The struggle is real. Even people who work in jobs trying to get businesses to be more sustainable face challenges and contradictions to become truly eco-conscious themselves. Lydia and Ashna, chat about all things sustainability-related and how they intersect with our daily lives, making it relatable and fun. This is an interesting and realistic way to overcome our daily Minimalist, Zero Waste, Eco-Friendly Lifestyle challenges.
At Switch, our mission is to open up the conversation on sustainability, connecting real people to topics they care and are curious about without the jargon or negativity. As well as exploring sustainability topics and how they intersect with our daily lives – from eating out, to what we wear, to the latest technology – we bring in guests doing cool things for people and the planet. That’s why we were excited to speak to Maxime, Co-Founder of Ourgoodbrands, on a recent episode, about the power of positivity in generating ‘good’ behaviour change.
When we, Lydia and Ashna, first met five years ago, we were both working at the Sustainable Restaurant Association in our early 20s in search of similar things: a job with a purpose and the colourful London lifestyle. We were fresh out of university and filled with optimism about what we could achieve, thankful to be working in an industry which aligned with our personal values.
And, yet, we often found there was a contradiction between what we were practising at work and at home. By day, we would be helping restaurants reduce food waste, helping corporate companies minimise their carbon footprint, and writing blogs for sustainable retail brands. Yet, by night we would be throwing out leftover food from our fridges or buying clothes from multinational retailers. We knew plant-based diets were better for the planet, but still, we were eating meat and dairy. Why was it that even we, working in this industry, were not always able to modify our behaviours to help other people and the planet?
Why ‘Switch’ Was Our Lightbulb Moment
Reflecting on how to overcome our daily Minimalist, Zero Waste, Eco-Friendly Lifestyle challenges  earlier this year, we realised the reasons were three-fold:
- Lack of awareness of the many companies doing good out there;
- Eco alternatives are often framed as a ‘compromise’ on quality;
- Socially speaking, sustainability can somehow seem ‘exclusive’ or ‘difficult to do’.
Whilst there was an increasing amount of information available about sustainability, and more and more brands doing better, we felt it was still challenging to make sense of it all and address the challenges. That’s when we had our ‘lightbulb’ moment and started to think about how we – two eco-conscious people wanting to do better but often failing – could bring sustainability into our everyday dialogue in an accessible way, and share this with other people. That’s when we founded our podcast: Switch.
Now, the podcast is reaching across four continents and is a platform for brands and organisations to showcase the good stuff they’re doing, whilst we ourselves continue to figure out how to do better. We do all of this without haranguing ourselves or our listeners, trying to focus on the positive and exploring the reasons why it’s sometimes challenging.
A lot of the same values and drivers led Maxime to create Ourgoodbrands – which is our go-to digital media platform for real stories on creating positive impact – so we were privileged to have her as a Switch guest. We discussed the things which hold us (and many other consumers) back from embedding ‘good’ behaviour changes into our lives, such as eating less meat or recycling properly. In essence, the solutions are out there, and there are organisations everywhere creating services and products good for people and the planet in a cost-effective, stylish, high-quality way. We also touched on how ‘doing good’ has the added benefit of improving your health. The conversation helped us realise that any reservations we had are unwarranted.
We now, collectively, need to continue working to shift the mindset of the masses – opening up the conversation and providing a positive outlook on sustainability and its many solutions. After all, positive reinforcement is more effective for creating change than being critical all the time. As consumers buy into this mindset more and more, it perpetuates change – brands quickly wisen up to what consumers want. We want to celebrate the organisations and people trying to amplify this message and make a difference, standing strong by their values with positivity and understanding along the way.
You can listen to the Ourgoodbrands episode (and others) on Apple Podcasts or Spotify now. If you rate, review and subscribe, this will help us reach more people. Thank you for supporting us on our mission!
Get in touch with us on Instagram @podcastswitch or email [email protected]
Is there any other similar brand you know or are curious about? Comment below, and we will make it happen!
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