When I started cloth diapering it reminded me about my passion in life. Over 10 years ago, in High School, a friend and I had this dream to have a green roof on our Secondary School. It didn’t happen but it was the start of dreaming green, and going big. I even have a Bachelors in Environmental Studies where I focused in ideas of environmental citizenship and community development. However, in this big world of consumerism and mainstream culture I typically get sucked back into doing everything everyone else is doing.
Cloth Diapering introduced me to the idea of crunchy moms. Which, essentially this idea of doing things a little different, a little granola, a little hippy. The idea was that cloth diapering led people to reconsider other ways they impact the environment and maybe they make their own baby food, plant a garden, and shop local.
I kind of identify with this movement, but over the past few years it’s really morphed into an essential oil haven for the anti-vaccine movement that’s very much a fight zone about who is right or wrong on controversial topics and less about actual lifestyle change. Personally, would equate very little of the crunchy mom movement with ideas of environmentalism and perhaps that’s why I’ve never really felt like these were good safe spaces for me to be as a mom looking for connection online.
This my friends is where I introduce you to my new family – The Zero Waste Movement.
This is where it’s at – at least on Instagram. These are people writing about, talking about, and making change. Just small change, but change that matters and influences our ideas about consumption and the environment. Some of these people are even moms and dads with kids who are talking about the little ways we can use less waste and make an impact on the world.
This is a movement not about the politics of vaccines and the nasty-ness of breastfeeding versus formula, but instead real life encouragement to reuse a container, bring your own water bottles, and leave the straw at the counter. It leaves the obsession about essential oils over with the so-called “crunchy moms” and talks about tangible shifts that don’t involve money, buying things, and bashing other people for doing things a little differently.
Bet best – the reminder that perfection is not the end goal, instead the journey is the most important
The Zero Waste Movement offers everything I thought I would get from crunchy moms – tips on how to pack lunches, clothing to repurpose and how to tackle the grocery store. It’s actually about finding balance in the consumerism of 2019. Maybe balance is overrated because I’m writing from the perspective of someone striving for a better environment. It feels me with joy, compassion and the starch reality to ditch single use, wash my shit, and remember my bags.
This is what being crunchy is about. Or at least to me.
I’m ditching the Crunchy Mom groups. The mean girls of the internet have just taken what should have been a movement of doing things a little better for our kids into an vaccine/circumcision/anything else debate.
But really, we should be trying to save our kids from ourselves and the never ending piles of garbage they will have to sort through.
Finally! I’m so glad someone out there has said it!
Who are the best people to follow or groups to find for these tips you speak of? Although I don’t cloth diaper, I’m so into this. Some days I still think about switching as diapers are literally the only thing that go in the bin!