Hello!

Time has flown by, and I’m already at my last post! Over the past few months, we’ve looked at the environmental impacts arising from the consumption of bubble tea, so let’s end this journey on a more uplifting note.

Despite the huge amount of plastic waste generated, some bubble tea stores have begun their endeavours in creating a more sustainable (and guilt-free) experience for their customers. One such brand is HeyTea, which has pushed out a range of environmental initiatives under #greenheytea that you can check out below!

 

Alright, it’s time I shared my own sustainability journey with you!

 

My Own Sustainability Journey 🙂

Just like most others, I didn’t grow up being conditioned to not use plastic bags; plastics were a huge part of my life! It was only two years back when I finally took a leap of faith toward a more sustainable lifestyle. During that time, the no-straws movement was gaining traction, flooding my social media feed with the plethora of reusable straws available in the market. And as you’ve read in the last post, I got my first metal straw then!

After my first metal straw, I suddenly realised it wasn’t going to work for bubble tea. As I searched far and wide for thicker straws, I realised the irony of using one with disposable plastic cups. Thus, when this bubble tea tumbler and straw set went on sale, I quickly got one and I’ve been using it since! (Except recently since covid-19 doesn’t allow for the use of tumblers. :c )

 

Environmental Action as Addictive as Bubble Tea

It’s interesting, because once you start, it’s hard to stop. Once you’ve cultivated a habit, it’s easier to move forward rather than backward to your old ways of using plastic bags after switching to reusable ones, and likewise for many other forms of environmental action like refusing straws, using your own tumblers and even recycling!

Hence, the most difficult part is really overcoming the initial inertia and trust me, it gets easier from there! With enough thought, encouragement and guidance, I believe we’ll be able to kickstart our own sustainability journeys and perhaps, help others to kickstart theirs! It’s not a competition of who’s the most environmentally-friendly, but that we’re all together in the same race to preserve our planet and the beautiful rich biodiversity within! Any small step is a win to be celebrated for our Earth, so let’s continue pushing one another to do more for the environment!

 

Reusables are Serious Stuff

Remember, many reusables are only better than single-use disposables if they’re used for a long time! Hence, let’s not be swayed by trends and the attractiveness of cute totes as grocery bags or iridescent metal straws, think through your decision before committing to a reusable! If it’s hard to remember, try thinking about getting reusables like getting a pet –  it’s a high commitment that shouldn’t be taken up under impulse! 🙂

For those of you who already own reusables, let’s make a conscious effort to use them more! If we forgot to bring our straw, could we just wait till we’re home before consuming or perhaps, entirely skip the drink?

 

 

With that, thanks so much for sticking around all this while! I hope you’ll walk away having reflected about your own consumption habits and am inspired to kickstart your own sustainability journey! 🙂

Let’s make the act of refusing single-use disposables and the frequent, conscious use of reusables mainstream, who’s with me?