Are we THOWING AWAY our future? We need to talk about eco-anxiety

About the Episode

In the ninth episode of season two, We Need to Talk about Eco-Anxiety, Clover considers how our modern consumerist culture, founded on the desire to accumulate material possessions, has led to the climate crisis and in turn, eco-anxiety.

First up, Clover meets the former Global Communications Lead of Break Free From Plastic and Founder of People Over Plastic, Shilpi Chhotray, to discuss our culture of overconsumption, and why breaking free of consumerism is at the heart of climate action. We then hear the thoughts of young people across the globe, and how their eco-anxiety is exacerbated by consumerist culture; and finally from Artur Litarowicz, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Hair Care for P&G Europe, about how market trends have changed from previous generations and why sustainability is becoming cost-effective for businesses.

Top Quotes

"We can talk about individual change and lifestyle change but with the amount of waste we are generating right now no amount of individual or lifestyle solutions are going to work. We need the corporations to stop it at the source." - Shilpi Chhotray

"We need to sell a vision of a plastic-free world because it's healthier, it's more sustainable, it goes back to our roots, and it's not obsessed with this cycle of consumerism." - Shilpi Chhotray

"In the past few years, we have seen the consumer move from being a passive recipient of the sustainability message to being advocates, and even activists, in that space." - Artur Litarowicz

About the Guests

Shilpi Chhotray is an activist, the former Global Communications Lead of Break Free From Plastic and Founder of People Over Plastic. Prior to joining Break Free From Plastic, Shilpi worked at Mission Blue | Sylvia Earle Alliance to further their mission of igniting public support for a global network of marine protected areas. She holds a Master’s degree in Earth and Environmental Resources Management and her writing has been published in The Economist; Yes! magazine; the Stanford Journal of Law, Science & Policy; Huffington Post, and National Geographic Ocean Views.

Caroline Hickman is a psychotherapist and Climate Psychology Therapist in Education at the University of Bath. Her research specialises in children and young people's relationships with nature, and their feelings about the climate and ecological crisis.

About the Sponsor

The Procter & Gamble Company is an American multinational consumer goods corporation - mainly manufacturing products in the cosmetics and personal care sector; as well as laundry and cleaning supplies. By the end of 2021, P&G Hair Care Europe will have reduced their use of virgin plastic by up to 50%, compared to the beginning of their sustainability journey back in 2016. They have done this by introducing more post-consumer recycled plastic into their bottles and establishing the Good Refill System. According to P&G, 63% of consumers in Europe say that they are actively trying to reduce the amount of waste they produce, and close to 50% state that they are looking for refills to help them achieve this. Their new scheme uses refillable aluminium bottles with recyclable refill pouches that use 65% less plastic compared to a regular shampoo bottle. This is the equivalent of 300 million fewer plastic bottles per year!

Resources

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