Will You Pay Extra to Save the Planet?
I really think that only one person can have a real "butterfly effect" on the whole planet. You change and the world will change.
When I asked the waitress to refill my water bottle in a restaurant in Amsterdam, she said I need to buy one instead.
I was a little taken aback because I got used to refilling in Switzerland. Water fountains or any restaurant/cafe.
Then I saw Earth Water.
I went to pay and she said Euro 3.5 for a 0.5 litre! I was like seriously?
Almost twenty times more than what we pay back home, and even by European standards, it was expensive.
But we were quite thirsty, so we had to buy.
Then I turned the bottle around and found this.
Not bad!
I call myself an environmentalist, and I think I am because I do take green actions and care sincerely about the planet. After seeing 'this side of the bottle' I said hmmm, interesting.
Then I saw this—
I became more interested and less regretful of my decision to buy this 'expensive' bottle of water.
I scanned the QR code, and it opened their website. 👇
Selling bottled water, tea, and coffee has allowed them to donate over €1.5 million to various water projects!
I couldn't verify these claims, but they seem legit.
EARTH founder Patrick de Nekker says something on the following lines-:
Don't donate or volunteer for us but just buy our products so that we can help the underprivileged.
Then I came to know something completely unheard of before
That some women force use their bodies to get water for their families!
The following is the website of Simavi 👇
Website
Second incident on the same day
We visited a famous café in Amsterdam. As I noticed the surroundings and ambience, my eyes fell on this.
My wife asked what it meant. I told her what I knew at the back of my head: that the input material, coffee beans, or a product is made or sourced in a fair and sustainable manner. Producers and farmers are paid at least minimum wages and no child labor.
UTZ certification shows farmers and producers meet social and environmental standards and promotes fair labor practices.
Expectedly, the price of the coffee was more expensive, but I didn't mind as it tasted better than Starbucks and wasn't as harmful to people and planet.
Its impact on me
For most of my life, being from a middle-class family, we bought cheaper, 'value-for-money' products.
Only recently, like three or four years, after becoming well-to-do and watching documentaries like 'Minimalism', I started questioning my daily choices. From clothes to car, travel to tiffin, soap to smartphone, groceries to gifts, paper to perfume, etc.
Every decision impacts people and the planet.
But in this rushed life, who has time even if means isn’t an issue?
Time really is an issue.
But not if we cared.
Earlier, we had Google and now we have ChatGPT to help us make informed decisions. ChatGPT is really fast and mostly accurate too.
But...
Why pay double for a biodegradable cup or vegan leather cover if it’s easily accessible?
Why pay 3 extra bucks to offset CO2 footprint on your next smartphone delivery?
Why pay €30 more for a sustainable, planet-friendly sweatshirt?
Why pay thrice as much for the Earth Water bottle when everyone uses plastic bottles?
What difference does one less plastic bottle make when millions are used and dumped worldwide?
Why pay three thousand extra for an EV car (even with ethically sourced lithium)?
This brings me to my first question.
Will You Pay Extra in Your Daily Lives to Save the Planet?
Because not paying extra by those who have the money and the means could cost us the only habitable planet we have, no matter what the Melon-Musk tells you.
In the end, I will like to leave you with some pictures for you to derive your own meaning from them:
I really think that only one person can have a real "butterfly effect" on the whole planet.
You change and the world will change.
What do you think?
