The zero-waste lifestyle calls for a real transition, such is the need to revisit our (bad) habits and change the behaviours that we don’t even think about. It’s a long road to travel, but there are lots of tricks and clever tips to help you along the path to change.
For starters, here are 5 zero waste influencers to follow!
Marie objectif zéro déchet (“Marie targeting zero waste”)
For this influencer, a mother, the turning point came with the births of her children. She lives by the hummingbird philosophy, and decided to change her way of life accordingly: every little counts, even the tiniest of actions, if it’s multiplied by the world’s population of 7 billion!
We like her very pragmatic blog, which explains all about the seven stages that led her onto the path of environmental responsibility:
- No longer buying products in plastic bottles
- No longer using kitchen roll
- Embracing second-hand clothes
- Doing a cupboard inventory and gravitating towards goods sold loose
- Phasing out the hoard of beauty products in her bathroom and gradually replacing them with eco-friendly alternatives
- Embracing soap nuts, Marseille soap and white vinegar in place of her household cleaning products
- Cooking from scratch and batch cooking. She also posts lots of recipes full of clever tips, and puts an alternative take on all the topics that she addresses.
A program that’s accessible and easy to put into practice, especially when shared. The emphasis is placed on the importance of getting the whole family on board with this approach, to make it a real collective lifestyle choice.
Instagram: @marie.objectifzerodechet | Website: Marie Zéro Déchet
C l’air du temps (“It’s the zeitgeist”)
We have picked out these two sisters, who are reclaiming their behaviour as consumers and address all kinds of topics: from diet to home improvement to wellbeing, gift ideas, parenting, housework and fashion. Their IG account is full of tips, not least for managing to do without fast fashion. And you’ll like the guilt-free tone tone of voice, because after all, nobody’s perfect! The sisters have also started a blog, and for €10 are selling a very informative e-book with a real methodology to progress towards the zero waste transition. They have even gone as far as producing environmentally- responsible T-shirts.
Instagram: @c.lairdutemps | Website: C l’air du temps
Lilyfairly
Mélanie, a 30-year-old Paris-based activist, started out as a gardener and botanical guide. She then went minimalist and became a devotee of recycling. This happened when she moved house, and realised just how many unnecessary items she had accumulated over time. At that point she started a blog on environmental topics and zero waste. These days she touches on a great many other topics, like feminism or equality and sharing. She talks vegetarian diets and ethical fashion. We like her kindly tone of voice (she views shortcomings in a very forgiving way) and the slick look of her Instagram page. One of her many clever tips that we recommend you try: cooking with fruit and vegetable peel! According to Global Gâchis, it amounts to 137 kg of food that goes to waste, per person per year, in France alone.
Instagram: @lilyfairly | Website: Lily Fairly
My slow life green
Chloé, a thirty-something woman from Paris based in Tours, has also really called her lifestyle into question. As well as her blog on the slow lifestyle, she has written a book: Toute une année zero waste [A whole year of zero waste]. She gives out handy hints for re-using items, or opting for multi-purpose ones. She covers a broad array of topics in a very down-to-earth way, from recipes to animals to home upkeep. Every day on her blog she posts a memo for a waste-free lifestyle: her #challengezerodechet (“zerowastechallenge”) comprising 100 clever tips.
We also like her Blogroll: the list of all her favourite blogs, which is a mine of information and also allows her highly-magnanimous mindset to shine through!
Instagram: @myslowlifegreen | Website: My slow life green
Les petits gestes (“Little habits”)
We’re fans of her way of introducing herself: “Inès, green in mindset but not perfect!”
So what’s her motto? We don’t need to be perfect, we need to find strength in numbers.
And her battles? Ecology and children’s rights.
She’s not out to guilt trip anyone, and just wants to awaken awareness of a more sustainable daily life, in a kindly and non-forced way. She returned from a long trip to Australia and Asia dismayed by plastic pollution. At that point she decided to embrace a more responsible lifestyle. She started her blog, which gives out clever zero-waste tips and recipes, keeps the reader up-to-date with its “Eco news” section, and sets challenges on the subject of “MPGDG: mon petit geste deviendra grand” (“GTSS: great things start small”). She has also written two books: Mes produits de beauté (Je fais tout moi-même, 50 recettes) [My beauty products (I make them all myself, 50 recipes)] and Mes produits ménagers (Je fais tout moi-même, 50 recettes) [My household upkeep products (I make them all myself, 50 recipes)].
Instagram: @lespetitsgestes | Website: Les petits gestes
