The Expense of the Environment

As someone who considers themselves environmentally conscious I have noticed a pattern in the expense of products that are promoted as good environmental alternatives. The wide use of plastic is because of how cheap it is to produce on a mass scale, however, the price of the alternatives I think is a significant issue. It is why these environmental alternatives have not taken off as much as they could have, plus it also appears to me to be the reason why there is still a large amount of single use plastic in households across the country.

Take for example how much plastic we use in the bathroom. Most of our bathroom products contain plastic like our shampoos and conditioners. The popular alternative that has appeared in regard to the environment is the shampoo and conditioner bar; which is essentially a soap bar for your hair. Most of the ones that I have seen are about the size of your palm and for your troubles it costs between six to ten pounds. Now at first you might think, well some hair products are a similar price range so the expense isn’t too bad, especially when you consider the significant lack of plastic it contains and lack of waste it produces. However, I have my doubts about how long these products would actually last for the price. Granted soap bars seem to go on forever, I have had the same one in my bathroom for at least 3 months now. But, we need to use a lot more product on our hair, especially to get a good lather and to deep clean it. Bottles last a significantly long time and I could get seven shampoo bottles for the same price as one shampoo bar. To me it does appear that the plastic alternative is cheaper and more accessible which appeals to a lot more people.

Of course, you cannot really put a price on the environment but in a realistic world many people do, particularly people who have a lot less money and need to make accessible alternatives to suit their lifestyles. This then makes these environmental products significantly less appealing, I know as a student it is hard for me to implement environmental products into every aspect of my lifestyle. This is what becomes such a problem for me, many people want to make environmental changes to their living because it is becoming such a huge concern for the nation and the globe. They are unable to do so because of the price of these commodities. It appears to me to be a middle-class luxury to be concerned with the environment and to be able to implement this concern. Some might argue that it doesn’t matter too much about the way that we live our everyday lives in regard to the environment as it is the governments and the big corporations that need to make sure they are implementing changes as they will have the most impact. On the other hand it is becoming more and more clear that the general public also need to adapt to the changing world and to be able to embrace a more environmentally conscious lifestyle. We all need to do our bit together, particularly as the need to save the planet grows more insistent, similarly more people WANT to play their part. This is why it needs to be accessible.

The problem with thinking about the environment is that it is physically impossible to worry about it all the time. I can’t count the amount of times I have read an article or watched a documentary and gotten furious with the state of the planet and the environment. The numerous times I have sat and considered the bigger picture, attempted to not worry too much about the little things when there is a wider world out there and then forgotten it all after any minor inconvenience occurs. I think this is the same for most people, the environment is of course a huge issue that a lot of people are in fact extremely concerned about. However, these very people also have their own individual lives with more immediate pressing issues and problems that take up their time and devotion. It is hard to consider the bigger picture all the time, even Leonardo DiCaprio seems to forget the environment when he’s on his own private yacht.

This is why these products need to be affordable, as it allows people to be concerned with the environment in a way that is easy for them and satisfies their conscience. If there were products that were friendly to the environment, easy to get hold of and affordable to purchase of course more people would buy them. It would also mean that more people would feel like they are playing their part and looking at the bigger picture – which they are doing – whilst also being able to focus on their own individual problems. Something which I think a lot of these environmental products lack. As well as satisfying the general public, if these products were made more affordable then it would better the climate crisis as more people would be doing their bit. There is no doubt that these changes are trivial in the grand scheme of things, it is of course companies that need more pressure placed on them and there shouldn’t be as much guilt placed on the individual to be leading new environmental living. However, as someone who is concerned with the environment, I can see the need for these products and the benefits they have. But of course as the article suggests these products at this specific moment are often too unaffordable and this clearly needs to change in order to positively impact the environment and become more widespread.