‘Darling, I think I’ve fallen out of love …. with Sustainability!’
September 2022 with heart flutters and giddy optimism we launched onto the airwaves our first episode of ‘EcoMomics’ – the sustainable living podcast for busy parents and caregivers who wanted advice on how to shop for more climate friendly alternatives, but didn’t know where to start. Our mission was to highlight who were leading the way in providing greener alternatives in the aisles of the big supermarket chains and high street retailers, and who were dragging their feet in eradicating climate polluting stuff like single use plastic and polyester from our shopping trollies. We tackled everything from School Lunches to Fast Fashion, Festive Merch to Air Travel, shining a spotlight on the bad behaviour of suppliers who keep acting like environmental lotharios. Yet despite our protestations and pleading for change, dropping hints and suggestions about how our needs as climate conscious consumers might be better met, very little has changed in the interim three years. Single use plastic is still draped all over our groceries, high street and online retailers are still seducing us with fast fashion, and we are still being whisked away on carbon emitting flights, with no concern for how any of this might upset the health and longevity of our planet. No wonder I’m fed up and losing heart in my relationship with sustainability. But I can’t help thinking – its not me, its them!
But who are the ‘them’ in this relationship? Well, there are quite a few environmental cheats in our lives and I don’t mind naming and shaming some of the worst offenders. And deservedly so:-
Supermarkets
New Years Day 2022 and France introduced a new law banning plastic packaging on most fruit and vegetables, with government officials believing the ban could prevent a billion items of single use plastic being used every year. From 2021, the country banned plastic straws, cups and cutlery, as well as polystyrene takeaway boxes. Spain followed in 2023 with a similar ban on the sale of fruit and veg in plastic containers. The same year New Zealand became the first country to ban the use of plastic bags which supermarket customers use to collect their fruit and veg. Yet, I despair going into any of the leading supermarket chains in Ireland – Dunnes, Tesco, Supervalue and others – to find most fruit and vegetables still wrapped in single use plastic. Not to mention the amount of other food stuffs like chopped fruit and veg, meats, cheeses, salads …. the list goes on, all still wrapped in non-compostable, single use plastic. Some might teeter very close to the edge of my patience and say ‘Relax! It can all be recycled’ ! But thats only if its clean and dry. While others are dumping their dirty single use plastic with abandon in their black rubbish bins destined for landfill or incineration, I, like so many other climate concerned citizens, stand at the kitchen sink washing out our plastic packaging and hanging them out to dry for correct recycling. Always the environmental Bridesmaid never the ‘planet who?’ Bride.
photo by Julia M Cameron 
photo by Shvets Production 
photo by Sohail Nawaz (Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan)
photo by Coombesy (London/England) 
photo by RitaE (Deutschland) 
photo by Maria Gullestrup (Red Cross Project)
The thing is, I can’t get thoughts about recent research findings out of my head – like the University of New Mexico finding alarmingly high levels of Microplastics in Human Brains, with concentrations growing over time.(1) They also found a correlation between micro plastics in brain tissue and dementia patients. Capital Medical University in Beijing, China, have detected micro plastics in human artery samples.(2) And most disturbing of all is the detection of polyethylene – the plastic used to make plastic bottles and bags – found in samples of placenta tissues and embryonic meconium.(3) So even before babies leave the womb they have been contaminated by micro plastics. That is heartbreaking!
Isn’t it time supermarkets and their suppliers were given a legally enforced ultimatum by our national government that single use plastic packaging and containers be banned from all produce and products? This should also be visibly time-lined for the public to follow and adapt to. After all, the EU plastic packaging directive states that by 2030 all packing put on the market with the EU should be reusable or recyclable in an economically feasible manner.(4) It will take time to implement this and I’m not seeing much by way of progress or change in my weekly shopping, nor in any café or deli I go to where the single use cups are still lined with micro plastic and non compostable. As it stands Killarney is the only single-use coffee cup free town in Ireland. In fact, Killarney 2GoCup Campaign was the brainchild of Ciara Treacy and Louise Byrne – two environmental mavericks driving the necessary change in sustainable living while the government are asleep at the wheel. Thankfully other towns are picking up the slack – like the amazing Health Food shop Sonas in Newcastle West, Co Limerick (https://www.sonashealthfoods.ie/shop).
It would be my strong view that from today, no new product or cafe or restaurant should be launched onto the market without a prerequisite that they can only use compostable, biodegradable or reusable packaging or containers. Indeed the government should in tandem be helping existing Irish businesses in the food and catering sectors to swap out their plastic elements for compostable or re-usable alternatives. There are so many innovations in the area of compostable and biodegradable packaging and containers, that there should be no excuse not to make this happen. And imagine how much easier our lives would be – especially busy mothers – if we could just put food packaging into the composter with the remnants of food inside. Now thats an idea to swoon about!
Fast Fashion Retailers
I got a land lately when my octogenarian mother-in-law told me she’s been shopping on Temu! Normally a pretty environmentally aware woman, good at recycling, but for some reason couldn’t get over the ‘deals’ on Temu. She bought her neighbour a new rug – textile version not toupee – for less than a €10 all the way from China and 100% polyester. Not to mention the carbon emissions of the plane, train and automobile that brought it to his door. She’s also a devil for the fast fashion and polyester Mecca that is Penny’s where a €5 can more than satisfy her retail urges. So as if it wasn’t tough enough to persuade the Gen Xs, Zs and Millennials to curb their enthusiasm for fast fashion, the Boomers are also cheating on the health of our planet with their dangerous retail liaisons. This is putting a real dampener on my passion for climate communications and activism. Whats the point if even Granny is taken in by feckless retail outlets – both on and off line – like these.
Flights
This week’s aviation news is a real slap in the face for anyone doing their bit to promote sustainability or campaign for climate action. Ryanair launched its new ‘take flight’ flash sale with bargain seats to destinations including Rome, Amsterdam and London. Aer Lingus launched its ‘Spring city breaks’ sale for top European destinations. Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary is railing against the Dublin Airport passenger cap in favour of more and more flights, while Heathrow airport pushes forward with plans for a third runway. Yet according to climate analysts, a quarter of all global emissions could be from flying by 2050.(5) Yet only 40-50% of global population have flown in an aircraft at least once in their lifetime – its predominantly the people who have never flown, in the poorest countries of the world, who are suffering the greatest impacts of climate change.(6) So while we in the comfortable West think little of hopping on a flight for a romantic getaway or a shopping trip, those who have never even stepped foot on a plane are having to cope with water level rises, land erosion, extreme weather conditions and destruction to their homes, crops and livelihoods.
photo by Mairon Silveira (Brazil) 
photo by Taylor Marx (Ontario, Canada)
Only recently, courtesy of Storm Eowyn, many people in Ireland got a taste of what an extreme weather event looks and feels like. Power outages, reduced water supply, food shortages, flood and wind damage, livestock and crops damaged and sadly in some cases, loss of human life. Met Éireann has warned that such extreme weather events will become more normal as the Earth’s climate changes.(7) So if flight emissions damage the earth’s atmosphere, and damaged atmosphere leads to climate change, and climate change causes extreme weather events – then surely, surely its a no brainer to consider giving unnecessary flights a skip in favour of romantic getaways in Ireland and shopping local for gúnas?
Of course, sustainable land travel in Ireland makes me wince at the lack of EV infrastructure and how, as an EV car owner, I’ve been left almost high and dry a few times outside of urban centres. Its another source of frustration and fatigue that those of us who have tried to do the right thing for the environment, invested in an EV vehicle yet are stumped more often than not when it comes to accessible, abundant, fast charge points. We live on a terrace so our nearest fast charger is in a supermarket car park – which on the eve of Storm Eowyn making landfall was akin to Piccadilly Circus, such was peoples panic to get their grocery shopping done and cars charged up. I heard myself say aloud when I finally got to plug in – ‘sometimes I wish I didn’t get an EV’.
We live in a convenient society – choosing to live more sustainably and make more sustainable choices shouldn’t be an inconvenience or a punishment. Yet, it so often is. No wonder I’m beginning to lose some love for sustainability.
But, ever the optimist and a glass half full merchant – I won’t nor can’t throw in the towel on my relationship with Sustainability. My teenage daughter’s future on a healthy planet depends on it. But its time those of us who walk the talk are not left standing alone in the dance hall while all the others are partying like its 1999 and paying no heed or action to the climate crisis.
Last June myself and Liza Reilly – my co-host on our ‘EcoMomics’ podcast – were invited to sit down with former Minister and Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan on the Q102 Environmental radio series ‘Ours to Protect’ with Presenter Luke Delaney to discuss what changes still needed to be made in the fight for climate action.(8) Our key message to Mr Green himself – make sustainable living convenient and accessible for all consumers rather than the self determined efforts of the few. Sadly, Eamon resigned as party leader and Minister the following week – was it something we said? Maybe, like me he’s getting a little fatigued by the fight to keep the Green Agenda front and centre of government and public concerns.
The poor support for Green Party candidates across the country in the last election is a concerning indictment of the lack of priority been given to the biggest issue of our time – climate change! It feels like pushing a bolder up a hill – made worse in recent weeks by the President of the Free World chipping away with Executive Orders on any progress made by the previous Administration on Climate Action in the States. The most recent one – cancelling paper straws and returning to the widespread use of plastic straws. What a jerk move!
In the words of David Suzuki – a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation –
“What we do to earth we do to ourselves, and what we do to life on earth – human and otherwise – we do to ourselves. It’s our duty to care for our immediate environment and all of the planet. Doing so will make us healthier and happier.” (9)
Our relationship with the planet is not one we can ‘take a break from’. Love it or hate it, we have a duty of care towards the planet and the environment and all of us, not just the few, need to reject the tantalising appeal of convenience packaging, fast fashion and cheap flights. Its time to kick into touch the toxic short term thrills of buying for the short-term but instead commit to quality, long life, sustainable keepers.
Tonyia Dowling is co-founder and co-presenter with Liza Reilly of the sustainable living podcast EcoMomics available on Spotify and Apple. Follow them @ecomomics_ie on Instagram and Twitter and Ecomomics.ie on Facebook.
Also follow Tonyia on Instagram @Pursuit_of_Preloved for vintage and preloved tableware buys and @FoundLoveHearts just to put a smile on your face.
READ MORE articles by Tonyia Dowling
References
(1) https://hsc.unm.edu/news/2025/02/hsc-newsroom-post-microplastics-human-brains.html
(5) https://davidsuzuki.org/living-green/air-travel-climate-change/
(8) https://shows.acast.com/654e4cd52837570012666933/667be7eea17e96b00251563f
