Hayden Freeman

This week for my eco-challenge, I decided to focus more on my health and take a closer look at the small things I consume every day. I started thinking about whether those things are healthy not just for my body but also for the environment. For example, I eat LARA bars almost every day, but after doing more research and looking deeper into the brand, I realized it's not something I want to support. It's also not as nutritious as I thought. This made me realize how many small habits we repeat without even noticing. Sometimes we support things we don't actually agree with, just out of routine. Removing this one item from my daily life might seem small, but over time it can have a meaningful impact on both my health and the environment.

This week, instead of going thrifting like I usually do, I decided to go through my own clothes, take pictures, and sell them on Depop. This not only helped me make some money but also contributed to the resale community, which is such a sustainable alternative to buying new clothes. I realized that by taking the time to sell my old clothes online, I’m giving myself extra spending money to shop sustainably — like supporting my favorite sustainable brands on Etsy that I know are worth it. It was also really fun because my mom got involved and even started her own Depop account. This just shows that small steps toward sustainability can be easy and fun!

This week, I decided to wash my own clothes since it was sunny. I usually wash my clothes by hand when I’m living in Asia, and it feels like the norm there. It’s not too hard and actually pretty easy to do—so I thought, why can’t I do it here? I noticed that it was extremely simple and surprisingly relaxing. It also made me more mindful of my clothing—I realized they’re actually quite delicate, and we often don’t take care of them as well as we should when we rely on machines.

This week, I decided to stop buying drinks at coffee shops—where I usually used plastic cups 2 to 3 times a week—and instead started buying sustainable matcha to make my own matcha lattes at home. I noticed that not only did I enjoy the process in the morning and become more mindful of the ingredients I was using, but I also felt less guilty about the money I was spending. It made me realize how much this new consumer world convinces us that we’re not capable of making a latte as good as an expensive coffee shop can. But really, it's just a form of brainwashing that encourages this type of behavior and makes us addicted to buying unnecessary products—many of which we can easily make ourselves at home.