In a world where the odds are stacked against us when it comes to living sustainably, making an effort to live a greener life can feel like an uphill climb with no end in sight.
NBC’s hit TV show The Good Place encapsulated this notion perfectly in theorising a supernatural ‘point system’, dependent on the choices you made while you were living, which decided whether you’d end up in ‘The Good Place’ or ‘The Bad Place’ when you’ve kicked the bucket.
Back when the first Homo sapiens roamed the Earth as hunter-gatherers, the concept of good and bad was pretty black and white. Yet human invention, development and corruption have led to a series of hidden morality hoops one has to jump through in order to truly live ‘good’.
The best example given in this Emmy-award-winning show explains how, though one might think that buying a slightly more expensive tomato from the farmer’s market not only makes them healthier but more environmentally savvy – the reality is more complicated than you may think. As Ted Danson’s character succinctly puts it:
“These days just buying a tomato at a grocery store means that you are unwittingly supporting toxic pesticides, exploiting labour, contributing to global warming. Humans think they are making one choice, but they are actually making dozens of choices…”
Late-stage capitalism has rid humans of the ability to make their own choices about morality, seemingly stripping us of any free will when it comes to living with kindness, empathy, and sustainability. That’s the uphill climb and no end in sight part.
Yet despite the doom-and-gloom nature of this scene, rest assured – you’re not Atlas, and you don’t have to carry the world on your shoulders. Plus, the point system isn’t actually real (right?). That being said, there are many ways in which you can adapt your lifestyle and influence those around you to live more sustainably for your own peace of mind.
From mending clothes and shopping second-hand to harvesting and composting your food from the comfort of your own home, the small ways in which we can transform our lives for the better are endless.
What remains incredibly important, however, is not driving yourself mad about all the different things you could be doing to help better the planet. After all, you can’t do everything, and living sustainably can be an expensive endeavour that is unfeasible for many people. Modern homes don’t exactly come equipped with a £1,000 hydroponic farmstand.
Making small changes is enough. If the intentions are there, you’re taking glorious strides in the right direction with the wind behind you to carry you to the summit.
We’ve rounded up a selection of the best books on sustainability to make your efforts to live cleaner a whole lot easier. Keep scrolling to keep green.
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Live Green: 52 Steps for a More Sustainable Life by Jen Chillingsworth
A practical guide filled with 52 different steps to make your life a little bit greener, Jen Chillingsworth breaks down the many, varied yet entirely simple ways in which we can improve our lives to exist in a more sustainable space.
If you were wondering why Chillingsworth settled on such a specific number for this guide, it’s because there are 52 weeks in the year. This gives you ample time to implement each change, depending on whether it suits your lifestyle.
From simple tasks like decluttering, to enjoyable activities for the whole family in the form of repurposing and upcycling – living greener has never felt easier than with Chillingsworth’s gentle, delightfully illustrated guide.
Buy now £8.99, Waterstones
Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes by Dana Thomas
Bestselling author and veteran journalist Dana Thomas leads us through the overwhelming jungle of misinformation and lies with a sharpened machete in a scathing, compelling and meticulously researched series of revelations about the nature of the garment industry and its exploitation of both human beings and the planet.
Divided into three parts, Thomas begins with the price of ‘furious fashion’ before moving on to what exactly led us to this point. Part three offers a sense of hope, focusing on trailblazing designers, activists, tech entrepreneurs, visionaries and manufacturers seeking to turn the fashion industry on its head.
Buy now £9.99, Waterstones
RHS Grow Your Own Veg & Fruit Bible by Carol Klein
For those with the outdoor space to make the dream of growing your own food a reality, look no further than the RHS Veg & Fruit Bible by Carol Klein to get you started. This beginner’s guide details environmentally friendly methods for growing over 75 varieties of fruit and veg with detailed step-by-step instructions and handy visual aids.
What’s more, this go-to guide is filled to the brim with plant varieties which have been recommended by experts over at the Royal Horticultural Society, to ensure you’re going to get the best possible results. No more year-round green tomatoes and aubergines which flower but never sprout.
Buy now £30.00, Waterstones
Sustainable Home: Practical projects, tips and advice for maintaining a more eco-friendly household by Christine Liu
If you’re looking to take baby steps in the direction of developing a zero-waste household, Christine Liu offers a series of practical means to transform each and every room in your home into a haven of productive, organised, and simple sustainability.
Liu takes us through the benefits of decluttering and living minimally, as well as provides fascinating advice on sustainable kitchen equipment and cooking techniques. Totalling a manageable and encouraging 18 steps, this handbook doesn’t offer an overwhelming number of tasks, which in turn makes engaging in those small changes to help better the planet far less daunting and a lot more accessible.
Buy now £13.33, Amazon
365 Ways to Save the Planet: A Day-by-day Guide to Sustainable Living by Georgina Wilson-Powell
Crafted with mathematical, statistics-led personalities in mind, Wilson-Powell’s year-long programme is designed to demonstrate the positive impacts of making environmentally friendly changes to your life in real time.
Each low-effort, high-reward task listed in this illustrated guide is paired with an eye-opening statistic, helping you to put further meaning behind the changes you’re making while providing a positive, helpful means to track your progress.
Buy now £11.55, Amazon
The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac
With overwhelmingly positive reviews from inspirational figures within the world of climate activism including Jane Goodall, Yuval Noah Harari, Richard Branson, Stella McCartney, and more, The Future We Choose employs unwavering optimism and practical solutions to inspire its readers to come together and take collective action.
Written by former UN Executive Secretary for Climate Change, Christiana Figueres and senior political strategist for the Paris Agreement, Tom Rivett-Carnac, this text is well and truly a stubborn optimist’s guide to the climate crisis.
Buy now £9.99, Waterstones
The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide by Jen Gale
An unintimidating, fuss-free and no-nonsense gateway into the world of living greener, Gale’s fantastic book breaks down small, yet mighty steps one can take in order to feel even a little bit better about your carbon footprint, and wider impact on the environment.
The author welcomes us into her environmentally conscious fold with loving, non-judgmental arms and realistic goals to get you off to your green journey with a flying start.
Buy now £10.39, Amazon
The Forager's Calendar: A Seasonal Guide to Nature’s Wild Harvests by John Wright
Forest-dwelling self-proclaimed faeries have been mastering the art of foraging for centuries. Winner of the Food Writers Award for book of the year in 2020, Wright’s detailed, thought-provoking and surprisingly emotionally compelling guide to seasonal foraging in Great Britain is a must-have for all sustainability geeks looking to harvest their very own goods from Mother Earth herself.
Not only does the author tell us what to harvest and what to avoid, but he also provides indispensable tips and tricks, and even recipes for cooking your newfound edible treasures.
Buy now £11.89, Amazon
