As some of you might know, I have worked in two outdoor stores so far and the one thing that has struck me is the amount of plastic that come with each shipment of new stock. Tons and tons of plastic are thrown away and I can’t help but wonder; Why, of ALL the companies, are the Outdoor companies and manufacturers not doing something about this?! So far Patagonia and Vaude are the only ones really standing up for the environment and ethic ways of producing. Sometimes I wish I had more experience with these issues. That I was super smart and could invent a new type of packaging that isn’t plastic and harmful to nature. Or a way that packaging would become completely needless. Why is it that all the stores in the Netherlands are charging customers for plastic bags now, while every day millions of plastic packagings are covering the same goods that we buy and then pay extra for a plastic bag?! It seems so weird and unreasonable. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a good law. Yet I wish the behind-the-scenes part of production would do something to produce less plastic waste too.
I wish the government would step up more. Like how in France throwing away food has become illegal. “FINALLY!”was my first thought when I read that! When I worked in the Efteling(a Dutch Themepark) at the end of each day we would have to throw away the food that we didn’t sell and couldn’t sell the next day. Tons of good food just to waste. I can’t wait for this law to pass in the Netherlands too. People are too careless with their food, we should be far more aware on what we have in our fridge and making sure that we eat what we bought before it expires. And there are so many people that would pay to get their hands on the food companies throw away!
It just makes me a bit sad. That there’s so much that would be so easy to change, yet hardly anyone is bothered to do it unless laws are passed(and those are taking way too long! There’s a need for things to change fast, yet governments are reacting slow.