Welcome to the first ever entry on the Green Elephant blog.
Our journey to a more sustainable lifestyle began in earnest when we started our young family – almost 7 years ago now. I would never have considered myself to have been particularly ‘eco’ or green over the years although, when I think back, we have always been conscious of what we use and how we use it, with very little going to waste – which is actually a really useful sustainability concept to start with!!
Do you remember when recycling was introduced?? I do, and I think it’s fair to say that many people thought the idea was crazy and a complete pain in the bum!! But a lot has changed since then. Recycling has become the absolute norm and it’s considered weird (and very wasteful) NOT to recycle household cardboard, paper, bottles and certain plastics. This is a classic example of how attitudes to sustainability have changed over the years and how people have become more aware and educated about the benefits of living in a more sustainable way.
In my own family, we have made thoughtful changes and what I would consider to be ‘smarter’ choices about what we buy. I have found myself spending a ridiculous amount of time at the supermarket studying the labels on all manner of things that would normally have been added to my trolley without too much thought – other than maybe the question on all our lips ‘Is it on special..??!!! I have been surprised, frustrated and often quite cross by what I have found on the labels – and many times, I have bought nothing rather than buy what was available.
So, this lead me/us/our family to look further afield for the products we wanted. What we discovered was…..that here in New Zealand there are loads of really brilliant businesses offering a huge range of sustainability enablers (if you will) for all aspects of our lives – from amazing skin care to worm farms and solar panels. The thing that struck us was, that whilst we hunted on the internet and went to local markets and ‘green’ expos, there could be an easier way to shop for all of these brands. And so, the idea for Green Elephant was conceived. We want to make it easy for people to find all the businesses and products that we had discovered, but without having to do the legwork.
So, that’s how it all started. And now, as we grow and as we continue on our personal journey of discovery, I hope to bring some life experiences, some fun and some real sense of progress to this blog. I’ll keep you posted.
