Swedish brand Fjällräven’s Polar 2023 300km dog-sledding journey across the Scandinavian Arctic is open to 20 selected participants. For three weeks the applicants are given “challenges” to answer that showcase why the jury should choose them. I’m one of the ones trying and hoping.

In this blog I’ll take you through Challenge 3: leading a sustainable life.

“We all have a responsibility to ensure we leave the trail in a better shape than when we found it. How might you, in your daily life, give back to nature and live a more sustainable life?”

For this challenge, Fjällräven are asking how you can hold yourself responsible and accountable when using outdoor spaces, and otherwise how to encourage others to do the same.

People who know me I’m sure would say I live a sustainable lifestyle. Whether it’s in my actions or in the awareness I try to raise, not only through social media but in real life conversations too, and in teaching and content.

Yet, sustainability to me is a buzzword. Polyester is sustainable after all; the word “sustainable” regards longevity and durability, something sustaining itself. So in this respect we shouldn’t be striving for sustainability, but for regenerative, positive and beneficial lifestyles. We need to be giving back and nurturing more than we take out. It’s not actually sustainable to not use anything - just being here is unsustainable in the grand sense of it, because we’re diminishing resources, adding to global warming and not utilising our waste efficiently (all of which are intertwined).

So taking an approach that looks for not just sustainable solutions but regenerative ones actually sits more in line with nature. Remember that we are nature and we have to look after ourselves too.

Below you’ll find a list of the actions I take, and the actions I still need to work on. Sustainability is a long game. And if we’re taking cues from nature then it’s not just this first action, but what happens afterwards, and what symbiotic relationships there are too. I’ve split them into FOOD, TEXTILES and POLLUTION as markers of groups, though I see them all intertwined regardless.

Textiles.

See the reel here.

It all starts with the first seed...
Learning how to spin the fibre yourself too.
Dyeing your own textiles from plants and food waste grown or foraged for yourself.
Valuing the materials and resources you use.
Choosing forever pieces, or making art.
Repurposing materials.
Taking the time to assess your decisions. Making slow.
Mending to keep items in use. (And calling out the brands who don't offer repair).
Being wise around what "away" really means.
Buy items once, choose for multiple functionality, and look after them.
Buy longlasting materials that can always be repurposed or clothes that can be repaired.
Remember the farmers. Nurture the land.
Look around you for all of the everyday materials you take for granted, and connect with them.
Read. Check your knowledge, check your bias, learn outside of your usual interest.
Fight for those who are fucked by the system more so than your privileged self.
Find your own sense of sustainability, but take it on wholeheartedly and share your story.
Find value in your expertise and niche insight to educate and share.

I do all of that, and still:

🛍 I still buy new items made from virgin materials.

🛍 I have items from brands I don't agree with, or see practices I don't feel a way to solve - so feel stuck.

🛍 There'll still be pieces I can't repurpose, reuse and especially recycle.

🛍 Even though I'm now pushing outwards, there is more education I can be doing - for others, and for myself.

🛍 It's not like I'm collecting all textiles discarded in the street.

🛍 I'm only a silent - or word of mouth - activist, really.

Textiles keep us warm, protected, sheltered. They allow us to show our personality, our values. Yet we throw them away without care. There's more of that, and someone else can use it. Sustainability in textiles is complex. Choosing what works for you, for your circumstances is sustainable for the now. But there's benefit all round for changing a few decisions. Generally, the most sustainable item of clothing is the one you already have. Yet fashion is only one arm of textiles. Not purchasing anything is a degrowth ideal, but it's not for everyone; sometimes you simply need something in order to survive in some way. So what choices can you make that are regenerative rather than extractive?

What can you learn about textiles that you didn't know yesterday? That's sustainable.

Food.

See the reel here.

I'm an organic food grower. So I buy other organic produce as much as I can to shift the system and promote respect to all beings.
I support local and seasonal food. I've also been vegetarian for 24 years.
I check food origin and any certifications. So I'll select as close to Britain as possible for produce it's possible to do this with.
I grow my own. Which also means advocating for seed sovereignty and food security.
I support a shift to unpackaged and refills. With a preference for Extended Producer Responsibility and repurposing materials - actually in a circular economy.
I utilise as much of the produce as possible. Which includes the packaging.
I forage to become connected to the local environment.
And then I bring you along on the journey too, to share wisdom and help you engage.
I dive into subjects I don't fully understand in order to learn more.(building soil health still blows me away) And then learn about myself in the process.
I undertake training to facilitate others into action on the food system.
And share stories on everyday action and cool stuff you may otherwise miss.
I upskill and then put those skills into practice.
I engage the community in nature connection activities.
And I'm a campaigner on raising awareness of food system issues (and beyond).

And all of this, but…

🍅 I find it difficult to fully eat seasonally.

🍅 I buy convenience food wrapped in plastic if I "can't" get to other shops or find it unpackaged.

🍅 I'll choose non-organic if there's a big price difference.

🍅 I like a takeaway or choose easy meals.

🍅 I don't always speak up to engage on the topic, especially with family and friends.

🍅 Even though I'm veggie I will on occasion eat a Double Cheeseburger if my body craves the fatty salt (because it doesn't taste like meat).

Sustainability in food requires a simultaneous shift to the system and to behaviours. Connecting with nature in all its forms and educating on the received awareness is how I believe we move forward.

But my values aren't your values, so let's have a conversation.

Pollution.

See the reel here.

The first step is ditching single use.
Even if it says it's compostable, because it's not, really; it needs its own system.
A switch to healthier products overall; check the ingredients list on anything going in or on your body (which is everything?).
Make it your go-to habit to check pre-loved sources before buying new.
Capture those microfibres and lint.
Collect visible plastic pollution when out and about, especially near a water source.
Check in with your packaging consumption.
Add your voice to campaigns that don't sit with your values. (People power worked on this occasion, just a bit late).
Take citizen action to lower your emissions through cycling, walking and supporting public transport systems.
Join a community organisation working on raising awareness and embedding practical action in the fight against the climate crisis.
Call out organisations, business and brands for their poor logistics and inconsistencies in communications.
Learn about the social impacts of pollution, not just environmental - and share the story.
Support local businesses, especially those building a community.
Be an advocate for nature and all it's beings when you're outdoors (or indoors).
And support charities getting more children outdoors so that awareness and connections are heightened at a young age.

I do all of these actions. But...

🌍 I still buy new items made from virgin materials.

🌍 I still buy plastic packaged goods if I can't find unpackaged.

🌍 I buy out of season foods that are air-shipped.

🌍 I don't talk to everyone about issues surrounding pollution.

🌍 I sometimes choose the easier online marketplace option.

🌍 I sometimes buy new stuff in order to do the "sustainable" stuff.

🌍 I'm alive, and moving, and purchasing, so I'm a contributor regardless.

Pollution is a metric that can be reduced. It won't go away completely, though there are ways to shift the system - like a true circular economy - that can benefit and build more appropriate local infrastructures. Making decisions that question and highlight the existing position on growth can only serve to call governments and businesses into action.

Citizens hold power in their voices and actions.