Being an eco-friendly South African may look like many things. This is why we have worked out that the best approach to an eco-friendly South Africa is one where we find ways of living green that are practical, inclusive, but also fitting and respectful for people’s contexts. Conscious Lifestyle Collective has chosen the focus on the following three areas to make South Africa a more eco-conscious society.

1. Education: There is not enough education about a zero-waste South Africa that all South Africans can access. Education empowers people to make more informed choices about their lives and their impact on the environment. Educating people about the eco-space and how they could be more eco-friendly South Africans is also about exposing others to how other people live and define eco-conscious behaviour.

2. Collaboration and community building: While there are people and organizations across many industries and sections of society making a concentrated effort in making South African a greener country, we have realized that many of these efforts happen in isolation. We at Conscious Lifestyle Collective believe that more cross-industry/sector collaboration may help in building stronger inter-societal ties, for the community is an essential ingredient for an eco-conscious society.

3. Access: Access is a major issue in the eco-space. From costs greener products to lack of context-specific green services (i.e. sanitation). There is also a linguistic issue where the green discourse tends to be gate kept and controlled by people or communities that facilitate resources. As a result, efforts made in townships and rural areas are not seen as green efforts, instead are seen as acts of survival.