As the semester draws to a close, I would like to just do a quick summary of what we have learnt here together (+ a bonus video)!
First, we talked about the trends of the past and how they have resulted in pollution and contamination which created significant issues for human health. These lessons from the past serve as important reminders for us to be critical of what we consume and the potential negative impacts of our actions. Next, we talked about everyday beauty and fashion items and trends and how they affect the environment. We talked about specific chemicals and ingredients in our beauty products that harm the environment, as well as harmful trends. Finally, we talked about larger scale influencer-induced phenomena that are creating problems for the environment. Influencer culture may look glamorous and we may be enticed to copy influencer behaviours but first- think of the impacts of your actions.
It has been a pleasure learning and sharing on this blog and I hope it has been an enriching journey for you too! I hope that you remember that all of our individual actions impact the environment and that we all have a role to play in minimising pollution to protect the environment.
Before I leave, remember how I said I REALLY enjoy edutainment videos on YouTube? Well during the semester, I also had the chance to produce such a video of my own for a different module and I thought I would share it with you too.
In the video, I interrogate the true benefits of ecotourism (spoiler: it’s not as eco-friendly as you may think). Irresponsible tourist behaviours also promote pollution in these protected areas. So with borders opening up, you may be travelling this summer break. Just remember to think about the impact of your actions not only in your daily life, but also when you go on such travelling adventures. This also links back to what we learnt about large scale tourism from the Coachella case study!
Let’s all become more responsible consumers as we try to keep up with trends and influencer culture.
Love,
Raihah <3