How to have sustainable consumption?
What is the meaning of responsible consumption?
First of all, we must start from the principle that the power is in our hands, from the moment we can choose what we buy, we can make them in a more reasoned way. To consume responsibly is to integrate that our planet's resources are not unlimited and that overconsumption has a role in climate change. Therefore, it is necessary to give an ethical sense to our purchases and be conscious, thoughtful concerning our consumption. The first thing to rethink our consumption is to get informed, i.e. check that your products meet your ethical and environmental convictions. And if they do, support these products by buying them or boycott those that do not.
We hear that as a student, the means are limited. Still, even as students, we can reason our consumption and make more responsible choices: Consuming responsibly does not mean paying more but consuming less and better.
We give you here some tips to start this step concerning your food consumption habits.
About consumption...
Favouring fresh products rather than prepared meals, avoiding over-packaged products, choosing recyclable products with little packaging or buying in loose with reuse cotton bags to put those beautiful clementines, those cookies or the 1-litre glass bottle for the local apple juice...
Many possibilities are available to you: the loose shops, local producers, markets such as the one of the Lices on Saturday morning...
I personally advise you to go first to day by day, it's a good start.
Against waste...
For students, there is a pepite: food destocking stores where are sold products that are out of date but still consumable, products that cannot be sold because they are damaged but still consumable... And in addition, these products are sold at low prices! Moreover, there are physical places to buy them and online applications in direct relation with the small shopkeepers of the corner, from the supermarket and its unsold products to the sushi restaurant of the city centre. To learn more, go to our page: where to go?
Recycling
We can also go beyond the act of consumption: sorting our waste, separating the garbage cans from the compost to the yellow garbage can for plastics and cardboard, and glass.
Reuse cardboard and bottles by finding new uses for them.
Use your food waste: a lot of it is thrown away when it can have a second life! You can plant some vegetable leftovers:
​
Or reuse some waste instead of throwing it away :
Support the locals
Consume organic and local products by buying from the local producer or through the AMAPs, which promote local and organic agriculture. They create a direct link between the producer and the consumer. Just like consuming fair trade products, the prices allow the producer a fair remuneration. The latter also works to preserve the environment (fair trade products) by guaranteeing the respect of the labour law to the employees: there is everything to gain.
You can check our interview with the "Jardin des milles pas", an local association that produces vegetables in agroecology
You struggle with the rules of recycling ? You don’t know which product goes in which trashcan ? “Montri” is the app made for you. You just have to scan the barcode of your products and the app will tell you how to recycle them and what is their impact on your health.