my case for meal kits: a realistic review of HelloFresh.

I take a lot of pride in considering myself something of an amateur chef (read: someone who watches a lot of cooking content on YouTube). So whenever I saw ads on social media for meal kit services like HelloFresh, I quickly scrolled past. I thought they were ridiculous. Overpriced, too much packaging, and a sad testament for how capitalism has made us too busy to even have time to grocery shop and cook. 

Me, getting ready to cook :)

But a month or two ago, I read this article during a period when my anxiety was making it impossible to eat, let alone cook. It discusses how the pandemic and its mental health repercussions influenced the author to sign up for a meal kit service. A switch flipped in my mind and I did the same thing. Ever since, I’ve been using HelloFresh, and I’ve decided to write a review of my experience because I want to nuance the narrative surrounding these services a little bit. 

the service

If you aren’t familiar with HelloFresh or those like it, it’s a subscription service that allows you to pay a weekly fee and, in return, pick a few recipes and receive corresponding individually-portioned ingredients. You tell them what you want, and when you want it, and the box arrives at your door. You barely need anything other than salt, pepper, and oil to get cooking. 

the prices

Many folks’ main concern about these services is that they’re expensive. From my experience that all depends on you: what you normally pay for groceries every week, how many recipes you wish to receive, and whether you’re willing to pay a slight premium for the element of convenience. In any case, I pay roughly $75 per week for 3 recipe kits, totalling 6 meals. It’s more than I used to pay for groceries (about $50 per week) but if it means I’m actually eating, I don’t mind the extra $15. 

the quality

Source: this Insider article about using HelloFresh during the COVID-19 lockdown.

From my roughly four or five weeks using HelloFresh, I have found the ingredients and recipes to taste really good. The produce is usually quite fresh, but I’ve occasionally run into some wilted herbs. Some of the recipes have been somewhat unflavorful, but if you’ve got a well-stocked spice collection, you’ll be fine. And I like how healthy and balanced the meals always are. You know exactly what’s going into them, and you don’t have to worry that you’re getting all your food groups. 

the sustainability

HelloFresh advertises on its website that it’s a sustainable service. However, this piece is my main critique. Every week I’m dealing with tons of unnecessary cardboard and far more ice packs than I know what to do with. Each box also comes with corresponding recipe cards, and for each one they send along an English and a French version. These things should either be eliminated or at least optional. 

HelloFresh should also prioritize local ingredients. One week, I received fish all the way from Iceland! As someone originally from the Maritimes, I felt a little insulted; Canada has no shortage of local options and taking advantage of them is a sustainability must.

Source: Crippledscholar’s article “When Accessibility gets Labeled Wasteful”

However, HelloFresh does appeal to some aspects of social sustainability, bringing up an important intersectional environmentalism issue. Some folks may remember the great plastic straw debate, wherein a bunch of environmentalists led the campaign to eliminate them altogether as an unnecessary, single-use utensil. But many disability rights activists, like Crippedscholar, critiqued this cause with much validity. They argued that sometimes, single-use plastics and packaging that might just seem “lazy” to able-bodied people can actually be empowering for disabled folks. This point is important when critiquing HelloFresh’s sustainability, because even though it’s easy to call them out for pre-cutting and individually-wrapping the veggies in their meal kits, doing so eliminates a barrier in cooking for many. And again, more broadly speaking, the service itself does that for a lot of people in general. 

conclusion

All of this is to say that while meal kit services might not be the right fit for everyone, they’re helpful for more folks than you might think, and a lot of people who use them aren’t just “lazy”. I’ve had a great experience using HelloFresh, and while I likely won’t be a lifetime customer, it’s certainly a helpful resource during these difficult times. 

I’ll leave you with a treat: an incredibly entertaining YouTube video (as I mentioned earlier that I enjoy greatly) from Sohla El-Waylly, one of my absolute favourite chefs. 

With love and sustainability,

Ethigirl.

How to Host a Sustainable Dinner Party (in a Pandemic)

I originally produced the following essay and community cookbook for a university course taught by Dr. Alex Ketchum titled GSFS 401: Food, Gender and Environment.

Introduction

As someone with a passion for sustainability, which has taken specific root in food studies over the course of this semester, I began my project with a clear research question in mind: what does “perfectly sustainable” food and cooking look like, and can I represent that through the medium of a dinner party? I chose a dinner party because I wanted to harness the power of a social gathering among friends and food to cultivate a collection of experiences with sustainability and food. I believed hosting an experiential learning opportunity was the best way in which to do so. Therefore, I contacted a group of friends and instructed them all to bring a dish they felt was sustainable, along with the promise of an evening of discussion, meal sharing, and photo-taking. On March 16th, however, as COVID-19 social distancing measures started to take serious effect, I had no choice but to cancel my event and brainstorm a new plan. I opted to host the same event, instead over video call (specifically via Zoom). To my gratitude, my friends agreed, and my research question then evolved just as my plans had. Not only did I now wish to understand what a sustainable dinner party looked like, but I also had to manage this new factor of doing everything remotely. 

The experience of a Sustainable Zoom Dinner Party taught me many things, even if I learned them differently than I originally expected to throughout the exercise of this assignment. My essay will relay those findings as follows: first, I will discuss the three parts of my methodology — the dinner party experiment, my community cookbook, and a literature review. Next, I will present my results and a discussion, and come to a conclusion of what someone must consider when wishing to host an event like mine. My scientific research-inspired essay framework was greatly influenced by “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass”, a specific chapter in Indigenous botanist Robin Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass, which describes her work understanding and arguing in favour of the importance of Indigenous knowledge. Her chapter is profoundly compelling and makes a strong case for experiential learning. In sum, in this essay I argue that in order to host a sustainable dinner party in a pandemic, you must incorporate three tenets: gratitude, accessibility, and environmentalism. Through the lens of each tenet, you must also specifically consider the food, the dinner party itself, and the impact of COVID-19. 

Methodology

The Dinner Party Experiment

The idea behind hosting a sustainable dinner party stemmed from my belief that I could only successfully come to conclusions on such overwhelming terms by consulting with other people. Similar to a scientific experiment, more participants leads to more inclusive research that accounts for as many factors as possible. As such, I created an event and invited a group of my friends to help with my research by preparing a meal they personally felt was sustainable, and then responding to a series of discussion questions during the (virtual) event. A shortcoming of my sample was its lack of diversity. All participants are in their early twenties, study social science-based undergraduate degrees, and live in major Canadian cities. However, for my purposes, I contacted individuals who I believed would be most likely to participate. 

A Community Cookbook

Following the Zoom Dinner Party, I had each participant provide me with several materials: the recipe they cooked, their rationale for its sustainability, and some photos. I compiled all of these elements, along with my own personal submission, into a sustainable community cookbook titled Defining Sustainable Food: A Cookbook (Appendix A). This visual component of my research represents how eight students living and studying in urban areas responded when asked to represent their ideas of sustainable food and cooking.

You can view the cookbook below:

Literature Review

The third component of my research was to consult a diversity of other research on my topic, including peer-reviewed articles, journalism, and other texts like blog posts and interviews. This element of my methodology recognizes the value of past work on this subject, much of which required emotional labour to produce. It also seeks to make up for shortcomings in diversity in my experiment, since there were other groups and issues I wished to represent and discuss.

Results & Discussion

Tenet 1: Gratitude

The first of the three tenets I argue one must consider when planning a sustainable dinner party (while social distancing) is gratitude. My initial inspiration for including this tenet was my realization of how grateful I am to my participants for contributing their time and labour. I feel more than honoured to be close to so many individuals who were willing to go above and beyond to participate in a friend’s class assignment, particularly during times like these. Through this project I have discovered the true strength, depth, and meaning of the relationships I’ve developed throughout the past several years. Additionally, however, I wish to argue that gratitude in relation to a sustainable dinner party during a pandemic only begins with a recognition of how valuable it is to have friends who will share a meal with you. An understanding of gratitude is incomplete without concrete efforts toward justice. We may be grateful for the farmers who produce our food, as well as the essential workers who process our grocery order, but we must also support their fair treatment by advocating for living wages and by purchasing ethically-made products. 

Hosts must consider where the food on the dinner party table will come from, and understand that sustainable food is fair trade. According to scholar Michael K. Goodman, who cites Barrett-Brown and Raynolds, the fair trade movement works both “in and against the market” and seeks to improve the living and working conditions of Global South farmers and producers. Goodman also mentions that, according to Oxfam, fair trade promotes “trade, not aid” and challenges the “ways of trading that keep people poor.” Concretely, these elements may look like purchasing products made by people with the right to unionize who work in safe conditions and are paid enough to support both themselves and their families. Sustainable food, therefore, supports sustainable livelihoods. Finally, when considering gratitude in regards to the dinner party itself, participants should recognize it not only in the context of their relationships with those around the table, but of their relationship with the land they eat upon. Many sustainable dinner parties will be held on unceded Indigenous territory, meaning it was stolen by colonizers who caused the violent loss of cultures as well as hundreds of thousands of lives. Many event hosts represent this issue through land acknowledgements. However, as scholars Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang wrote in their article “Decolonization is Not a Metaphor,” acknowledgement is not sufficient. Many scholars and activists use the term “decolonize” as a verb to describe the accommodations they are making in colonized spaces, without realizing the very real implications of the word itself.

Finally, creating space for gratitude at a dinner party in a pandemic must not only acknowledge the role of grocery store employees, cleaners, healthcare workers, and public transit drivers and maintenance workers in making it happen, but it must also fight for their fair treatment. As journalist Owen Jones argues, the movement during COVID-19 toward celebrating essential workers as “heroes” is necessary, but incomplete without advocacy from the privileged. Jones writes that “no floor can be cleaned remotely,” and yet those risking their lives to provide services like these are systemically underpaid and unfairly treated. Sustainable dinner party attendees who can (and should) work from home during this pandemic should spend time fighting in favour of normalizing essential workers’ higher wages and safer conditions, including access to personal protective equipment and sufficient distance from customers. It is additionally important that we extend our action-based gratitude during this time to our favourite establishments, such as restaurants, cafes, and bars. Many businesses still offer zero-contact delivery, and others provide the option of purchasing gift cards or merchandise online. Food writer Alicia Kennedy cites vegan business owner Chris Kim, who states that small businesses are relying on limited income during this time to prioritize their staff’s needs, like job security and reliable income with which to support their families. We owe those who keep these valuable establishments running the ability to do so. Therefore, sufficient gratitude while hosting a sustainable dinner party in a pandemic extends beyond recognition and into concrete action.

Tenet 2: Accessibility

Some experiment participants discussed the many costs associated with trying to live more sustainably, such as sacrificing additional income, time, or waste-intensive products, which can make participation in the movement exclusionary. Thus, a consideration of accessibility when preparing for and hosting a sustainable dinner party must encompass the many challenges and barriers that marginalized community members face on a daily basis. A sustainable dinner party during social distancing should still allow and encourage the participation of everyone, regardless of their situation. 

First of all, sustainable food itself evokes many accessibility issues. As dinner party participant Anna suggested, many grocery stores simply do not offer sustainable options, and access to grocery stores differs greatly depending on where you live.  For example, scholar Adi Segal discusses food deserts, a term which describes lack or difficulty of geographical access to healthy and nutritious food establishments, usually in lower-income areas. In New York City, small grocery stores (known as bodegas) are far more likely to exist in the neighbourhoods of East and Central Harlem than in the Upper East Side, and these bodegas are less likely to offer nutritious food options than those in the latter neighbourhood. Moreover, while many restaurants exist in all three neighbourhoods, those in East and Central Harlem are more likely to be fast-food establishments. Food deserts therefore limit access to healthy food options and further curb sustainability efforts. Additionally, disability rights blogger Crippledscholar argues that some things environmentalists tend to label as unsustainable, like straws or single-use packaging, make the lives of disabled folks easier. For example, when able-bodied environmentalists advocated for removing peeled, packaged oranges from supermarket shelves, it was harmful to the agency of disabled individuals for whom these products are incredibly valuable. 

Moreover, as dinner party participants Husayn and Juliette discussed, movements such as the zero waste one require additional labour for things like remembering to bring reusable bags and selecting more sustainable products at the store. This topic should be kept in mind in regards to accessibility because according to journalist Alden Wicker, this additional labour disproportionately falls on women since it has become included in domestic labour responsibilities. For these reasons, sustainable parties should adopt a BWYC (Bring What You Can) policy, both physically and intellectually. Participants should not be worried about preparing a perfectly-sustainable dish if it is not within their means to do so, and this experience should be a learning opportunity for everyone. No one should feel gatekept, or as though they do not have the knowledge or resources that qualify them to attend. 

Finally, in regards to accessibility and Coronavirus, one positive point to hosting a dinner party remotely is that it increases access to those who might not otherwise have been able to attend. For example, if I had held my event in my home, those who could not access stairs would have been excluded. Dinner party participant Juliette also addressed the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, stating how finding the motivation to eat and to cook has become more challenging with these new measures. As Ed Yong of The Atlantic wrote, human contact is a coping mechanism for many and social distancing has greatly reduced it. The effects of Coronavirus also negatively impact those with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, elderly people, those living in abusive homes, and Asian people dealing with an increase in racism. There is, evidently, no shortage of accessibility concerns one must consider when hosting a sustainable dinner party during the coronavirus. The host and participants should do their best to address as many as possible. 

Tenet 3: Environmentalism

No discussion of sustainability is complete without addressing issues of environmentalism, and rightly so. Although a sustainable dinner party must mitigate its impact on the environment, there are aspects of western environmentalism that override social sustainability in negative ways. For instance, in regards to food, environmentalists usually advocate for reducing or eliminating consumption of animal products, which is certainly important since up to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from meat. However, as dinner party participant Delphine pointed out, being vegetarian does not necessarily mean being sustainable. Junk food, for example, is often vegetarian, but it creates packaging waste. The food sovereignty movement also reminds us how meat is significant to many cultures, and can be farmed and eaten in less carbon-intensive ways. Additionally, while an in-person sustainable dinner party event should encourage those involved to reduce their footprint through low-carbon transportation and low-waste dinnerware, holding the event remotely mostly eliminates these concerns. 

Finally, in regards to the relationship of COVID-19 to environmentalism, dinner participants Mariam and Husayn argued that sanitation concerns have increased waste. According to Mariam, products such as bunches of bananas are now wrapped in plastic, and Husayn shared that some grocery stores no longer allow shoppers to bring reusable bags. As a broader social dialogue, many social media posts have gone viral discussing how social distancing measures have decreased pollution, and how we should then conclude that “humans are the virus.” However, as writer Sierra Garcia argues, the negative social impact of the pandemic more than reduces a cause for an “environmental win.” This sentiment is also reminiscent of ecofascist, overpopulation-based environmentalism arguments, such as the one in Paul Ehrlich’s famous book The Population Bomb. Theories like Ehrlich’s blame Global South women for causing environmental problems through their role in increasing populations. To avoid unjustly blaming already-marginalized groups, a sustainable dinner party in the time of quarantine should discuss the systems which foster climate injustice, such as capitalism, globalization, mass industry, and corporate greed. Our learnings from COVID-19 should be less about reducing overpopulation and more about overhauling our systems to accommodate everyone, because it is possible. 

Conclusion

This essay provides a framework in regards to how one might host a sustainable dinner party during a pandemic. It has discussed the varying issues and considerations related to food, the event itself, and the impact of the Coronavirus on planning such an event. The community cookbook attached also represents a meaningful visual representation of this essay’s findings and should be read alongside it. Together, these elements conclude that hosts must incorporate three main tenets: action and justice-based gratitude, diverse considerations of accessibility, and environmentalism through an intersectional lens. Indeed, it discussed many considerations within the realm of each tenet, and hosts and participants should do their best to incorporate as many as possible. Future research should prioritize hosting such dinner parties with more diverse participant samples, therefore incorporating as many concerns and uplifting as many voices as possible. Moreover, sustainable dinner parties held following the COVID-19 pandemic that may not be forced to exist remotely might still consider including this as an option for participants who are unable to attend in person.

Works Cited

Broaders, Anna, Juliette Escande, Delphine Polidori, Mariam Grigoryan, and Husayn Jamal, video call with the author, April 04, 2020.

Coté, Charlotte. “‘Indigenizing’ Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States.” Humanities. Vol. 5, no. 57 (2016): doi:10.3390/h5030057 

Crippledscholar. “When Accessibility gets Labeled Wasteful.” Crippled Scholar, March 4, 2016. https://crippledscholar.com/2016/03/04/when-accessibility-gets-labeled-wasteful/

Derfel, Aaron. “Montreal public health scrambles to avoid community spread of COVID-19.” Montreal Gazette, March 17, 2020. https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-public-health-scrambles-to-avoid-community-spread-of-covid-19/

Garcia, Sierra. “‘We’re the virus’: The pandemic is bringing out environmentalism’s dark side.” Grist, March 30, 2020. https://grist.org/climate/were-the-virus-the-pandemic-is-bringing-out-environmentalisms-dark-side/

Goodman, Michael K. “Reading fair trade: political ecological imaginary and the moral economy of fair trade foods.” Political Geography. Vol. 23 (2004): 891-915. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2004.05.013 

Jones, Owen. “The undervalued heroes of the coronavirus crisis need our thanks - and our support.” The Guardian, March 21, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/21/undervalued-heroes-coronavirus-crisis-cleaners-supermarket-workers

Kennedy, Alicia. “Vegan Business Owners Share Coronavirus Challenges and Hopes for the Future.” Tenderly Magazine, March 31, 2020. https://medium.com/tenderlymag/vegan-business-owners-share-coronavirus-challenges-and-hopes-for-the-future-4aaee234f459

Kimmerer, Robin. “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass.” In Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2013.

Segal, Adi. “Food Deserts: A Global Crisis in New York City - Causes, Impacts and Solutions.” Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development. Vol. 3, no. 1 (2010): 197-214. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26167795 

Tuck, Eve and K. Wayne Yang. “Decolonization is not a metaphor.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society. Vol. 1, no. 1 (2012): 1-40. 

Van de Kamp, Mirjam E., S. Marjie Seves and Elisabeth H. M Temme. “Reducing GHG emissions while improving diet quality: exploring the potential of reduced meat, cheese and alcoholic and soft drinks consumption at specific moments during the day.” BMC Public Health, vol. 18, no. 264 (2018): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5132-3 

Wicker, Alden. “The complicated gender politics of going zero waste.” Vox, May 9, 2019. https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/5/9/18535943/zero-waste-movement-gender-sustainability-women-instagram

Yong, Ed. “How the Pandemic Will End.” The Atlantic, March 25, 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-will-coronavirus-end/608719/ 

Clay Jewelry from a Queer-Owned Small Biz: Gentle & Kind

No matter what it is you’re putting on your body, there’s a way to do it more ethically and sustainably. That’s the attitude I’ve been adopting as of late, as I try to tackle more aspects of my fashion and purchases. So, when I came across Hailey Watson’s Depop shop, Gentle & Kind, I was more than elated! Hailey offers the gorgeous geometric clay and metallic jewelry you have always wanted (even if you didn’t know it until now). 

As you may remember, I also featured Gentle & Kind in my 2019 holiday gift guide! However, after receiving some of her pieces and being even happier about how gorgeous they are in person, I knew I had to do a full-length article all about Hailey’s business. So, that’s this post! It’s been a long time coming, and I’m very excited to finally be getting it up. 

the origin story

Hailey has been passionate about sustainability and conscious living since she was sixteen. Since that point, she’s gone back and forth between living a vegan and a vegetarian lifestyle. Thrifting is one of the other ways in which she has managed what she’s put into the world. It allows her to avoid waste and to avoid new production! 

After getting into thrifting, Hailey discovered the slow fashion movement. She also saw the trend of clay earrings arising quickly, and wanted some for herself. As a college student, though, they were incredibly pricey. These elements together led her to start creating earrings for herself in order to avoid buying them new! Suddenly, Gentle & Kind was born!

There were a few key things which Hailey knew she wanted to prioritize as she built this new business. First and foremost, she wanted sustainability and slow fashion to be accessible to everyone, regardless of their income or what size clothing they wear. More than making money, Hailey was concerned with getting people to care about the issue, and providing a good that everyone would be able to access. She never wanted customers to have to choose between her products and those of a fast fashion brand, and although she knew it wouldn’t be possible to make the prices exactly equivalent, she wanted to make them at least comparable.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gentle & Kind (@gentle_kind) on Mar 14, 2020 at 1:13pm PDT

hailey’s small biz experience

As Hailey states in her Instagram bio, Gentle & Kind is a queer-owned business. She told me that she’s gotten a ton of support from both the queer and the women creator communities. In her experience, she wouldn’t say that being a queer woman has adversely impacted her work. Instead, she believes including this part of her identity in her business has allowed her to reach people within these communities online. Social media has allowed her to connect with queer folks who are looking to support other queer-owned businesses. 

the style identity

Hailey designs and creates pieces based on what she personally finds to be beautiful. The colours and shapes that you see in her earrings and necklaces are ones she has always been drawn to. She enjoys muted or neutral tones which allow her pieces to be worn with everything. 

She also often gets inspired by her own clothing! A favourite piece or outfit will lead her to design a new product based upon it. Although Hailey says she plans to stay in a similar colour scheme to what she offers now, she did tell me things will always be changing and she plans to try types of jewelry other than what she currently offers.

the broader goal

Another big part of the reason why Hailey started Gentle & Kind was to put herself through university debt-free. This in and of itself is an incredible goal; however, her aspirations extend past this. Hailey strongly identifies as a feminist, and is incredibly passionate about women’s education. She believes education is beautiful and an important platform for absolutely everything. For these reasons, she is planning to become a teacher and to instruct women in the Global South after she graduates. These are the motives behind the brand that you should keep in mind when deciding whether to go support Gentle & Kind...just saying.

Hailey said that although she’s not totally sure what the future of Gentle & Kind will look like, as she launched it with a few broader goals in mind, she plans on continuing it indefinitely. She absolutely loves what she does and doesn’t see that going away after she finishes college. For my part, I can’t wait to see what Hailey creates next.

With love and sustainability,

Ethigirl

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Do you follow me on Instagram yet? If not, check me out at @ethigirlblog!

personal and brand value as a female social entrepreneur: interview with erin, creator of vella vintage

Get 25% off any order with Vella Vintage using my code ETHIGIRL25 !!

Social entrepreneurship is damn exhausting. Being a woman in social entrepreneurship, and trying to balance probably like ten other things, while also building your credibility and maintaining your confidence in yourself and what you've created...that's even more exhausting.

But people like Erin, who created Vella Vintage, a gorgeous online vintage shop, demonstrate to us that this can all be worth it. It takes a lot of hard work and confidence, but believing in your personal value as an entrepreneur, and your brand value of what you sell will get you there. A few weeks ago, I FaceTimed with Erin after getting connected through Dazey LA, a feminist, slow fashion brand which we are both ambassadors for (if you want to know more about Dazey click here - and remember that you can get 10% OFF through my code through that link and my code ASPENIRIS)!

It was so entirely refreshing and exciting to hear from someone so passionate and excited about sustainable and ethical consumerism, just the same way I am, who also loves fashion. We had an amazing conversation. Here, I want to share just a few of the awesome things that were said throughout it!

the origins of vella

Erin started her business after growing up attending school in Germany and being heavily immersed in an education which put an emphasis on environmental advocacy. She also always loved thrifting. That's why, when she started university, everything clicked and it made sense in her mind to launch Vella Vintage! As the brand evolved, its mission became even more centred upon environmentalism and social justice, and the idea of how what you buy affects people.

What Erin has created she calls more than a business. It's a movement.

Erin focuses less on the business aspect of Vella, and more on the personality which shines through it.She believes that, at heart, people want to support a personality much more than they want to support a faceless corporation - you just need to make the option to do so accessible. That's what's going to divert the demand for fast fashion and influence people to support local, small, handmade, secondhand, and sustainable.

influencing friends + family to be conscious consumers

I also spoke to Erin about her opinion on individually influencing other people in her life to shop slow or shop less. According to her, trying not to be judgemental is key - which I also am so passionate about supporting here at Ethigirl. Her reminder to herself when people don't make the same consumer choices as her is to try not to take it personally, because fast fashion is NOT an individual issue. The mindset is hard to break because it's a societal problem. And we need to remember that, and to try not to get disappointed, when people don't immediately change their actions. Influencing others takes time - and while judgement is okay in small doses, in anything more it results in us turning people away from the movement.

On the other hand, having nice moments is so validating. When people come to you and tell you they made a different consumer choice because of what you taught or told them, or when someone buys something from Vella, according to Erin, this can make all the difference in your motivation to keep working.

easy conscious consumerism tips

Erin also makes many small choices in her everyday life to be a more conscious consumer and individual. These are a few of her favourites:

• air-drying her clothes

• choosing walking over driving whenever possible

• committing to buying 100% secondhand and ethical clothing, as well as secondhand furniture and books whenever possible

• refusing single-use plastic, or anything else which cannot be reused

• limiting meat as much as possible

• purchasing more organic and local foods; supporting farmers

• picking up litter on walks

She acknowledges that aside from thrifting, there are so many small ways which everyone can do their part. As well, along with making better consumer choices, reducing our waste is super important.

outlook on affordability and accessibility

Erin's personal preference, and tip to all, is thrifting. When you're on a budget, of course it is not always feasible to spend $50 on a t-shirt. Therefore, in the movement toward sustainable and ethical fashion, thrifting and secondhand clothing are really the best you can get when it comes to saving money and still looking great.

However, Erin has also come to realize that her brand does indeed have worth, and sometimes that means being firm with your prices. The root of the problem of fast fashion is peoples' belief that we need to own far too many clothes; therefore, they need to be available for cheap prices in order to keep up with trends. But in the space of ethical and sustainable fashion, entrepreneurs recognize the value of their items. They are confident in their inherent worth, and reflect the time and effort put in by their designers, creators, and curators.

Ethical fashion is more expensive to make, and a lot more effort and care goes into it. Entrepreneurs are also influencing the movement to reflect this. Consumers need to be encourages to shop less and shop better by recognizing the value of their items, and therefore paying more for something they truly love. You curate your wardrobe so that you have a smaller collection of great clothes.

Erin recognizes this and refuses to undervalue her clothes. Her items have stories: they're made differently, in a time before fast fashion, when things were sewn locally and with an entirely different process that was designed to last. So, obviously she will price these items higher - because customers need to value them more, too.

credibility as a small + female business owner

The intersectionality of these two things can really impact how people trust you. Erin has indeed dealt with many customers questioning her and questioning her confidence - ranging from things based on her age, her gender, and more. Specifically to do with her identity as a woman, she has dealt with customers being condescending and skeptical that she truly knows what she is doing. This can indeed be extraordinarily frustrating when you're putting so much time and effort into something that you truly love, are passionate about, and firmly understand.

Another really cool thing that Erin does as a woman who understands this issue, and how specifically prevalent it is within business and entrepreneurship, is her Girl Boss Blog series. Each month, she features a different badass business woman who is making waves in all different disciplines. I am so honoured that I'm going to be featured this month (March) - stay tuned in the coming days on my Instagram for a link to that!!

opinion on the future of fashion + consumerism

Erin is extremely hopeful and sees things changing every day. There is indeed a tremendous number of conversations being sparked all the time surrounding the things we are consuming and putting into and on our bodies. People are paying attention now, and they're educating themselves, as well as others. Bloggers are supporting brands, and vice versa. It could not be more of an emerging time.

It's really easy to stay pessimistic, and sometimes really hard to be optimistic. But Erin believes that they will.

She finished our conversation by opening the question to me: what really would happen if nobody made any more clothes? We would be fine. 100% fine. The prices might go up, and there might not be any more huge malls - but the world, all in all, would be literally fine.

This is something to think about. We all need to stop buying new, and reduce our buying as much as we can in general. In Erin's eyes, this is where we're headed, and she wants to be alive to see it.

You can find Vella Vintage's online store and website here. I am excited to be able to partner with Erin to offer 25% off on all her items using the code ETHIGIRL25. Also, be sure to follow her on instagram @vellavintage and stay connected with what's ahead. She is truly a wonderful human being and entrepreneur, and the type of person every Ethigirl should be supporting.

With love and sustainability,

ethigirl