Wednesday 30-05-2018 - 11:49

Sustainability and saving the planet are, needless to say, huge topics in society now.

After David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, which showed the impact of plastic in the oceans and the Government’s commitments to reduce plastic waste over the next 25 years, staying conscious about saving the planet has become part of our daily lives.

Recently, Oskar Walin ran a student campaign on campus promoting re-usable coffee cups, and was recognised at the Volunteering Awards 2018.

Alice Barber (second year International Fashion Promotion at Manchester Fashion Institute), a member of student staff has been doing some amazing work championing initiatives in the Shop at The Union. She told us “the Shop’s focus on sustainable products is leading the way for students to consume ethically and prove that despite being on a student budget, they are able to make ethical choices, crushing every stigma that veganism or purchasing fair-trade product is too expensive.”

Alice sat down with us to tell us more about what inspired her, and what you can do or purchase to stay sustainable. 

 

What inspired you to really champion these initiatives?

“I’ve been a vegan for about five or six months, for mostly environmental reasons, as well as animal-focused, and that ties into my sustainable and ethical living. I was also inspired through my course too - so in fashion sustainability is the biggest topic right now, because obviously we don’t have a planet B! The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world, making a big mess so that inspired me as well.”

 

 What have you been doing in the Shop to promote the sustainable and ethical living?

“So I do the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts for the Shop to show off the products. The Instagram is new, and I pushed to have that. It all started with vegan products like Amy’s Kitchen and other food based stuff – even with our Urban Eats and Sandwich King range having more vegan options has been a big plus. Now we’ve moved on to getting non-branded tote bags, which only cost £1 so it’s really accessible for students. We also have the eco coffee cups, which are all bamboo-based and they are sustainable as they are biodegradable once you are done with them. You can use those at Starbucks or other places on campus. We have the Chilly's bottles too, which are great. They are 24-hours cold and 11-hours hot, but we’re focusing on stopping single use and you can start re-using your water bottle – there are water fountains around here so you might as well fill them up. We’ve also have some of the beauty products too that are vegan and cruelty-free, and healthy for the environment so no micro-particles or beads in them. It all just gives students the chance to live ethically and buy sustainably.”

 

@chillysbottles are back and available in a variety of colours & prints! 😍 Carabiner clips are also now available to purchase🔗Get them in store now while stock lasts💧 #noexcuseforsingleuse

A post shared by The Union Shop MMU (@theunionshopmmu) on May 15, 2018 at 6:44am PDT

 

What do you hope to see happen to continue our commitment to sustainability and what other ideas do you have?

“We have the water fountains here, but some of them don’t work so getting that fixed, and then more signage about where people can fill their bottles up, or maybe bringing that into the Starbucks as well. We have the recycling bins around here too, but what I’m really keen on is food waste recycling, so that if people are eating our sandwiches and they have something to throw away that’s another thing for them. It’s a tricky thing, and I think even having some incentive would be good – in the states you give back your bottles and you get money back. Even if it was just a voucher it would be a good idea – maybe something to think about. I hope we get more products and keep expanding, so we’ve got the freezer section which is new and some vegan products in there. It’s all about keeping it accessible and giving the students the availability so it’s easy for them to live this way.”

 

Keep an eye on the Shop's new ranges and their amazing work by checking out their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Find out more about what The Union is doing to stay green.

Have you got an idea for a campaign on campus? You can find out more about how to make it happen here.