Why Sustainable Living Isn’t Just for the Privileged Anymore

Sustainability only works when it's accessible to everyone, from all walks of life

Heeeeeyo friends, in this article I want to talk about something that’s been on my mind for a while now: this idea that sustainable living is only for the wealthy, the well-resourced, the people with matching spice jars and solar panels. It’s something I hear often, and honestly, I get it.

For a long time, sustainability did come off that way. Expensive organic groceries, $80 compost bins, the need to replace everything in your house to reach that sustainability aesthetic. A zero-waste starter kit that somehow costs more than your weekly groceries. The message, whether intentional or not, was that to live sustainably, you needed money, time, and a certain aesthetic. And if you didn’t have those things? Well, then maybe it wasn’t for you.

But that narrative is changing (thankfully). Slowly, steadily, and from the ground up.

The actual truth is this: sustainable living is not a luxury rather a mindset. And more and more, it’s becoming something people are reclaiming! Not as consumers, but as humans trying to live more in tune with their values, their community, and the planet.

Let’s be clear, yes, there are eco products that are wildly overpriced. Yes, greenwashing is a whole thing (more about all that at a later date). But the heart of sustainability has always been rooted in simplicity, resourcefulness, and care. Not perfection. Not performance. Not price tags.

Photo by Boxed Water Is Better on Unsplash

I think about my grandmother, who grew up in Toronto during the great-depression, saving every glass jar, reusing foil until it couldn’t fold anymore, mending clothes, growing herbs on the windowsill. That wasn’t called “sustainable” back then, it was just life. It was what you did because waste was unthinkable, and every item had value (a way of living that we need to embrace once again). Somewhere along the line we seem to have lost that, and now, gradually we’re making our way back to that kind of thinking.

What I’m see now, especially in communities that have historically been left out of the sustainability conversation, is a quiet, powerful shift. People growing their own food (community gardens are so common place now), not to be trendy, but because it’s more affordable. People thrifting out of necessity and the understanding that the fast fashion industry needs to slow down and keeping up with seasonal looks is a con. Families using what they have, sharing resources, finding creative ways to cut down on waste—not to build a brand, but to make ends meet.

This is sustainability too and this is what sustainability looks like for the average Joe and Jolene.

And maybe this is the part we need to say again and louder: sustainable living doesn’t require you to overhaul your life overnight. It doesn’t mean you need to buy everything organic or stop using your car tomorrow or feel guilty for not having a zero-waste pantry. It’s not all or nothing, that’s part of the beauty of the process.

Sometimes, it’s packing lunch instead of buying takeout. Sometimes, it’s fixing something instead of tossing it and replacing it. It’s shopping secondhand, cooking from scratch, borrowing instead of buying. It’s saying, “I’ll use what I have first,” and actually doing it.

None of that requires a big bank account. What it does require is a little intention. A little creativity. And sometimes, a little community.

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

The more I learn about sustainable living and live it, the more I realize it’s less about shiny eco-products and more about shifting how we relate to stuff. How we value it, how we care for it, and how we move through the world with a little more thought and a little less waste trailing behind us.

So no, sustainable living isn’t just for the privileged anymore. It never really should’ve been and never really was. And as more of us reclaim it in our own way (whether through gardening, mending, bulk shopping, or simply resisting fast everything) we’re proving that a better future doesn’t have to come wrapped in expensive packaging or be replaceable.

It can look like a shared meal, a swapped shirt, a bike ride, a reused jar.

It can look like you.

Let me know about the “small” (nothing is small when talking about sustainability) ways you live sustainably in your household, ways you don’t even think twice about…

"To leave the world better than you found it, sometimes you have to pick up other people's trash." - Bill Nye