Solar Rooftop Capital Incentive Scheme, Surya Ghar, and Chief Minister Solar Powered Green House Scheme.
Water storage: People should install rainwater harvesting systems (RHS) in every building. The government made RHS compulsory as part of every building structure and people should abide by it.
Backyard gardening: The market is filled with inorganic fruits and vegetables. Seasonal fruits are available during non-season too. To avoid health issues from consuming such products, families or communities can collectively create a garden in their backyards, grow perishables, and consume them.
Education: To secure our future, we should work on our present. By ingraining sustainability in today’s school and college students, we are accustoming them to a lifestyle of the future. We should teach them to conserve raw materials, use alternate energy sources, and cultivate beneficial habits for them and the planet.
Dispose it of with grace
Humans generate waste in very large quantities. Most of them are unaware of managing methods — storage and disposal of waste. The thousands of tonnes of garbage that end up in landfills pollute deteriorate the environment for years. To make the stay on earth breathable for the present generation and a safe zone for future generations, sustainable living is key.
Individual’s consumption and habits matter
“2024 is the year when the planet completely changed. It was a watershed in human history,” says Sundarrajan G, environmentalist, Poovulagin Nanbargal. While the Gregorian calendars labelled the years as BC and AD, he says that human history will be rewritten as before 2024 and after 2024. “So before 2024 would be the pre-climate era and after 2024, the post-climate era. Now, it is not environment versus development but extinction versus survival,” he adds. The activist projects that the coming decade will determine whether we can survive for the next thousands of years or not.
The sustainable way of life may be expensive, but it is because of the market’s economics of scale. Sundarrajan remarks, “When cell phones came into existence, incoming calls were charged `16 and outgoing calls `48. Today it is free because from five hundred people using cell phones to 500 million people are using the device today. When more individuals start using a service or product, the price lowers.”
Sundarrajan suggests a few choices to make this new year
Segregate wet and dry waste at the home level.
Use electricity judiciously. If you have resources, produce your own power.
Use public transport as much as possible.
Do not use plastics. Avoid using ball-point pens as they are non-biodegradable plastic waste. If you buy one ink pen, you can refill the ink and reuse it.