We are proudly based in the wonderful city of Bristol. Bristol is often referred to as a "progressive" city given the number of people and companies making demonstrable changes for the greater good of our planet. Additionally, Bristol is noted for the high level of social and political engagement that takes place in the city, including the Friday School Walk Out in solidarity with Greta Thunberg.
Another brilliant example of grassroots action in the city are reusable cups. Reusable cups are actively encouraged in every food outlets you visit. Some establishments such as the Boston Tea Party- a local institution- have gone a step further and decided to no longer offer single-use take-away cups; instead BTP rely on customers to bring their own, or their customers have the option of "loaning" one of their cups for a small deposit. Moreover, plant-based packaging is commonplace in food retailers, whether its a box made from sugarcane or plant "plastic," the alternatives available are a firm indicator that Bristol's businesses are committed to sustainability through practices such as these.
Bristol was awarded Green Capital of Europe in 2015. And more recent policy (unpopular as it might be) is the CAZ, also known as the Clean Air Zone. This is a policy brought in by the outgoing Mayor, Marvin Rees, to manage the high pollution levels in the city caused by traffic congestion. Yes, it's been controversial, and some claim that marginalised communities are disproportionately affected, yet, gridlocked traffic is one of the worst contributors of pollution including particulate matter released into the local environment. It was therefore inevitable this needed to be addressed and action taken to reduce diseases connected to pollution such as asthma (which is on the rise in urban areas such as London and Bristol). Pollution is also claimed to contribute to early death.
The climate emergency is both a macro issue, and a localised one too. It's hard to comprehend the predictions of scientists having a direct impact on our daily lives. Yet, the reality is; climate change is going to effect everyone to varying degrees. Which is why it's prudent of cities, such as Bristol, to try to mitigate or at least reduce the impending dangers as far as is possible.
Further examples of Bristol's appeal to ethical minded businesses includes, Triodos Bank, an ethical bank based in Holland, has its UK headquarters in Bristol, and Good Energy and Ecotricity, pioneers of cleaner energy, were established in nearby towns, Chippenham and Stroud respectively. Bristol has long been at the forefront of political and social change in the UK. As well as being the largest city in the South West of England, Bristol has historically attracted innovative individuals including Brunel, who famously designed the Suspension bridge. In the present day, The Soil Association and Sustrans, the cycle network, both have offices in the city.
And now, to add to this already impressive repertoire is Bristol's very own bamboo toilet roll co, Boo: a bamboo, tree-free, low carbon, e-bike delivery (we use Zedify at the moment) toilet roll! If you were to: switch to greener energy, buy produce from local shops without as much plastic packaging as possible, travel with your reusables in tow and get your Boo roll delivered to your door as often as you require (subscribe here), you would be implementing seriously positive changes that would directly impact the world we all live in.
Consumerism is seismic- it's two sides of the same coin: the good and the bad. We overconsume and with it come a myriad of problems: waste water from fashion, over production of cotton farms relying on pesticides or industrially grown meat: where to begin the fable of how Western consumerist demands are destroying the planet. Consider Amazon's prowess and ubiquity. They are a dominant force having deeply negative impacts on small businesses. Even when the same small business might decide to join Amazon, Amazon will always benefit from said business' original creativity: their ideas, their dreams and ultimately, their profits. Businesses sell out, not out of choice, but because the modern business landscape is dominated big corporations. And even when we understand why: we still haven't even started to touch in whether most of what we buy is even "needed."
When one consumer says: it's only one *fill in the blank* multiplied by millions of consumers, it demonstrated that every small acts can have an accumulatively rebellious show of solidarity. Think about this next time you go shopping. In the words of Anne Lappe: "Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want."