eco-friendly items i use every day *UNPOPULAR OPINIONS*
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- čas přidán 29. 06. 2024
- eco-friendly items i use every day - but make it CONTROVERSIAL!
are thrift stores just for poor people? what does “no ethical consumption under capitalism” mean anyway? and why are americans so against cleaning their butts? these are some of the juicy questions we’ll be exploring [and hot-taking] in today’s video about the sustainable items i’d be lost without!
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◖ INSTAGRAM | bit.ly/3L3E69M
↓ DISCOUNTS for brands we love to support [affiliate links help us keep the wifi on!] ↓
◦ BACK MARKET | fight e-waste with expertly refurbished tech
[use referral code 13529b6e830500dc for $10 off your purchase]
◦ TUSHY | bidet attachment
tidd.ly/3KnUl3h [free carbon neutral shipping!]
◦ REEL TOILET PAPER | tree-free tp delivered to your door
shrsl.com/46s62 [AFFILIATE20 for 20% off first-time purchases]
◦ POSHMARK | a virtual marketplace for secondhand style
[$10 off your first poshmark purchase if you sign up with code AKORTE]
◦ ETSY | support small makers + shop my favorites!
creatoriq.cc/3KSM3Bk [carbon neutral shipping]
◦ FOODCYCLER by vitamix | countertop food recycler
www.jdoqocy.com/click-1009546... [free shipping over $100]
◖ SOURCES
refurbished tech:
chinalaborwatch.org/investiga...
nypost.com/2021/12/30/apple-i...
www.epa.gov/smm-electronics/b...
scotscoop.com/cartoon-ethical...
tushy bidet:
bidetgenius.com/pages/complet...
www.vox.com/2020/4/14/2121846...
resold secondhand fashion:
clotheshorsepodcast.com/is-se...
time.com/5364170/thrift-store...
imperfectidealist.com/is-thri...
kentstatenewslab.org/thrift-s...
www.michigandaily.com/opinion...
finance.yahoo.com/news/goodwi...
www.greenamerica.org/unraveli...
www.oceanlifeeducation.com.au...
www.buzzfeednews.com/article/...
◖ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - eco-friendly items i use everyday but make it juicy
1:01 - our tech is unethical, but there’s a loophole
6:38 - without a bidet you’re pooping wrong.
11:00 - is reselling thrifted clothing ethical?
19:59 - tell us your unpopular opinions!
all music in this video was written + recorded by my band, the mites 🤗
bit.ly/3Gqn7OH
oh my GOURD i can’t wait to hear your susty hot takes / unpopular opinions. i feel like it'd be so entertaining to do a follow-up video reacting to them?! p.s. OBVIOUSLY feel free to express your disagreement but comments are being moderated so keep it kind or you’ll be removed 😌 thank you fellow earth people!
Some of my unpopular opinions:
- plastic is a brilliant and incredibly useful product. We need to stop thinking of it as single use, but don't need to eliminate it... it might be the best option for some things [I'm not in the 'everything needs to come in wood, paper, metal or glass' brigade... glass is very high impact in my area as it's all crushed for road base and not recycled] . Reusing a few pieces of cling film over and over to freeze portions of cake for work snacks might have a lower lifetime impact than purchasing lots of stasher bags or similar - the actual lowest waste option isn't always the one that *looks* lowest waste.
- if you love the less 'eco friendly' version and hate the eco friendly version of a product, buy the one you love, that will bring you joy and you will finish/use to death [I'm not a fan of products that just don't work effectively, and I like brightly coloured and sparkly makeup]. I've eliminated waste to the point of not having a rubbish collection at my house... but I love some pressed glitter for my eyes, it makes me happy. It'll probably take years to use a 1 gram eyeshadow pan up. I also retired my dishwashing liquid I was getting from the eco store as the stuff just didn't work as well, I tried for a year, and it was far more expensive. I'm getting what seems to be an eco friendly option from a big store.
Beliefs about (1) plastic being bad and (2) having to give up things you love / that work and swap them for crappy substitutes are the beliefs I see in low waste communities that grate me the most.
@@racheljames9187 wait did we just become best friends??
One thing that always baffles me is that when other industries raise their prices for no apparent reason, we’re more than happy to blame inflation, rent, corporate greed, etc. But when thrift stores raise their prices… we blame resellers? It makes no sense. Thrift stores have to pay rent and wages too.
super great point! 👏
And if not it will just go in the trash if no one buys it! People would rather items go to the landfill on the chance it might be bought by someone else than a person buying it and reselling it for someone to use.
I haaaaate what “no ethical consumption under capitalism” has become.
Also 1000000% agree about bidets. So so so sooooo worth it.
it's so frustrating because whenever i read that phrase i wanna be like HECK YEAH but it's always being used to advocate such wanton degeneracy!!! lol
"Don't do nothing just because you can't do everything "❤
love this so much 🫶
❤❤❤ absolutely accurate
I agree with your take on second hand resellers. For some people, they don't live near a thrift store, don't have transportation (or can't afford it just to go thrifting when they may not find anything), or work long hours and can't get to the thrift stores when they're open. Resellers make secondhand items available to all of these people, and many more. And they make it faster/easier to find what you're looking for secondhand. I would love it if you did a video comparing different secondhand online marketplaces/shopping options and discussing the pros/cons. The reason I haven't ordered online from certain sites is because I'm afraid of the quality of the items I would receive and whether there would be any customer service/returns service from the website if I were to receive stained or damaged items.
thank you for a great video idea! are you curious about secondhand clothing platforms like poshmark/depop, or general secondhand platforms like eBay?
Second the video idea. I'm fairly new to depop and nearly everyone I talk to about it has never heard of it. It would be great to have some content to direct people to :)
@@allisonfromearth I would be interested in hearing about any/all platforms you would recommend. But things like depop, swap, and poshmark were what came to my mind first.
@@ashleystanley7941 ooh gotcha! for clothes i only really have experience with poshmark, and if your item arrives with any kind of damage that wasn't disclosed in the description, they'll give you a refund (that's only happened once in the 6 or 7 years i've been using the platform). but unfortunately for issues like fit or overall quality we're outta luck 😅 i've been measuring my favorite current wardrobe pieces to have a better idea of the fit of prospective poshmark purchases!
Allison your channel is a breath of fresh air. I'm going to share this with some family members of mine because you explain things 10x better than me and without all the attitude and annoyance I inevitably give off because of the ignorance. Love the knowledge you share!
ahh you've just made my day! thank you thank you 🧡
100% agree.
Also- if you ever have had any GI issues, you can use your HSA/FSA for tushy 😆
i did not know that! thanks so much for sharing the knowledge 💕🕺
NO NOTES. you nailed it. Systemic things are systemic. Calling 1 group of proletariat witches and proceeding to burn them simply preserves the system. Preach on! 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
My Eco friendly items: I drink out of old pasta jars daily and use my stainless steel tongue scraper every morning and night had it for 7 years i think and still doing fine 😊
ugh YES it's absolutely preserving the system, very much appreciate that observation! p.s. thanks for the reminder to scrape my dang tongue 🙃
Great point about the resellers! And anything that stops people from buying more new clothes is a good thing. I heard the other day that every Australian (on average, of course) bought 56 new items of clothing last year. How?! And who is buying so many clothes? And how can you possibly wear them all? If resellers can reach those people (who perhaps wouldn't normally buy secondhand) then it's a big yay from me!
completely agree, and the number of new clothes bought per U.S. citizen is even WILDER [70 per year] 👀 anyone helping bring that number down is a big yay in my book too!
I will say, my issue with the biddet is that the idea of water being sprayed at me anywhere (especially there) is such a sensory 'oh my god no' that I legitimately could never consider buying one. I know its better for the planet, but I simply cannot even fathom. All love and appreciation for everyone who does, but I'll focus my efforts elsewhere.
i have some weird sensory things too so i totally understand when you put it that way! and you're right, there is absolutely no expectation to "do it all" 🧡
Some are gentler sprayers than others, but that's understandable.
Also: keeping your tech as long as possible instead of replacing it, and if you cannot find what you need used, buying a durable repairable option are both good to do too! I have a kyocera flipphone and have dropped it hundreds of times and it is also waterproof :D
Girl your point about consumption in capitalism was so accurate. I’m pissed with how ambientalism became just a “lost cause” for soo many people. I’m tired of trying to convince everyone to do at least something less degenerate.
yes thank you!! there are degrees of degeneracy lol!
I see these comments about how there's "no point" or how it's "all or nothing" all the time (where you either are unsustainable for using fossil fuel products or sustainable if you never ever consume anything). I'm also tired of explaining how nothing is black and white to people in the comments, but I love teaching people that everybody can do a little something. 🎉❤ thank you for trying to convince people - I just want you to know your efforts are important and your hard work is worth it ❤
We should be thanking resellers for reducing more clothing items from becoming waste!
Here is my problem with used electronics...
In the past, I've bought the 'Second-chance' options (where a product has just been opened, but returned and they sell it at a lower price), I've bought second-hand electronics (sometimes even third-hand). And every time, even after extensive testing, the not new electronic item broke down way before it should.
All the items I've bought new? Those have lasted me years beyond their supposed life-cycle. I take good care of my electronics (I've never had a cracked phone screen), but I cannot trust the people I buy from to have done the same.
Maybe I've just been unlucky, but I would rather buy something new and have it last me years, than buy it second-hand and then need to replace it way too quickly because the person before me manhandled it.
oh that's why i specify refurbished -- repaired by professionals!
I get a lot of gratification from thrift shopping than I ever did otherwise. Plus there's a lot more variety, usually with the stuff you find in a thrift shop, you'd need to visit various different stores for the same items.
The other day I found a gorgeous dress but they didn't have one in my size, so I went to a thrift store and found one in the same sort of style. I'll usually find items with tags still on them at the thrift store
it blows my mind how many items i find that still have tags attached! and i totally agree that thrifting is much more fun than regular retail!!
To add to the resellers conversation: my biggest problem with them is that not only are they typically EXTREMELY rude/mean, but they grab the really cute/fashionable stuff before people that can’t afford the same item brand new can even think about going to the store after work.
For those that upcycle the clothes (like combining garments or adding embellishments), they NEED to stay out of the plus size section. It’s unbelievably difficult to find plus size clothes in general, and even harder if you have a very particular style. There’s so many straight sized clothes they can use instead.
Edited to add: I worked in a thrift store for 3 years & now rely on thrift stores to replace parts of my wardrobe & furnish my apartment.
So agree with your point... there IS no shortage of clothing, apparently there is so much in circulation that we could clothe the next 6 generations of humans. Some charities in Australia do actually gift clothing to people in need - not everyone needs to buy it. Also, the person who is selling clothes for profit might well be one of the less fortunate people spoken of (I don't hear that point being made much, but I doubt most people selling clothes for profit are super well off, it seems like a difficult way to make money as the margin wouldn't be that much taking their time and items they don't manage to sell into account). I get things at op shops too, but I have loved being able to finally find the few pieces I've never come across at the thrift store on depop ... if the seller found them cheaply and was able to turn a profit selling items I love to me at a price I'm happy to pay, more power to them, I think :) Seems like a win-win situation to me.
exactly!! 🧡
The only reason im not still wearing the same clothing from a decade a go is because my body has changed far too much. But that just meant I donated a bu ch of fantastic clothing I could no longer fit and also got to go out and thrift a whole new wardrobe without feeling bad :p
One great find was I actually found a larger size of a dress I sadly had to give up as I knew I'd never fit it again. And it was so many years later that I was shocked to see it
okay i'm convinced that dress had to have been kismet ✨ the goddesses of thrift were smiling down on you!
Nuance! This is hard to convey with a few words and is the cause of many of these issues like "no ethical consumption under capitalism". The way we communicate ideas has become shortened over time. We have more access to information than ever, but it has become breadth over depth. Taking the time to fully understand an idea is tough when we are exposed to so much information. If everyone took the time to understand a concept they came across online, we would only consume two short-form videos, one tweet, one Reddit post, etc. Repeating an idea you heard that sounds "about right" without researching it or understanding the nuance behind it creates a world colored in black and white. Sensationalist headlines by news outlets don't help the problem.
such a well-reasoned perspective 👏 thank you for adding that!
I was so tired my journey to become more sustainable until CZcams recommended you. You are awesome! You made me pick up where I left off. ❤
okayyy i may have gotten a lil emotional reading this 🥹 glad we found each other!
Love your take on "consumption & capitaliam"!!! Thanks for the great video & cheers from Germany! ❤
Oh, and i would love a studio refresh video!
thank you!! it's the all-or-none mentality that i just cannot get behind!
I think being cheap is being eco-friendly. I've been using 2 large one-time plastic bottle as my water bottle for a year. Given the average number you get is using a reusable bottle 50 times to cancel out the extra emissions from making higher quality products. My 2 plastic bottles used for a year needs 25 years of using the 1 reusable bottle. Or more as I'm still using them. Plastic may not be eco friendly in the public mind. But reusing them makes every bit of sense. (I don't care as much about the chemicals, the planet's health is more important then mine).
Not only is second hand tech more sustainable, but it’s SOOO MUCH CHEAPER. In the UK I think it’s a pretty mainstream way to buy stuff - you have trade in shops like CEX, plus independent trade in places on every high street. It’s where I bought my new phone when my iphone 8 finally gave up the ghost (RIP). Got a guarantee it was fully tested and a 24 month warranty. Plus if you buy something second hand outright you can get on a sim only contract and pay so much less. My monthly phone bill is £4.50 lol.
WHAT that's incredible, i'm so envious! we need something like that in the u.s.!
I like when people crab about the choices of donation/thrift centers. I get not wanting to give clothes to an organization that doesn't align with your values but...these people are taking your tacky clothes
lol you have a point there
So very well thought out and articulated. I love your take on all of this. Fanaticism in any life choices is unhelpful and unhealthy. We do the best we can within our individual abilities and economic circumstances. Keep up the good work👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
couldn't have said it better myself, thank you for this!! 🫶
This is such a professional and comprehensive vid :) Thanks for sharing this
appreciate that so much, thank you!
Thank you, Allison. Your perspective to this topic is spot on! Always on the look out for your next videos.
this warms my cold, shriveled heart 💕 thank you!!!
Thank you so much for this video! I've been wanting to buy some new electronics, and I'm excited to buy something refurbished.
I'd love to install a bidet in our bathroom but all our piping is built in so there is no way to connect the water, unless we drill in the tiles. Such a bummer 😔
I LOVE WHEN I SEE YOUR FACE IN MY CZcams FEED! This was a great video, and I especially agree with your takes on electronics and reselling. People on the internet are always giving each other a hard time about those 😮💨
My hot take: you can still be an environmentalist if you’re not vegan. Yes, meat reduction is essential to reducing ag related emissions but so are other things like preventing food waste! Not all of us can totally cut meat out from our diets (for various reasons) and I shouldn’t be excluded from my community because of it 🤷🏽♀️ Thanks again! Hope to chat soon, miss you on IG!
I MISS YOU TOO, A!! completely agree that you don't have to be vegan to be a good environmentalist, sounds like some vegan propaganda to me lol!
I love thrifted clothing, and I have a horrible time with perfumed sprays in my local thrift stores. I have had some luck removing said perfume with hunting detergent, designed to remove all scents.
Great video!!! Love the hot takes! 😊
Great discussion. Could you please also do one on self care habitats and products? Also sports clothes can be challenging to find if one cares about sustainability. Research about the details of each product takes time too in general. I wonder why we can’t relate systemic approaches to evaluate them and make suggestions like LEED or living building certifications that the company itself needs to provide evidence not consumers 😒
Odio a los resellers!
Aquí en Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 , podrías antes encontrar buenos precios y productos. Si yo queria algo de ropa para evento,
(como quinceañeras, bautizos ect) yo podía ir a un thrift store, bazar, pulguero ect y por $ 20. Salía de allí con 2 bolsas llenas de ropa para toda la familia.
Ahora con $20. A lo mucho te llevas una sola pieza de ropa.
Para las personas que no están en desventaja es fácil decir que los resellers no son el problema.
a lot of resellers are disadvantaged though
@@allisonfromearth Estoy hablando de mi realidad, vivo en Santurce, San Juan Puerto Rico y los resellers han estado remplazando los pulgueros por thrift store trendy en los que no se puede comprar nada a un precio razonable.
@@bluenoirrain2814 ohh are they opening up physical shops in low-income areas? i can absolutely understand your frustration in that case
My opinion has changed radically about them after moving from shopping at salvage centers to actual thrift shops. They hoard and snatch like hawks, and increase the carbon footprint of shopping 2ndhand with TONS of trips to the thrift + shipping the items. There's a case to be made for some that seek niche items, actually do restoration work, and don't upcharge like crazy, but I hold 99% of them in pretty low regard.
Just want to say that you don’t HAVE to buy a bidet to clean yourself with water. I’m a big fan of the bidet but if it’s not in the budget you can use a squirt bottle (peri bottle) you can use a water bottle. You can use a cup. Just clean yourself 😂
I loved this video! Thank you for sharing your thoughts :D
i'm so stoked to hear that! thanks for watching and contributing 🧡
The unknown may also be a factor in regards to why Americans don’t use a biddet.
My only issue with my local thrift store is that they have zero changing rooms. I do visit it less due to that factor, it's annoying to buy clothes I like the look of then having to go take the garments back to my home, try on all of them and return the ones that don't fit.. Its a waste of time. I'm making it work but I might have to seek new thrifting spots.
My local ones all have changing rooms (maybe it's a requirement in Australia, I've never come across a clothing store of any kind without fitting rooms). It does seem a bit counterproductive not having them... if things don't fit properly they'll only end up redonated and will have to go through the whole process again.
Hi! I have a question about using a bidet. I just recently dived into the acknowledgement of my own consumerism and I'm wanting to be more eco friendly so I am really considering buying a bidet. This may be an odd question, but when you use the bidet do you also wipe the water off? The bidet cleans the area, but the area would still be damp from the water so do you personally use the eco friendly toilet paper you mentioned to dry? I know this is a weird question! Lol
not weird at all!! i only use toilet paper to dry off, so it's soo much less than i had to use pre-bidet. most of the time i get away with using three squares or less for #2, and of course i still use tp for #1 and that requires precisely two squares lol. and yeah i personally use reel toilet paper and have been using it for like 5 years i think, no complaints whatsoever 😊
You can also dry yourself off with small cloth towels that you can launder after use. I use a combo of cloth towels and toilet paper after using my bidet, cloth towels after #1, toilet paper after #2.
I have outgrown a lot of my stuff & its just sitting in my garage because I don't know the best ethical way to donate or recycle it. I would love your opinion on a good resource for this!
appreciate the great question! it depends on the condition of your items, so my approach would be trying to sell the really good stuff in a consignment shop / facebook marketplace / secondhand platform / plato's closet if you're in the states; donate the pretty good, undamaged stuff that didn't sell; and for all rest, look into sharing it on a neighborhood buy nothing group for free! folks in your area might have a use for old textiles to upcycle for craft projects or fill pillows/dog beds with. i swear by using old, unwearable clothes as stuffing in throw pillows or moroccan poufs!
@@allisonfromearth Thank you so much for the reply! I want to sell some of my stuff because most of it is still in good condition but I have a newborn so that will take so much time to do. But I might try it to make the extra cash! Or just end up donating it most of it. 🙏🏽
I am part of a local free group. I often donate bags of clothes or other things there. The bags get passed on to other people on the group
Thanks for the shoutout! ❤
fangirling!! thank you for all the incredible work you do 🧡
We are not in a recession. All the metrics for unemployment and inflation are down or dropping and wages are up. (Thanks organized labor!)
We are in a housing shortage because we never really rebuilt inventory after the 2008 crash, and landlords and investors are taking advantage by raising rents and driving up property prices. I'm not minimizing that hardship, but we are absolutely not in a recession by any traditional economic indicator.
by 'today' i meant 2020 but yeah.
Ok while we've opened up the can of worms that is the bidet. I am autistc and I have NEVER felt clean with just tp. I don't know if it was sensory or what but I felt like I must be incapable of wiping my own ass right because of how unsanitary it felt. I went for wet wipes which work but theyre bad for the environment and the plumbing so I want to avoid them. *Enter the bidet* This thing makes me feel genuinely clean. I even hated using pads and now I'm using reusable ones bc I feel that clean with the bidet. I am trying to figure out if its worth the bizarre looks I'll get if I take it to college or if I need to suck it up and just use wet wipes for one more year. Do you know how much I have to like this thing to want to take it to college?
BRING IT hahaha
You can get portable bidets! Really discrete so no one need know you have it, and can be used in public bathrooms.
I want to get a bidet, I'm working up the courage but I feel I'm not far off :p
i was nervous too! especially because my bidet only sprays cold water and i HATE the cold. but it's never once been an issue at all, even in the dead of winter when i have seasonal depression lol but ANYWAY no rush but i have a feeling you'll love it!
The twisting of the meaning of "no ethical consumption under capitalism" is utter bonkers to me. How did a phrase meaning, "Maybe we should work toward a better system," get taken up as an excuse to just embrace the system as is and trash everything guilt-free? We can do better. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
People who have very little understanding of capitalism or environmentalism (or socialism for that matter) do not realize that free market and free society where ideas are not prosecuted is crucial for better and more ethical consumption😮
hmm i'm interested in why capitalism has been equated with freedom here, and i certainly don't see the link between capitalism and ethical consumption. can you elaborate?
@@allisonfromearth I think the link between capitalism and freedom is very clear - all democratic countries have free market with good laws(some have better than others) and tax system to ensure their people in need have support. As for ethical side of it, we started to have conversation about environmental impact of industry and consumption in free countries, where people are not afraid to express opinions and ideas.
Japanese bidet toilet seats are way better than Tushy IMHO.
Was continuing to watch even after the silly anti capitalism section, but had to hard stop after the "Cis-straight men cant use bidets because of their homophobia" what is it with cultural Marxists and bashing the people who built civilization and contributed to you being born an (in many cases) being raised raised. It would make sense, if you and others who talk like this, didn't have good fathers, or husbands, but equal amounts of Cis-man haters I know have good dads or even good husbands (in hetero relationships!) but they sill cant help themselves "Men are fragile and silly because they don't think like me" this is straight up unfair Prejudice. If men talked about you the way you talked about them you would loose it. Listen to yourself.