I’ve been thinking about sustainability and being more eco-friendly, at home and at work. And I was interested to know how making a conscious choice to be more environmentally aware might impact on mental health. So I asked Maya Vertigans, founder of Sustainer Container, what she thought.

What made you personally decide to start practicing sustainability? 

“For a long time, my young sister has been a massive eco warrior and she even founded an eco committee at our high school but I didn’t develop a passion for sustainability until I left home and started university. Being at university opened my eyes to the world, I left my small village life and moved to the big city. I began learning a lot more about the environment through watching programs such as Blue Planet and The Problem with Plastic. During my time at university, I also worked at a large hospitality venue where I experienced the greenwashing of huge companies who use paper straws to appease customers yet are so wasteful behind the scenes. 

If we don’t make a change now, in the 2030s we could see:

A combination of these factors led to me beginning to consider the impact that my lifestyle was having on the environment and how I could be more sustainable. As a student, I found sustainable alternatives were often more expensive than the unsustainable products and thus making the eco friendly swaps I desired was often difficult and unaffordable. This difficulty prompted me to found my business, Sustainer Container, selling affordable boxes of eco friendly alternatives to everyday products, including these Everything Eco Boxes. My growing passion for the environment meant I decided I wanted to start a business with a purpose, with the hope that this would bring me a sense of fulfilment that having a business simply for profit may not bring.” 

Do you feel that sustainability has benefited your own mental health?

“At times, the scale of climate change can feel completely overwhelming. For example, I recently watched David Attenborough’s A Life On Our Planet and was in tears at the damage that is being done to our beautiful planet. Whilst the damage being done to the planet is completely heartbreaking, it does not have to continue this way and there is still time to make a change. For me, I feel that my journey towards being more sustainable has benefited my mental health because it has given me a wider sense of purpose. It is important to remember that being sustainable isn’t about achieving perfection and living a completely sustainable lifestyle, it is about doing the best that you can to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

Being more sustainable, I feel I am doing something good for myself and also for the world and this can be incredibly rewarding. For example, opening my fridge and seeing an array of colourful vegetables that were bought plastic free and watching the rubbish I am producing getting less and less, for me is incredibly rewarding. Recently, a friend also told me that they had adopted a more environmentally friendly habit after something I said to them, which gave me a sense of pride that my passion had influenced the behaviours of somebody else for the better.”

Would you agree that by reusing and recycling, our focus on material things bringing happiness has lessened? 

“Absolutely! I think that a focus on sustainability and an awareness of the waste you are producing brings a focus on reusing as much as possible and on more mindful consumption. To be as sustainable as possible, I try to only buy new things that I really need and where possible I will shop second hand or buy a high quality, long-lasting item. But, before buying anything new I will reuse what I already own. A focus on mindful consumption means I no longer feel that I am constantly wanting the next material thing, I have most of the things I need already! I tend to look forward to experiences and activities with friends and family, rather than buying material things.”

Can “going green” help us to be more mindful? 

 “Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.”

“For me, a big part of “going green” involves placing less importance on physical things and instead valuing experiences and the small things in life. Rather than constantly wanting the next thing, “going green” and learning about the environmental impact of constantly consuming and purchasing new items, can also lead you to focus on being present and enjoying the moment, rather than gaining enjoyment through physical things. 

If, by “going green” you can place less emphasis on gaining enjoyment from physical things and instead be present and enjoy the small things in life, although I am definitely not a mindfulness expert, “going green” has helped me to be more mindful. I now find I get much more enjoyment from the small things in my day like going for a walk in nature, and not constantly wanting the next physical thing helps me to be grateful and appreciate the small things in life.

“Going green” can be challenging, because sustainable alternatives are often more expensive than the unsustainable and single use items. In some cases, the easiest way to get around this is to do things from scratch for yourself. For example, instead of buying pre-made hummus (that is packaged in plastic), I now make my hummus myself. Additionally, there can be creative ways “go green” and recycle, including making these hot air balloon decorations using recycled greetings cards. By “going green” and focusing on sustainability, this encouraged me to do more things from scratch myself, which again helped me to focus on being present in the moment and being more mindful.” 

Maya Vertigans is a 21 year old entrepreneur who started Sustainer Container, an eco friendly products business in April 2020, alongside completing her Sociology degree. Maya collates eco friendly products into boxes which are available for less than it would cost you to buy the products individually, with the aim of making sustainability more affordable and accessible.

For more great ideas about how you can start your own sustainability journey, check out Maya’s Facebook page, Instagram or website.