Why we try to be sustainable

Hands up for a World where there’s clean air and clean streets, for biodiversity and bountiful landscapes? Who likes the idea of living more harmoniously with the environment, where we put something back for everything we take, where people are paid fairly for their work and poverty is no longer and issue. Sounds good?

How is it then that if most of us were to look over our shoulder we’d see a trail of plastic rubbish, pieces of clothing, and a fog of pollution? Of course most of us don’t want to live like that but we are caught up in a world where it’s really hard to live differently.

That’s what we want to change.

1. We need to shift our perspective, remember that resources are finite, and so should be used conservatively and carefully to ensure that there is enough for future generations, without decreasing present quality of life. A sustainable society must be socially responsible, focussing on environmental protection and dynamic equilibrium.
2. Then we start making better choices on a personal level, thinking about what we take from the world and what you put back. It might feel small, but you start to meet similar people, and the positive impact you have on the environment around you suddenly seems to have grown. 
3. Companies need to take responsibility, but they only will if the voice of the people talks to them about what they want. We need to start to voice our concerns to companies, and take action by not buying from them if they don’t meet our expectations! That will probably mean we have to consume less, so we don’t add to the demand for cheap labour and environmental destruction.
4. We need to keep listening to and learning from the people using science and technology to come up with solutions.

If we start to make these changes hopefully we can look over our shoulder and see the regeneration of plants, with insects and birds flying about finding food, rather than a huge rubbish tip with gulls dive bombing our trash.

As you may know Roots of Respect was born from the conversations we have at our sustainable hair salon Masters of Craft, so no surprise that our customers have similar values to us, and inspiring conversations would ensue.

We want to make sure these voices, this information is heard by wider audiences, outside of the Universities and Institutions. We want to make it part of business dialogue in the city, part of how the Leeds community evolves over time.

If you want to keep updated on events around sustainability and the environment why not sign up to our newsletter, where we will send updates monthly on what we have planned.

RoR xx