Sustainable Spring and Summer: A Chat With Manreet Mangat from Allbirds
BY AUDREY WONG
As spring and summer approach, the warm weather leads to more time spent in the sun and enjoying the outdoors. However, more picnics in the park and barbecues on the beach can lead to more litter and trash left behind. These old plastic water bottles and wrappers are amassing in landfills and polluting oceans, causing irreversible harm to our Earth. Last month on April 22, a worldwide celebration of Earth Day took place, where many businesses and individuals advocated for eco-friendly options to become a more sustainable society.
Allbirds’ commitment to sustainability. Allbirds
To learn more about the environmental issues and how they are related to the food and nutrition systems we have, I chatted with Manreet Mangat, a recent graduate from the University of British Columbia with a bachelor's degree in Food, Nutrition, and Health. She is passionate about living sustainably and keeping the environment clean, values which have led her to working for Allbirds Shoes, a company dedicated to creating sustainable footwear. The shoes’ use of recycled bottles and sugar cane has helped to create a more uplifting view of the environment. During our conversation, I asked her about the issues with sustainability in the economy and market and her thoughts on these movements in the media.
Sustainable refill containers. Green Matters
Mangat has noticed a decent shift of people looking to create more eco-friendly and sustainable options. Individuals and businesses have opted for using less plastic with the use of paper bags and straws. The shift needs to be highly emphasized in the food market, where people are still using piles of takeout containers and single-use utensils. Mangat brought up an almost humorous example of some pre-peeled oranges she saw in the grocery stores. Companies pre-peeling oranges to sell in plastic containers has eliminated the idea of compostable peels to increase convenience.
Instead, a larger societal change needs to be made towards eco-friendly products. Mangat shares that “due to jewelry being more sustainable, additional expenses and labor may need to be put into it, driving up the prices. However, this causes no gravitation to the product, due to people wanting to get cheaper products.” Understanding this idea allows us to see how investing in more sustainable products and practices is more beneficial in the long run and helps us move towards environmental improvements. The phrase “investing in our environment” is one we should keep in mind when looking at the economy and the market.
Talking with Mangat has helped me gain a new perspective on the relationship between business and sustainability. It is important is that we educate ourselves on these matters to ensure we are achieving results. Even small steps like recognizing what materials are used in our products, bringing our own grocery bags, and opting for eco-friendly businesses can help us move forward. Pushing businesses to be more sustainable will create changes larger than individuals can construct on their own, leading to a better planet Earth.
