Being sustainable is expensive | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

Being Sustainable Has Become More About Status And Income Than The Impact

Being eco friendly & sustainable is not all about protecting the environment for some people.

227
https://unsplash.com/photos/ILR5ikYmXDE

I'm on Instagram going through peoples stories. I come across this one account I follow. She is a sustainable account and an up-n-coming YouTuber.



So this content creator post on her story a picture of Tom's deodorant and a pack of two Target brand toothbrushes. Her text on the photos says how she went to Target to get bamboo toothbrushes because she forgot hers at home. So she went to Target, but a different Target than the one she bought the toothbrushes at before. She says how she went to this Target closer to her families home. She says the community is not as high end as the other community the previous Target was found at. So she goes to this new Target, goes to the toothbrush aisle, and no bamboo toothbrushes are to be found. She ends up getting the Target ones and shows the reality that sometimes you can slip with sustainability and she justified what she will do with the less sustainable toothbrushes she had to purchase. She then said how come stores like Target carry some things but at others, they don't? Because they're targeting a certain demographic.


conversation with @thatcurlytop on Instagram

The previous Target she went to was in a wealthy upscale area in California. Over there, there is a market for sustainable items because they're more expensive. Companies like Target believe that only people in a primarily upper class and I hate to establish race on it but white communities can afford these items and will keep purchasing them. They just disregard other communities because they assume they'll just sit on the shelf.

Target is one of the better stores though that carries very sustainable and eco-friendly products for a reasonable cost. Yet, they're still limiting their market.

I start messaging with this girl about my recent experience.

In Orlando, I live in the college area. I go to this cute area about thirty minutes away. This area is incredibly wealthy and primarily full of upper-class white civilians. So I'm in this area and I go to Publix. It's my roommate's turn to get the garbage bags. So we go to this isle and I discover these biodegradable garbage bags! How incredible is that? The bags were only four dollars which compared to normal bags is inexpensive (It was a decent amount of bags too).

So I decided to purchase these bags next when it is my turn. I went to our Publix in the college area to see if they were there, AND THEY WERE NOT. Because it's a college area, I think Publix decided not to carry products like this.

SO after conversing with this lovely lady through Instagram, it just got me thinking about how so many brands have popped up that are sustainable and so good for the planet, but then charge a shit load for it.



Brands that are preaching be sustainable and the people going "yes" and then your wallet going "you can't."

Rothy's Best Seller

No middle class and lower class average people can afford to be sustainable all the way because brands make it a status and a trend. Being trendy isn't cheap.

There are incredible brands out there that I give all my support to. Some like Package Free Shop make being zero waste and sustainable somewhat affordable and is owned by the incredible girl boss Lauren Singer.


And wonderful brands like Rothy's, Everlane, and Reformation are doing great things. I just personally believe these brands are so much money that it is very hard for people to buy these products to make a change. And then the people who can afford it sometimes like it for the status that they're "sustainable." Which is fine by me because if being trendy is helping out the environment, then I'm all for it.


Everlane recycled coat with a price


Reformation

All in all, my point is that stores need to carry these products in all of there branches, not just in the upper scale neighborhoods. And they need to be affordable so people can make the effort to help the environment. So many people want to but can't afford to fully like me.

FOLLOW ME ON MY INSTAGRAM: @KELLICOLLINSS

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Entertainment

Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

These powerful lyrics remind us how much good is inside each of us and that sometimes we are too blinded by our imperfections to see the other side of the coin, to see all of that good.

102805
Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

The song was sent to me late in the middle of the night. I was still awake enough to plug in my headphones and listen to it immediately. I always did this when my best friend sent me songs, never wasting a moment. She had sent a message with this one too, telling me it reminded her so much of both of us and what we have each been through in the past couple of months.

Keep Reading...Show less
Zodiac wheel with signs and symbols surrounding a central sun against a starry sky.

What's your sign? It's one of the first questions some of us are asked when approached by someone in a bar, at a party or even when having lunch with some of our friends. Astrology, for centuries, has been one of the largest phenomenons out there. There's a reason why many magazines and newspapers have a horoscope page, and there's also a reason why almost every bookstore or library has a section dedicated completely to astrology. Many of us could just be curious about why some of us act differently than others and whom we will get along with best, and others may just want to see if their sign does, in fact, match their personality.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

20 Song Lyrics To Put A Spring Into Your Instagram Captions

"On an island in the sun, We'll be playing and having fun"

18602
Person in front of neon musical instruments; glowing red and white lights.
Photo by Spencer Imbrock on Unsplash

Whenever I post a picture to Instagram, it takes me so long to come up with a caption. I want to be funny, clever, cute and direct all at the same time. It can be frustrating! So I just look for some online. I really like to find a song lyric that goes with my picture, I just feel like it gives the picture a certain vibe.

Here's a list of song lyrics that can go with any picture you want to post!

Keep Reading...Show less
Chalk drawing of scales weighing "good" and "bad" on a blackboard.
WP content

Being a good person does not depend on your religion or status in life, your race or skin color, political views or culture. It depends on how good you treat others.

We are all born to do something great. Whether that be to grow up and become a doctor and save the lives of thousands of people, run a marathon, win the Noble Peace Prize, or be the greatest mother or father for your own future children one day. Regardless, we are all born with a purpose. But in between birth and death lies a path that life paves for us; a path that we must fill with something that gives our lives meaning.

Keep Reading...Show less
Health and Wellness

10 Hygiene Tips For All College Athletes

College athletes, it's time we talk about sports hygiene.

17413
Woman doing pull-ups on bars with sun shining behind her.

I got a request to talk about college athletes hygiene so here it is.

College athletes, I get it, you are busy! From class, to morning workouts, to study table, to practice, and more. But that does not excuse the fact that your hygiene comes first! Here are some tips when it comes to taking care of your self.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments