Hi! My name is Jaclyn. Lover of wine. Mom of two young boys. Married to a die-hard Boston fan who has never met a dad joke he didn’t love.
In 2018, I set a goal to challenge myself to create less waste as a family of four. To be completely honest, I thought I would buy a super cute S’well bottle and some Stasher bags and feel better about myself.
Easy peasy, right?
Silly me. As I dug deeper and learned more about sustainability I began to make more changes in our home. I realized that I could make meaningful changes without committing myself to a lifetime of veganism and tree-hugging.*
*Disclaimer: Vegans are great and I fully support the lifestyle. And I love trees! I’m really just trying to paint a picture that I was learning I didn’t need to make an extreme lifestyle change to make eco-friendly choices that had an imact – work with me…
So, what’s the deal with Ecomomics?
I’m glad you asked! It gives me the chance to show off my fancy venn diagram:
Here’s the deal. Women have insane purchasing power in the economy. What does that mean? It means that in any given household, it’s generally the woman who is making decisions on what kind of paper towels to buy, grocery shopping and meal planning, researching which appliances to buy… the list goes on and on. Some studies have shown that women drive between 70% and 80% of all consumer purchasing.
Their purchasing power multiplies when you factor in women who are the primary caregivers for children and aging parents and are making those relevant purchases as well.
We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.
You may or may not know this Anne Marie Bonneau quote, but the principle can be extended beyond the concept of zero waste. With women having so much buying power, we have a unique opportunity to vote with our dollars. To make simple swaps that can really add up and make an impact. Not only an environmental impact, which is amazing and necessary, but also an impact on corporations who will take action when consumers use our collective voices (and our wallets. That’s important, too).
So, Ecomomics is a pun on the economic power of women … but ‘mom’ was a better pun. This is a space for anyone who wants to learn more about sustainability.
This brings me to the ‘101’ in “Ecomomics 101.” My goal is to be a source of education and helpful resources. Going green isn’t always straighforward and I want to dig deep into the gray area and lay out the information so you, dear reader, can make your own educated decisions.
I also want to make sustainability more accessible. There are so many simple swaps that can have an incremental impact that really adds up and it’s easier than ever to take advantage of ‘better’ options. I can’t wait to take you along on this journey! (I just couldn’t resist the Schitt’s Creek reference, #sorrynotsorry)