2021 gift ideas to AVOID AMAZON!

Hello!

How are you? How are your family and friends? If you are in school, how are your exams?
I hope you’re enjoying your December and getting excited for the holiday break ahead.

Personally, I am well! Two weekends ago, I finally celebrated my graduation from my Bachelor’s degree, and after spending a couple of wonderful days in Montreal with my loved ones, I travelled back to spend the month of December at home with my parents. I am getting in some much-needed family time (and dog time). It’s lovely!

Being home this early before Christmas has also given me the chance to actually plan my holiday shopping ahead of time for once (possibly the first time ever?)! As part of that, I will be boycotting Amazon. During the holidays, we know that consumption drastically increases, and due to its convenience, a lot of that business gets directed toward the multinational online giant. This boom is very beneficial for Amazon, but not so much for its workers, who are the ones who make that 2-day shipping guarantee a reality.

Just read this Guardian article from February 2020, for example. Of course this is an American context, but follow the thread of our geographical and cultural proximity, as well as similar pandemic-related shifts in consumption, and you’ll conclude that the Canadian reality was, and is, not all that different. Valuing workers is just not in Amazon’s business strategy.

Shopping from Amazon is convenient, and many people aren’t able avoid it due to their economic or geographic situation, which is fine. But if you can, I strongly urge you to try.

And obviously, this is Ethigirl we’re talking about, so I’m not going to tell you to stop something without giving you an alternative! As such, I wanted to take the time to share with you some ideas for conscious, small-business oriented, thoughtful, sustainable, and/or ethical gifts you can give in 2021. I hope you like them, and that they give you some inspiration as you go about your shopping! And please remember to gift responsibly — aka, avoid overconsumption as much as you can!

food & drink

Specialty Food Items from Brunette (or another local grocery/online shop)

What it is: Brunette is an online, Montreal-based gourmet food retailer, which offers gifts, goods, and merchandise from the city’s top chefs, restaurants, and grocers. Montreal is such a major food city, with so many iconic spots and celebrities, so a business like this is incredibly cool to have. I ordered a box of their goods for my parents last year, and it was one of their favourite Christmas gifts! If your family is into food, try this site out. Or, pop into your local boutique grocery store and see what treasures you can find! Many of them also have websites nowadays.

What I recommend: From Brunette, go for ANYTHING from Stefano Faita, or one of their cool gift bundles.

Spices from Diaspora Co.

What it is: Diaspora Co. was founded in 2017 by Sana Javeri Kadri, a third-generation Mumbai native, with the goal of creating accessible pathways to higher-quality, equitable spices and to build long-term partnerships with Indian farmers. Since its inception, the company has grown tremendously, and offers a great array of delicious products. The website has a dedicated page just for gift ideas, so take a look!

What I recommend: Check out The Trio, which allows you to choose three spices as a "starter pack” for your recipient, or The Pantry Refresh, which is comprised of six of Diaspora’s most popular spices.

NOTE: Keep in mind that if you order from Diaspora, at this point they might not be able to guarantee delivery by December 25th.

Fair Trade Food - Coffee, Tea, Chocolate and More from Rosette Fair Trade

What it is: If you’ve been around awhile, you’ll remember that in my 2019 holiday gift guide, I recommended Rosette Fair Trade too! Rosette offers an abundance of fair trade goods in an easily-navigable site, and acts as a one-stop-shop for all things ethical! It also stocks Oxfam Fair Trade products, which provides Canadians access to a whole host of products that we can’t normally get here. In 2019, founder Lia Walsh VERY kindly gifted whole box of snacks to try, and everything was so delicious!

What I recommend: Another thing which I love about Rosette Fair Trade is that it sells Palestinian-made products! That’s why this year, I’m recommending the Zatoun gift bundle of Palestinian products, which comes with fair trade olive oil, soap, and za’atar (a Palestinian herb mix). This purchase directly supports Palestinian olive farmers, keeping a traditional practice alive while also economically assisting surrounding communities.

Zero-Waste Gin from Loop

What it is: Loop is a Montreal company that is seeking to solve food waste by using it to create innovative products (thus, closing the Loop!). They started out by making cold-pressed juices, and quickly expanded to a variety of other items, including gin!

What I recommend: The Lime Ginger Gin I’ve linked is made from potato chip waste which Loop rescues from a nearby factory.

Your recipient will be happy to have a delicious and sustainable gift with a very cool party story. According to Loop’s website, you can currently buy the gin at the SAQ (Quebec), LCBO (Ontario), ANBL (New Brunswick), and Highlander Wine & Spirits (Calgary).

art & music

Vintage Décor, Artwork, Ornaments, Candles and More from Etsy

What it is: One of my favorite places to do holiday shopping so far this year has been Etsy, a small business-oriented online marketplace. Man, it literally has everything! I love seeing the creativity that so many artists and small business owners have. For me, even when I’m not sure what I want to get someone, once I browse Etsy I pretty quickly come up with an idea! I love being able to support a real person through every purchase I make.

What I recommend: Although I could suggest things forever, here are a few items that have recently caught my eye: this Sailboat Jewelry Holder, this Cereal-Scented Candle, this absolutely gorgeous Suncatcher, and these Flower Beaded Earrings. But seriously, go take a look yourself! Etsy has a really extensive gift guide so you don’t get overwhelmed, and so many things are reasonably-priced and very high quality.

Merch from Their Favorite Artist, Movie/Show, Charity, or Café

What it is: This is such a thoughtful one! For every one of your recipient’s interests, there is sure to be a merchandise shop somewhere — either on the website of the thing, or on somewhere like Etsy or Redbubble. If your recipient loves cafes, surely their go-to spot sells mugs, bags of coffee beans, or tote bags. A favorite musician will certainly have a t-shirt or pin for sale on their website. Get creative, and you’re sure to find something they’ll treasure forever!

What I recommend: Personally, I’ve got my eye on this All Too Well poster from Taylor Swift’s website.

Custom Records, Cassettes, or Coasters

What it is: If your recipient is really into music, we can go deeper down this rabbit hole! If they own a record player or have an old cassette player, you can make them a custom record or cassette mixtape, and even choose what goes on the outside!

What I recommend: For Christmas last year, I opted for the mixtape for my boyfriend — this one from Etsy. I was seriously so happy with how it turned out, and the experience of creating the playlist and then eventually listening to it together was so sweet! For the custom record, here’s one option. Another decorative idea is to do custom record coasters! You can pick the album(s) you like, and then your lucky recipient has all of their favorite music as decorations.

self-care

Anything from Lush

What it is: I have been a lifetime customer of Lush, and for every good reason. They are ethical and sustainable by-the-book on every cause, their products are all natural, their employees are treated fairly, they are serious about animal testing, they are vocal about human rights and activism, and most recently, they’ve decided to break up with social media!

The latter thing is something I’m incredibly excited to follow. While I know as a blogger how powerful social media can be, I also know how detrimental it is and I’m terrified of its long-term impacts. Companies like Facebook are also extraordinarily unethical, and are only getting worse, so it is time to take a stand. I couldn’t be more supportive of Lush taking a lead on that.

What I recommend: Lush has a pretty extensive gift selection, all of which look absolutely wonderful! But if you are looking for individual products, I have a few suggestions too. If you’ve got curly hair, check out the Power conditioner and the Revive hair cream. Charity Pot is a body cream for which Lush donates 100% of the profits to grassroots charities. And Angels on Bare Skin is a wonderfully gentle face and body scrub that smells amazing!

A Nice Compost Bin

What it is: Alright, some of you might be laughing about this one (which is totally fair honestly), but think about my reader base for a second! If your recipient is eco-conscious, help make composting a little less disgusting for them. Let’s be realistic — most of us definitely leave our compost bins under our sink for WAY too long and forget to take them out. The whole thing is just not fun, but it’s worth it for the planet.

What I recommend: If you’re like me, you just bought the cheapest one you could find. But this one from OXO is a little higher-end, a little less unsightly, and it’s even dishwasher safe! Making sustainable household chores more palatable is something I’d definitely call self-care.

last-minute, harder-to-box, but still good

A Subscription to Book of the Month

Subscription boxes and services have become something of a go-to for a lot of people, but if your recipient loves reading, or wants to love reading but never knows what to pick, this is a great option! How it works is you pick the length of your subscription (3 months, 6 months, etcetera…) and then each month, the company lets you choose one book from five great new releases. The service is surprisingly affordable, and very exciting as a recipient (it’s fun to have something to look forward to every month, and it’s like a gift that keeps on giving)!

A Parks Pass

Does your recipient like nature? If they do, buy them a Discovery Pass from Parks Canada! It will let them get unlimited admission to more than 80 locations. With the pandemic, a lot of us are seeing more of the places we live in, and this is a cool way to help your family and friends do it without paying anything.

A Travel Gift Card

Whenever your recipient decides they’re ready to get on a plane again (especially if it’s to come see you), help them make it easier with a gift card from FlightGift! It’s a service that allows you to purchase a gift card that the recipient can use toward virtually any airline and any destination. I gifted one of these to a friend earlier this year and they were incredibly happy! If you have been separated from a loved one during the pandemic, this thoughtful idea could help close the gap (if/when it’s safe).

A Donation in Their Name

If there’s an organization whose work they are passionate about, this might be a good option! Some people truly mean it when they say they don’t want anything, and this is a good way to ensure they know you are still thinking of them. This thoughtful option could also go very well paired with another small item, if you wished.

A Tinggly Gift Box

Here is an opportunity to consciously give the gift of an experience! Tinggly is a company which allows you to gift “experience gift boxes". What does that look like? You choose the category (think: Bucket List, Taste the World, and so on), and then Tinggly sends a personalized package that allows your recipient to select the experience from an extensive list and redeem it next time they are travelling. Examples of experiences include cooking classes, spa treatments, or even bungee jumping. It’s a really cool concept that I think goes a step beyond your traditional gift card and into the realm of something that will encourage your recipient to try something new and amazing!

conclusion

Well, there you are! A whole host of new gift ideas that I hope will make it easier for you to get started (or get finished, depending what stage of shopping you’re at). I hope you’ll remember to support local, shop small, and consume consciously this holiday season, whatever that looks like for you and your unique situation.

What are you planning on gifting this year that you’re excited about? What did I miss? Let me know in the comments — I’d love to hear it (I’m still collecting ideas, after all)! I love you all so much, and thank you for reading!!!

With love and sustainability,
ethigirl

how do I eat sustainably during COVID-19? a guide

Hey folks!

I hope you’re doing your best to crawl toward the end of the universally-hated 2020. In today’s article, I'm addressing a fun, yet challenging topic and allll of the nuances that come along with it: eating sustainably during COVID-19. 

So much has changed about our lifestyles as a result of the pandemic. When it comes to our sustainable habits, the same is definitely true. Don't believe me? Well, would you still be comfortable using a restaurant’s reusable utensils right now? Or, have you been buying just a little more takeout than usual?

Photo by Any Lane on Pexels.com

We’re in a whole new world now, and taking care of yourself and those around you has to be your top priority. That means everything else may go out of focus for a little while.

But many of us will still want to be as sustainable as possible during this time -- if not even more so, since the climate crisis feels even more pressing. So, what might that look like right now? In this article, I’ll provide my approach to sustainable eating during COVID through each of the three realms of sustainability (social, environmental, and economic), backing it all up with tangible and direct resources you can use today. 

So, without further ado, let’s dive in.

social sustainability

When it comes to social sustainability, we primarily think about people. We think about things like the treatment of marginalized groups within society, equity, diversity, and workers’ rights. Although many think the pandemic has had an equivalent effect on everyone, the research makes it clear that COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted marginalized communities. For example, more Black people get infected with and die from the virus, and many people in lower income brackets are also the ones working essential service jobs.

As such, there’s a huge role to play when it comes to socially sustainable food. Mainly, it looks like supporting restaurants, brands, and practices that seek to support marginalized groups and workers. You could consider donating your money to funds that combat food insecurity and provide relief to restaurants and food industry workers. Montreal Eater has a big list of those resources here. If you’re at McGill or in Montreal, you should also consider checking out Meals for Milton-Parc and the Montreal Student Initiative for Covid-19 Response and Relief.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Meals For Milton-Parc (@mealsformiltonparc)

Above is a recent post from Meals For Milton-Parc’s Instagram page! It gives a description about what this amazing, student-led organization is doing to support food sovereignty and security in Milton-Parc, a community near the McGill campus that is home to a group of houseless folks.

Moreover, this time is an excuse (in my opinion…) to eat out more. It’s a great excuse to take a break from cooking, and it directly assists restaurants, who are greatly in need of our support right now. You might consider specifically supporting BIPOC-owned restaurants. Cult MTL, for example, has a big Montreal-based list of Black-owned establishments. As well, when eating out, you might wish to go physically pick up your order or to contact the restaurant directly, because delivery apps take a pretty large cut of the restaurants’ earnings (as much as 25-30%!).

economic sustainability

Many people don’t totally get the term ‘economic sustainability’, which is fair since our mainstream conceptions of environmentalism seem to argue that financial systems are the root causes of climate injustice. While the aforementioned is pretty true, that doesn’t mean we can’t still use our money to fight for good (just look at the huge list of ways you can do so above)! Economic sustainability refers to the ways in which we can support “good economic growth” — that is, growth which doesn’t hurt the earth or its people. 

The main way you can practice economic sustainability is by shopping locally! And the good news is, that’s pretty easy nowadays. COVID has influenced most brands to create online shops, meaning you don’t have a reason to support giants like Amazon anymore. 

This photo shows two individuals shopping at a store (wearing their masks, of course!)
Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

There are also so many incredible local businesses and restaurants, wherever you are — it’s up to you to check them out! To start you off, this article has lists for every part of Canada. And as we are in the holiday season, you can use your gift shopping to introduce your friends and family to all the amazing new establishments you’ve discovered recently. 

Also, consider looking for products at your local stores which have the Fairtrade label! Fairtrade is an ethics standard that certifies the fair treatment of all workers in the supply chain. From experience, the products also taste absolutely delicious because they’ve been made with care, by people who were paid ethically and treated the way they should be.

environmental sustainability

A very aesthetic reusable bag photo…which you can replicate by bringing your OWN tote bag to the grocery store to be sustainable!
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Finally, environmental sustainability refers to the obvious: protecting the planet’s natural resources through our every action. As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, many of our typical individualistic environmental efforts have been compromised somewhat by the pandemic — taking our own containers and reusable cups to the restaurant or cafe doesn’t feel as safe anymore. For my part, my takeout consumption has also increased by a lot. On the positive, at least, many of us are travelling a lot less due to the rapid implementation of stay-at-home orders. This is great for reductions in our transportation-based carbon footprint. 

But when it comes to fighting back against environmental degradation during the pandemic through our food choices, there are numerous actions we can take! As I somewhat mentioned previously, if you’re ordering takeout, consider going to pick it up in-person (at least if it’s walkable). Doing so will save a carbon footprint-inducing car trip for someone else. You can also request that your restaurant leave out the single-use utensils and napkins so as to avoid that extra bit of waste. Moreover, taking your reusable bags to the grocery store is still safe, so keep doing that!

You might also consider buying more of your groceries locally, meaning both travelling to small, local shops as well as selecting products grown/produced nearby! Practicing both of these techniques will help reduce your food miles, a concept that argues in favour of reducing your culinary carbon footprint. It’s hard to know the exacts when it comes to this topic, and there’s lots of nuance, but it’s a good starting point. Finally, if you’re located in Quebec, you could check out Lufa Farms, which is a local foods delivery service.

a Lufa Farms fresh produce basket! Consider ordering from Lufa Farms for safety, convenience, and sustainability.
Source

conclusion

Well, there you have it! A rundown of many of the ways in which you can eat sustainably during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay calm, take care of yourself, and do your best — there’s lots we can all do, but don’t get overwhelmed trying to tackle everything at once. 

As a final plug, I want to share an article I wrote for a project that I did this past spring in another class. I believe it ties together all of the pillars of food sustainability in a meaningful way. Check it out here; I hope you enjoy it! Let me know in the comments what else you’re doing to stay sustainable during the Coronavirus!

with love and sustainability,

– ethigirl :)

how to (actually) eat more sustainably!

The article below I originally wrote and published for CCOM 315: Writing the Internet, a class I’m taking at McGill University currently. I hope you enjoy!

In the times we’re living in, one question that’s on all of our minds is this: how can I feel less resigned to the fate of the world? 

Things are undeniably scary. Wildfires are raging, sea levels are rising, air pollution is increasing. Climate injustice is looming, and in spite of our protests, we feel like things aren’t changing.

But you don’t have to feel so hopeless and helpless. Although they may seem trivial, individual actions can make a difference — but they should be informed, too. So what can you do? 

1. realize perfection is impossible.

Source

We live in an age of Instagram-perfect zero wasters, all-or-nothing vegans, and a world that otherwise pushes us to achieve unattainable success levels all of the time. Our work effort is admirable, but it’s resulting in way too much burnout.

Don’t let your altruistic efforts to make the world a better place become so all-consuming that you give up before you even start. Acknowledge that baby steps are important and far from trivial. Every single little thing you do, you should celebrate — instead of beating yourself up for failing your goal of cutting out red meat, celebrate all the mealtimes that you opted for something else instead. 

2. challenge the notion that ‘sustainable eating’ looks only like cutting out animal products.

As we’re all pretty much aware by 2020, plant-based diets have gained tremendous levels of popularity, and for good reason. Opting for less meat and dairy can be excellent for your health, and it’s certainly better for the environment. For starters, according to UCLA, it reduces our individual water use, carbon emissions, and landfill contributions.

But it’s important to remember that you don’t have to go fully vegetarian or vegan in order to be a good environmentalist. And there are many reasons why you might choose not to be. Personally, I was a die-hard vegetarian for about a year and a half, but over this past summer I switched into a much more flexible diet.

Moreover, encouraging everyone to cut out meat and dairy because it’s “bad for the environment” can be unjust, for numerous reasons, as writer Juliana Yazbeck says here. Meat and dairy aren’t inherently carbon-intensive — capitalist and colonial practices have simply made them so through things like factory farming. Second of all, replacing meat and dairy with mass-produced crops like chickpeas and quinoa, and more have resulted in higher demand, and therefore higher use of unethical labour practices. These jobs are often done by underpaid folks of colour. Finally, meat is culturally intrinsic to many, and asking people to take it out of their diets is asking them to surrender their culture. We cannot care about the planet if we don’t also care about the welfare of its people. 

3. look for sustainable and ethical products. 

Source

Like I said above, climate action must have a justice-oriented approach. We must care about the earth and its people. A great way to find climate and ethics-friendly products is to look for the Fairtrade logo: a holistic certification that ensures rigorous labour and environmental standards. Some examples of easy-to-find, Fairtrade-certified products include Equifruit bananas and Camino chocolate.

4. Watch out for greenwashing.

Big companies are catching on that consumers are trying to buy better. But for many, instead of actually tangibly changing their practices, they’re instead only trying to make it look like they’ve done so. This is greenwashing.

You can avoid greenwashing by doing your research. Look up the company: do they have reports on their sustainability practices? What about third-party certifications (like Fairtrade)? You can also check out other sustainability bloggers and influencers, many of whom do product reviews and resource lists of actually-eco stuff.

With love and sustainability,

ethigirl

How to Host a Sustainable Dinner Party (in a Pandemic)

I originally produced the following essay and community cookbook for a university course taught by Dr. Alex Ketchum titled GSFS 401: Food, Gender and Environment.

Introduction

As someone with a passion for sustainability, which has taken specific root in food studies over the course of this semester, I began my project with a clear research question in mind: what does “perfectly sustainable” food and cooking look like, and can I represent that through the medium of a dinner party? I chose a dinner party because I wanted to harness the power of a social gathering among friends and food to cultivate a collection of experiences with sustainability and food. I believed hosting an experiential learning opportunity was the best way in which to do so. Therefore, I contacted a group of friends and instructed them all to bring a dish they felt was sustainable, along with the promise of an evening of discussion, meal sharing, and photo-taking. On March 16th, however, as COVID-19 social distancing measures started to take serious effect, I had no choice but to cancel my event and brainstorm a new plan. I opted to host the same event, instead over video call (specifically via Zoom). To my gratitude, my friends agreed, and my research question then evolved just as my plans had. Not only did I now wish to understand what a sustainable dinner party looked like, but I also had to manage this new factor of doing everything remotely. 

The experience of a Sustainable Zoom Dinner Party taught me many things, even if I learned them differently than I originally expected to throughout the exercise of this assignment. My essay will relay those findings as follows: first, I will discuss the three parts of my methodology — the dinner party experiment, my community cookbook, and a literature review. Next, I will present my results and a discussion, and come to a conclusion of what someone must consider when wishing to host an event like mine. My scientific research-inspired essay framework was greatly influenced by “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass”, a specific chapter in Indigenous botanist Robin Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass, which describes her work understanding and arguing in favour of the importance of Indigenous knowledge. Her chapter is profoundly compelling and makes a strong case for experiential learning. In sum, in this essay I argue that in order to host a sustainable dinner party in a pandemic, you must incorporate three tenets: gratitude, accessibility, and environmentalism. Through the lens of each tenet, you must also specifically consider the food, the dinner party itself, and the impact of COVID-19. 

Methodology

The Dinner Party Experiment

The idea behind hosting a sustainable dinner party stemmed from my belief that I could only successfully come to conclusions on such overwhelming terms by consulting with other people. Similar to a scientific experiment, more participants leads to more inclusive research that accounts for as many factors as possible. As such, I created an event and invited a group of my friends to help with my research by preparing a meal they personally felt was sustainable, and then responding to a series of discussion questions during the (virtual) event. A shortcoming of my sample was its lack of diversity. All participants are in their early twenties, study social science-based undergraduate degrees, and live in major Canadian cities. However, for my purposes, I contacted individuals who I believed would be most likely to participate. 

A Community Cookbook

Following the Zoom Dinner Party, I had each participant provide me with several materials: the recipe they cooked, their rationale for its sustainability, and some photos. I compiled all of these elements, along with my own personal submission, into a sustainable community cookbook titled Defining Sustainable Food: A Cookbook (Appendix A). This visual component of my research represents how eight students living and studying in urban areas responded when asked to represent their ideas of sustainable food and cooking.

You can view the cookbook below:

Literature Review

The third component of my research was to consult a diversity of other research on my topic, including peer-reviewed articles, journalism, and other texts like blog posts and interviews. This element of my methodology recognizes the value of past work on this subject, much of which required emotional labour to produce. It also seeks to make up for shortcomings in diversity in my experiment, since there were other groups and issues I wished to represent and discuss.

Results & Discussion

Tenet 1: Gratitude

The first of the three tenets I argue one must consider when planning a sustainable dinner party (while social distancing) is gratitude. My initial inspiration for including this tenet was my realization of how grateful I am to my participants for contributing their time and labour. I feel more than honoured to be close to so many individuals who were willing to go above and beyond to participate in a friend’s class assignment, particularly during times like these. Through this project I have discovered the true strength, depth, and meaning of the relationships I’ve developed throughout the past several years. Additionally, however, I wish to argue that gratitude in relation to a sustainable dinner party during a pandemic only begins with a recognition of how valuable it is to have friends who will share a meal with you. An understanding of gratitude is incomplete without concrete efforts toward justice. We may be grateful for the farmers who produce our food, as well as the essential workers who process our grocery order, but we must also support their fair treatment by advocating for living wages and by purchasing ethically-made products. 

Hosts must consider where the food on the dinner party table will come from, and understand that sustainable food is fair trade. According to scholar Michael K. Goodman, who cites Barrett-Brown and Raynolds, the fair trade movement works both “in and against the market” and seeks to improve the living and working conditions of Global South farmers and producers. Goodman also mentions that, according to Oxfam, fair trade promotes “trade, not aid” and challenges the “ways of trading that keep people poor.” Concretely, these elements may look like purchasing products made by people with the right to unionize who work in safe conditions and are paid enough to support both themselves and their families. Sustainable food, therefore, supports sustainable livelihoods. Finally, when considering gratitude in regards to the dinner party itself, participants should recognize it not only in the context of their relationships with those around the table, but of their relationship with the land they eat upon. Many sustainable dinner parties will be held on unceded Indigenous territory, meaning it was stolen by colonizers who caused the violent loss of cultures as well as hundreds of thousands of lives. Many event hosts represent this issue through land acknowledgements. However, as scholars Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang wrote in their article “Decolonization is Not a Metaphor,” acknowledgement is not sufficient. Many scholars and activists use the term “decolonize” as a verb to describe the accommodations they are making in colonized spaces, without realizing the very real implications of the word itself.

Finally, creating space for gratitude at a dinner party in a pandemic must not only acknowledge the role of grocery store employees, cleaners, healthcare workers, and public transit drivers and maintenance workers in making it happen, but it must also fight for their fair treatment. As journalist Owen Jones argues, the movement during COVID-19 toward celebrating essential workers as “heroes” is necessary, but incomplete without advocacy from the privileged. Jones writes that “no floor can be cleaned remotely,” and yet those risking their lives to provide services like these are systemically underpaid and unfairly treated. Sustainable dinner party attendees who can (and should) work from home during this pandemic should spend time fighting in favour of normalizing essential workers’ higher wages and safer conditions, including access to personal protective equipment and sufficient distance from customers. It is additionally important that we extend our action-based gratitude during this time to our favourite establishments, such as restaurants, cafes, and bars. Many businesses still offer zero-contact delivery, and others provide the option of purchasing gift cards or merchandise online. Food writer Alicia Kennedy cites vegan business owner Chris Kim, who states that small businesses are relying on limited income during this time to prioritize their staff’s needs, like job security and reliable income with which to support their families. We owe those who keep these valuable establishments running the ability to do so. Therefore, sufficient gratitude while hosting a sustainable dinner party in a pandemic extends beyond recognition and into concrete action.

Tenet 2: Accessibility

Some experiment participants discussed the many costs associated with trying to live more sustainably, such as sacrificing additional income, time, or waste-intensive products, which can make participation in the movement exclusionary. Thus, a consideration of accessibility when preparing for and hosting a sustainable dinner party must encompass the many challenges and barriers that marginalized community members face on a daily basis. A sustainable dinner party during social distancing should still allow and encourage the participation of everyone, regardless of their situation. 

First of all, sustainable food itself evokes many accessibility issues. As dinner party participant Anna suggested, many grocery stores simply do not offer sustainable options, and access to grocery stores differs greatly depending on where you live.  For example, scholar Adi Segal discusses food deserts, a term which describes lack or difficulty of geographical access to healthy and nutritious food establishments, usually in lower-income areas. In New York City, small grocery stores (known as bodegas) are far more likely to exist in the neighbourhoods of East and Central Harlem than in the Upper East Side, and these bodegas are less likely to offer nutritious food options than those in the latter neighbourhood. Moreover, while many restaurants exist in all three neighbourhoods, those in East and Central Harlem are more likely to be fast-food establishments. Food deserts therefore limit access to healthy food options and further curb sustainability efforts. Additionally, disability rights blogger Crippledscholar argues that some things environmentalists tend to label as unsustainable, like straws or single-use packaging, make the lives of disabled folks easier. For example, when able-bodied environmentalists advocated for removing peeled, packaged oranges from supermarket shelves, it was harmful to the agency of disabled individuals for whom these products are incredibly valuable. 

Moreover, as dinner party participants Husayn and Juliette discussed, movements such as the zero waste one require additional labour for things like remembering to bring reusable bags and selecting more sustainable products at the store. This topic should be kept in mind in regards to accessibility because according to journalist Alden Wicker, this additional labour disproportionately falls on women since it has become included in domestic labour responsibilities. For these reasons, sustainable parties should adopt a BWYC (Bring What You Can) policy, both physically and intellectually. Participants should not be worried about preparing a perfectly-sustainable dish if it is not within their means to do so, and this experience should be a learning opportunity for everyone. No one should feel gatekept, or as though they do not have the knowledge or resources that qualify them to attend. 

Finally, in regards to accessibility and Coronavirus, one positive point to hosting a dinner party remotely is that it increases access to those who might not otherwise have been able to attend. For example, if I had held my event in my home, those who could not access stairs would have been excluded. Dinner party participant Juliette also addressed the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, stating how finding the motivation to eat and to cook has become more challenging with these new measures. As Ed Yong of The Atlantic wrote, human contact is a coping mechanism for many and social distancing has greatly reduced it. The effects of Coronavirus also negatively impact those with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, elderly people, those living in abusive homes, and Asian people dealing with an increase in racism. There is, evidently, no shortage of accessibility concerns one must consider when hosting a sustainable dinner party during the coronavirus. The host and participants should do their best to address as many as possible. 

Tenet 3: Environmentalism

No discussion of sustainability is complete without addressing issues of environmentalism, and rightly so. Although a sustainable dinner party must mitigate its impact on the environment, there are aspects of western environmentalism that override social sustainability in negative ways. For instance, in regards to food, environmentalists usually advocate for reducing or eliminating consumption of animal products, which is certainly important since up to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from meat. However, as dinner party participant Delphine pointed out, being vegetarian does not necessarily mean being sustainable. Junk food, for example, is often vegetarian, but it creates packaging waste. The food sovereignty movement also reminds us how meat is significant to many cultures, and can be farmed and eaten in less carbon-intensive ways. Additionally, while an in-person sustainable dinner party event should encourage those involved to reduce their footprint through low-carbon transportation and low-waste dinnerware, holding the event remotely mostly eliminates these concerns. 

Finally, in regards to the relationship of COVID-19 to environmentalism, dinner participants Mariam and Husayn argued that sanitation concerns have increased waste. According to Mariam, products such as bunches of bananas are now wrapped in plastic, and Husayn shared that some grocery stores no longer allow shoppers to bring reusable bags. As a broader social dialogue, many social media posts have gone viral discussing how social distancing measures have decreased pollution, and how we should then conclude that “humans are the virus.” However, as writer Sierra Garcia argues, the negative social impact of the pandemic more than reduces a cause for an “environmental win.” This sentiment is also reminiscent of ecofascist, overpopulation-based environmentalism arguments, such as the one in Paul Ehrlich’s famous book The Population Bomb. Theories like Ehrlich’s blame Global South women for causing environmental problems through their role in increasing populations. To avoid unjustly blaming already-marginalized groups, a sustainable dinner party in the time of quarantine should discuss the systems which foster climate injustice, such as capitalism, globalization, mass industry, and corporate greed. Our learnings from COVID-19 should be less about reducing overpopulation and more about overhauling our systems to accommodate everyone, because it is possible. 

Conclusion

This essay provides a framework in regards to how one might host a sustainable dinner party during a pandemic. It has discussed the varying issues and considerations related to food, the event itself, and the impact of the Coronavirus on planning such an event. The community cookbook attached also represents a meaningful visual representation of this essay’s findings and should be read alongside it. Together, these elements conclude that hosts must incorporate three main tenets: action and justice-based gratitude, diverse considerations of accessibility, and environmentalism through an intersectional lens. Indeed, it discussed many considerations within the realm of each tenet, and hosts and participants should do their best to incorporate as many as possible. Future research should prioritize hosting such dinner parties with more diverse participant samples, therefore incorporating as many concerns and uplifting as many voices as possible. Moreover, sustainable dinner parties held following the COVID-19 pandemic that may not be forced to exist remotely might still consider including this as an option for participants who are unable to attend in person.

Works Cited

Broaders, Anna, Juliette Escande, Delphine Polidori, Mariam Grigoryan, and Husayn Jamal, video call with the author, April 04, 2020.

Coté, Charlotte. “‘Indigenizing’ Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States.” Humanities. Vol. 5, no. 57 (2016): doi:10.3390/h5030057 

Crippledscholar. “When Accessibility gets Labeled Wasteful.” Crippled Scholar, March 4, 2016. https://crippledscholar.com/2016/03/04/when-accessibility-gets-labeled-wasteful/

Derfel, Aaron. “Montreal public health scrambles to avoid community spread of COVID-19.” Montreal Gazette, March 17, 2020. https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-public-health-scrambles-to-avoid-community-spread-of-covid-19/

Garcia, Sierra. “‘We’re the virus’: The pandemic is bringing out environmentalism’s dark side.” Grist, March 30, 2020. https://grist.org/climate/were-the-virus-the-pandemic-is-bringing-out-environmentalisms-dark-side/

Goodman, Michael K. “Reading fair trade: political ecological imaginary and the moral economy of fair trade foods.” Political Geography. Vol. 23 (2004): 891-915. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2004.05.013 

Jones, Owen. “The undervalued heroes of the coronavirus crisis need our thanks - and our support.” The Guardian, March 21, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/21/undervalued-heroes-coronavirus-crisis-cleaners-supermarket-workers

Kennedy, Alicia. “Vegan Business Owners Share Coronavirus Challenges and Hopes for the Future.” Tenderly Magazine, March 31, 2020. https://medium.com/tenderlymag/vegan-business-owners-share-coronavirus-challenges-and-hopes-for-the-future-4aaee234f459

Kimmerer, Robin. “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass.” In Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2013.

Segal, Adi. “Food Deserts: A Global Crisis in New York City - Causes, Impacts and Solutions.” Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development. Vol. 3, no. 1 (2010): 197-214. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26167795 

Tuck, Eve and K. Wayne Yang. “Decolonization is not a metaphor.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society. Vol. 1, no. 1 (2012): 1-40. 

Van de Kamp, Mirjam E., S. Marjie Seves and Elisabeth H. M Temme. “Reducing GHG emissions while improving diet quality: exploring the potential of reduced meat, cheese and alcoholic and soft drinks consumption at specific moments during the day.” BMC Public Health, vol. 18, no. 264 (2018): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5132-3 

Wicker, Alden. “The complicated gender politics of going zero waste.” Vox, May 9, 2019. https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/5/9/18535943/zero-waste-movement-gender-sustainability-women-instagram

Yong, Ed. “How the Pandemic Will End.” The Atlantic, March 25, 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-will-coronavirus-end/608719/ 

One Year of Ethigirl: A Review!

Hey there! Happy September! Though it’s been a little while since the official anniversary, I wanted to take a minute to write a post that rounded up some of my sweetest moments from Ethigirl’s first year of existence.

Now Ethigirl is still very much a baby at this point. She’s got a lot of stuff she wants to accomplish in these coming years! That said, for a one year-old, I think it’s pretty amazing all that’s happened in 365 days on the Internet (and planet).

So, let’s take a little trip down memory lane!

August 2018: The Birth of Ethigirl

I started Ethigirl after a lot of thinking. I’d previously attempted a personal blog but didn’t have much direction and, therefore, failed to update it regularly. I had all of this knowledge on sustainable and ethical fashion, but nowhere to concretely direct it. However, I also lacked the confidence that I had any ~hot takes~ worthy of putting onto the Internet. That changed after a few of my friends contacted me for advice on getting started in the world of conscious consumerism: maybe I could be a resource. And so, I did a lot of research until I soon launched Ethigirl.com! She used to look a lot different: she started out with a different logo and a different platform, Wordpress.

August-October 2018: Getting Started

Those first two months, I wrote a lot. I was priding myself on posting very regularly, as I was excited and motivated to keep growing my audience. I also launched most of Ethigirl’s social media platforms, including (most namely) my Instagram and Facebook. However, my Insta didn’t start out very aesthetic as I lacked a lot of good pictures to use at that time!

I was lucky to borrow my friends and one of their cameras to get some great shots. 

Some of my fave posts from that time period are my Fall Fashion Lookbook and Depop Shopping Tips. I’m really proud of these articles because of how hard I worked on them, and how unique I felt the content inside was. 

Fall 2018: Discount Codes, Logo Redesign and More!

As the months passed and I kept writing, Ethigirl grew out of her initial logo. So, I knew it was time for a change. I needed to better define the brand and its story. After a lot of thinking, I came up with what we have now! You can read more about that here. Each element has a distinct purpose, and encompasses the intersectionality of ethical and sustainable fashion that I feel is so important.

I also started applying to some of my favourite brands’ ambassador programs to spread the word about them and to give people some sweet, sweet discounts! Some of the brands I work with include Dazey LA and Krochet Kids.

Winter 2019: Opening Up About Mental Health

At some point, it started feeling right to share some more personal thoughts about my mental health within the Ethigirl community. It turns out that they really resonated with people, because my Personal Pieces are some of my most popular posts of all time. I’m particularly proud of my Social Change Burnout article, which put into writing so many of the thoughts I’ve struggled to communicate for so long. 

Winter 2019: Working With Erin From Vella Vintage!

One of my absolute top highlights from this past year has been all of the members of the ethical fashion community I’ve had the pleasure of meeting (both in person and online)! The first powerhouse that comes to mind is Erin, the creator of Vella Vintage. Vella is an online thrift shop made up of collections that Erin curates based on their theme. Erin also creates thrifted mystery boxes for her customers. 

As part of our collaboration, Erin wrote an article about me for her Girl Boss Blog, and I wrote an article about her. We even worked to offer Ethigirl readers 25% off on Vella pieces with the code ETHIGIRL25. 

Winter 2019: ethigIRL

Around late winter I started itching to get out there and talk to some people about Ethigirl in real life! So, I tabled at two events, and I even attended the Canadian National Fair Trade Conference in Ottawa in March. All of these things allowed me to have an excuse to print custom Ethigirl stickers and to grow our community a little more. 

May 2019: Podcasting!

In May, I recorded a podcast episode with Marjorie of A Sustainable Mind, a show on which she interviews environmental changemakers! I’m so excited about how this opportunity was able to spread my message to some new people. We talked a lot about accessibility in slow fashion, why screwing up is okay, and individual versus collective actions. You can listen to the episode here!

August 2019: A Site Makeover

Over the summer a number of things led me to decide to completely switch my CMS (Content Management System). I realized over time that Wordpress just wasn’t the right fit: it required a ton of constant maintenance that I didn’t have time for, and I was always unsatisfied with the aesthetics and overall user experience of the site at that time. So, after some research and consulting with the right people, I chose to take my business to Squarespace. 

I created lots of wireframes and finally landed on the design I have now! I am so much happier with how things look, and I’m sure I’m going to keep changing it. What’s great is that Squarespace will allow me to do that extremely easily. 

So, there you have it! Some of my favourite moments of Ethigirl’s growth into a toddler over this past year. As always, thanks for reading - and feel free to let me know what your fave Ethigirl post was from the year!

With love and sustainability,

Ethigirl