Over the past few years, the Elia team has been following the zero-waste trend. In addition to the creation of our menstrual panties, we wanted to take stock of this trend and give our tips to those who want to get started!
What is zero waste?
Zero waste is an approach that aims to reduce our waste production as much as possible. The term "zéro déchet" comes directly from "zero waste". The French translation loses some of the information, but the idea remains the same.
The principle is to make increasing use of recycling, to enter a circular economy. The idea is to rethink the way we consume in order to produce less waste at the source of production. It's a real mindset, an awareness of the way we consume to reduce our environmental impact by changing our habits. This approach has many advantages. It's ecological, economical and beneficial to our health, since the products we buy are little or unprocessed.
This approach sapplies to all areas of our lives. Zero waste means rethinking our consumption of food, household products, cosmetics, furniture, clothing, etc.
It means being aware of the consumer society in which we live, and trying to make efforts at our own level to fight against environmental pollution, waste and over-consumption, and to encourage responsible consumption. This means implementing new practices in our daily lives. To consume less, but in a more reasoned and responsible way, and ultimately to have a better quality of consumption.
How do you go zero waste?
To have a zero waste approach, we keep in mind the 5 R's:
- Refuse what you don't need (single-use or over-packaged items, advertising, samples, etc.).
- Reduce what you need and avoid waste by buying only the quantities you need, and prioritize quality over quantity (clothes, furniture, food, etc.).
- Reuse what you have: use your periodsshopping with reusable containers, repairing, transforming objects/furniture, renting, borrowing, buying second-hand, donating, etc.).
- Recycle what you can't refuse, reduce or reuse. (42% of waste produced in France is actually recycled)
- Compost the rest (organic matter).
Going zero-waste can help you reduce your waste and fall below the 590 kg of waste that the average French person produces per year.
It also reduces the impact of production (the amount of energy and raw materials needed to produce a product), as well as the impact of waste management.
Recycling only comes into play at the end of the process, and only if it can't be avoided, since only 42% of the waste produced in France is actually recycled. Keep in mind that the best waste is the waste we don't create !
The zero-waste approach means changing our daily habits, through simple gestures. Using your menstrual lingerie is already a huge step. Changing our habits during our periods is a moral change that has a very strong ecological (and economic) impact. We need to be aware that this requires patience and self-indulgence, because we can't change everything overnight. Every little effort is a step forward in reducing our waste and our ecological impact.
To find out how eco-friendly our menstrual lingerie is, click here!
And what are your tips?
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Shall we keep in touch?