Let's consume responsibly, one step at a time

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr and Mrs Aubergine! 😂 #arenttheysocute?! 😍😂 #eggplant #aubergine #weirdshaped #legumesmoches #amap #csa #localfood #Letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime #fairphonepic (à Toulouse, France)

What is the cost of food waste? Let's (try to) find out! #masterthesis #mba #foodwaste #ediblefoodwaste photo taken with the #fairphone !!! :D #directradecoffee #soymilk #orcoffeeroasters #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime #responsibleconsumption #zerowaste

Have you ever had your pipes so clogged up that you end up with your feet in a swimming pool everytime you take a shower?💧💧💧 Sharing a shower with 3 girls, all having long hair, I can tell you, I have! And I found a solution which is 1) super efficient 2) ecofriendly 3) reeeaaaally cheap : Mix 200g baking soda, 200g salt, and poor gently 20cl white vinegar on the mix (if you are too quick, it will overflow bcs of the chemical reaction). Pour everything in the pipes. Wait for at least 1/2h. Then pour a bowl of boiling water in the pipes (I pour water directly from a full kettle twice). Et VOILA, the pipes are unclogged, bye bye swimming pool! ;) I looked for (maybe not hard enough) a way to source these ingredients so that they would be eco-friendly (bio/organic if it exists) AND bulk but didn't find it. So if you know where I can buy all that bulk + eco-friendly in the area of Brussels, let me know! At least, I didn't buy destop! We're on a journey, so along the way, compromise is sometimes needed... #pipesunclogged #diy #whitevinegar ~#bakingsoda #salt #bulk #ecofriendly #cheap #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime 👣 #grace

Have you ever had your pipes so clogged up that you end up with your feet in a swimming pool everytime you take a shower?💧💧💧 Sharing a shower with 3 girls, all having long hair, I can tell you, I have! And I found a solution which is 1) super efficient 2) ecofriendly 3) reeeaaaally cheap :  Mix 200g baking soda, 200g salt, and poor gently 20cl white vinegar on the mix (if you are too quick, it will overflow bcs of the chemical reaction). Pour everything in the pipes. Wait for at least 1/2h. Then pour a bowl of boiling water in the pipes (I pour water directly from a full kettle twice). Et VOILA, the pipes are unclogged, bye bye swimming pool! ;) I looked for (maybe not hard enough) a way to source these ingredients so that they would be eco-friendly (bio/organic if it exists) AND bulk but didn't find it. So if you know where I can buy all that bulk + eco-friendly in the area of Brussels, let me know!  At least, I didn't buy destop! We're on a journey, so along the way, compromise is sometimes needed... #pipesunclogged #diy #whitevinegar ~#bakingsoda #salt #bulk #ecofriendly #cheap #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime 👣 #grace

#redishes harvested from the #pots on the #terrasse 🍴 #growyourownfood #gardening #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime 👣

#redishes harvested from the #pots on the #terrasse 🍴 #growyourownfood #gardening #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime 👣

I think these beauties are going to be eaten for lunch! 🍴 😋 #vegetablegarden #vegetablegardenonterrace #vegetablegardenincity #growyourownfood (when possible ;) ) #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime #yummy #lettuce #lunch

"Using fashion to empower and educate women" ~ Sseko ~ My @sseko sandals have finally arrived! And I love that the lady who made them signed on the tag! Thank you Justine! :D ~ So I needed sandals.  Purchasing what I really need is a 1st step to #responsibleconsumption [or as Rebecca Bloomwood from the movie confessions of a shopaholic would say "do I really need this?" ;) ]. I didn't have any sandals, and that's kind of convenient in the summer, so I looked for ways to buy responsibly. Step 2. I tried to reduce the negative impact of the purchase by making sure that no one has been abused in the making of what I purchased, that the wage was #fair and the #workingconditions were acceptable. I found Sseko and realized... it went even further! :D Sseko's whole mission is to provide #jobs to women in #Uganda, #Kenya and #Ethiopia so that they can save to go to #university! So now I even have a "Step 3"! I could have a positive impact and support a beautiful project, giving it my "money-vote". If you want to know more or if you also want to purchase Sseko products, you can go to ssekodesigns.com - The only downside is that Sseko is difficult to find/get in Europe, I had to find a friend of a friend who could bring it from the US to me. - #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime #responsibleconsumption #whomademyshoes #sseko #ssekosandals #sandals #ribbonsandals #fashionrevolution #responsiblefashion #fairfashion #sustainablefashion #happy

I made my own detergent! Combined with baking soda, it works wonders! It's super easy to make : a mixing of grated Savon de Marseille (which is a mixing of soda and olive oil) and water, et voilà! And I reused an empty container. It's locally sourced (Savon de Marseille bought at @foodassembly), eco-friendly, and it's soooo cheap! This is an example of how responsible consumption is overall available to small budgets (and believe me, as a student my budget is small!) since the more-expensive side of responsible consumption is widely balanced by all the savings on well-thought-out consumption.  Here is the link to the recipe I usedhttp://green-me-up.com/2013/11/ma-lingerie-ecologique-une-lessive-et-un-placard-ecolos.html #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime #detergent #ecofriendly #bakingsoda #savondemarseille #local #foodassembly #responsibleconsumption #recycling #nowaste

"Your coffee looks like beer!" said my flatmate 😂 Am I getting such a local-buyer that even a non-local product like coffee looks like a very local product like beer?!! (we're in Belgium) 😜 Haha, anyway, treating myself with home-made almond milk latte and fair-trade Belgian chocolate! YUMMY!  Organic almonds and fair trade coffee bought bulk @ the bio markethttp://terrabio.be/ Fair-trade sugar bought @ Colruyt Fair-trade chocolate bought @ Carrefour Market (I normally buy them @ Oxfamhttp://www.oxfam.be/ but they were closed today By the way, the chocolate got shared with flatmates, didn't eat it all! I😉 #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime #coffee #beer #local #belgium #belgiumchocolate #homemade #almondmilk #almondmilklatte #fairtrade #bulk #sugar #oxfam #yummy #belgium #biomarket #marchébiodestanneurs #marchébio (à Brussels, Belgium)

Back from my awesome #foodassembly! :D Food, drinks AND cleaning products, most of them #organic or at least #ecofriendly, all of them from #local farmers or small companies. They even take the empty containers, jars and bottles back! That's why I have a Carrefour egg-box for these non-carrefour eggs :) #consigne To get these delicious socially responsible and eco-friendly products :https://thefoodassembly.com/en or http://www.gasap.be/?CSA-AMAP-GASAP #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime #laruchequiditoui #responsibleconsumption

Yes! This potatoe is naturally blue/purple looking! No food colouring! The top-left photo was taken in the sunlight (which does exist in Brussels ;) ), so YES the combination of blue potatoes and chestnut squash really looked that awesome! Yes! These #vegetables + #fruits are 100% #organic, #local and #seasonal! -------------------------------------------------- NEXT STEP : VEGGIES + FRUITS -------------------------------------------------- This step is actually quite easy. There are so many possibilities to choose from to buy organic, local and seasonal vegetables and fruits! My flatmate and I chose a veggies+fruits basket which comes by bike to the place we go to pick it up with our feet+public transports! http://www.lheureuxnouveau.be/ Some extra things we love about this option : - we don't choose the veggies or fruits in the basket, which means we discover new vegetables or fruits! (weekly #surprise! :D) Blue potatoes, parsnips (very common in the UK, but not at all in France or in my cooking ;) ), etc. And that's one less choice to make, feels good to have someone choose for you ;) - it tastes #delicious! - it's good for our budget : overall, it costs us 5€/week each! And we have more than enough for both of us! - it comes with recipies -------------------------------------------------- Other options to buy organic, local and seasonal veggies + fruits : Other food baskets :http://www.bioguide.be/paniers The #foodassemblies : thefoodassembly.com Organic markets :http://www.bioguide.be/marches In Belgium : http://www.gasap.be/ In France : http://www.reseau-amap.org/ #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime #lheureuxnouveau #panierbio #livraisonàvélo #fruits #légumes #pommedeterrebleuedartois #potimarron #nofilter #responsibleconsumption

Who said that #responsibleconsumption couldn't be a pleasure ? I found this awesome café held by volunteers that sells quality sustainable products coming from local producers or fair trade ! And it tasted delicious ! What more can we ask for ?!!! So dear friends in Brussels, I highly recommend the Boom café ! It's right by the Halles St Gery. On top of that I bought a delicious honey from the beehives of my friend's Dad ! Local friendship-honey :D #letsconsumeresponsibly #onestepatatime #boomcafé #fairtrade #brussels (à BOOM - Le Café du Commerce Équitable)

"I have #power and I can #makeadifference." That might sound cheezy, but that's what I get from my loooonnng thought process of the past months (you can ask my flatmates! ;) ). I've been looking into more detail at our #economy, our #monetarysystem, our #debtsystem, our #productionsystem, our #agriculturalsystem... and Oh My! There are SO MANY things that are SO #wrong... we can sum it up by "For our economical system to work, people have to consume what they don't need with money they don't have, and in the process damage society, people, and our eartly home"! It's #scary, #horrifying and #depressing! BUT things are #nothopeless! :D (sounding cheezy again? ;P ) We're in a #consumersociety, which means, I as a consumer have power. Everytime I consume I can make a #choice : either I give my money (and power) to feed the conventional system, OR I can give my money (and power) to a more #responsible #sustainable system. I thought it was going to be impossible, but the more I looked into it, the more I saw that a lot of people are #takingaction and are making #responsibleconsumption not-too-complicated and #possible ! :D It does require some effort to change my consumption habits, but it's not much more complicated than moving to a new place and having to discover all the shops all over again (everyone who's been an #exchangestudent knows what I'm talking about ;) ) Sooooo, I have decided to start changing my consumption habits, 1 step at a time, and I'll share some of these steps here. If you have any ideas, suggestions, tips, please share them, I would love to hear them! :) #letsconsumeresponsibly #thereshope By the way, this picture is from 2 weeks back, on a #sunnyBrusselsday, don't these #clouds look soooo #soft? :)