Sustainability - nobody is perfect
Anyone who wants to be sustainable must live a vegan lifestyle, stop driving, and ban plastic from all areas of life. And anyone who occasionally hops on a plane or drinks water from a plastic bottle can't be serious about sustainability—right? That's often how it sounds: all or nothing. We see it differently, because every step counts. Our plea against eco-shaming!
If you venture into the "eco-bubble," you'll quickly be confronted with this "eco-perfectionism." But you don't have to tackle everything at once to make a difference!
Eco-shaming and whataboutism
Greta Thunberg is photographed with travel provisions in plastic packaging, and suddenly her credibility is being discussed everywhere. The fact that she traveled around the world without getting on a plane is quickly ignored. On platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, many environmental activists have to expect malicious comments – just because they don't perfect acted in the interest of the environment. This leads to many no longer daring to take a stand on sustainability or only doing so completely share sustainable snippets of their lifestyle, which distorts the perception of their overall actions. Terms like Sustainability bashing, double standards and eco- or sustainability-shaming are associated with this.
But not only public figures who fight for sustainability have to defend their imperfect Justifying actions. Anyone who admits they care about the future of the planet makes themselves vulnerable. Instead of praise and recognition for a step in the right direction, they are accused of not doing everything right.
You always ride your bike, but bought vegetables wrapped in plastic? You no longer eat meat, but you fly on vacation? You always shop without packaging, but you don't eat vegan? These are the cynical comments you receive from your friends, family, and acquaintances. It's quite discouraging. This phenomenon is also called Whataboutism : In order to distract from an issue or to denigrate a success, reference is made to another problem – which, strictly speaking, has nothing to do with the original question, because we can identify several problems at the same time and yet address them individually.
Every step counts
Eco-perfectionism suggests that one can only credibly commit to protecting the environment if one lives ecologically soundly. This leads many people to abandon it altogether or take a step back.
BUT: You don't have to do everything at once to work for a better world. Everyone should decide for themselves how much they want to change. wants and can . Because a sustainable lifestyle also has a lot to do with privilege.
What is important is that we all dare to live a little more sustainably, without fear of not perfect to be and to have to justify decisions.
Every step, no matter how small, counts and is important. Instead of thinking about all the things you can improve, it's better to pat yourself and others on the back.
Wouldn't it create much more solidarity if we supported each other and celebrated every small change in the right direction together? – YES! So let's go!
Perfectionism at BRACENET
Eco-shaming has no place on our team! But as a sustainable company, we are naturally also confronted with a lot of eco-perfectionism. Especially when we venture out of the eco-bubble with our cooperation and sales partners, this often raises questions. We firmly believe that you can make a difference, above all, by thinking outside the box. That's why we also sit down with companies that, at first glance, might not be associated with sustainability, because there is still a lot of untapped potential here. It's all the more rewarding to see when we can actively initiate change there. We don't like black-and-white thinking; we take a multifaceted view. Would you like to receive inspiration from us in your company, association, or institution? Then take a look. here.
Our Bracenet is the ideal companion for a sustainable lifestyle. Always visible on your wrist, it's a daily reminder of small environmental protection decisions. And all without a finger-wagging.