If you use reusable items, you have probably already heard the phrase:
“It’s not more ecological! It takes a lot more water to wash. »
I heard it so often when I asked people around me why they didn't consider using cloth diapers like me.
You can tell me that you find cloth diapers really complicated in your current lifestyle, that you've tried it and that it was HELL. But don't come and tell me that reusable diapers are less eco-friendly to make yourself feel less guilty!
I always found people completely crazy to think that a plastic diaper that takes 300 years to decompose in a landfill is more environmentally friendly than a reusable cotton diaper. Just because it would take more water to wash?
And yet, all these people who are outraged by the amount of water it takes to wash reusable items wash their clothes and wash their dishes. Hey, a dishwasher also uses water!! Why is a reusable diaper, a reusable tissue, or reusable toilet paper different?
Let's get something clear today.
WHAT IS THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT OF WASHABLE ITEMS?
Yes, the manufacturing of reusable items - like disposable ones - has an ecological footprint.
Maybe it's even equivalent!? Because yes, it takes water to make cotton. Besides, it doesn't grow here. But the truth is, we don't know how much it's equivalent or not so LET'S SAY it's equivalent.
Let's start from the fact that to create a disposable diaper, a tampon, a roll of toilet paper, it takes the same amount of energy, it creates the same amount of waste during manufacturing, it takes as much water as to create its washable equivalent.
But what happens AFTER?
Once you've thrown away the diaper, the tampon, the toilet paper roll?
It takes another one!
We must therefore go through all the quantity of energy, waste and water to recreate a new item.
And what happens after throwing away this second item (the same day, the next day or the following week)? You have to go through all the amount of energy, waste and water to recreate a new item.
And so on for the rest of your life.
We use infinite resources for the simple production of our disposable items... that we throw away after a single use. We keep having things manufactured, over and over and over and over.
A reusable item slows down all this manufacturing. It's produced just once, and after that, it's done.
So even if it uses exactly the same amount of resources to manufacture, clearly, manufacturing disposable items infinitely for 7 billion people is not sustainable compared to making things once to three times in a lifetime for 7 billion people.
HOW MUCH WATER IS NEEDED TO WASH REUSABLE ITEMS?
Back to that argument that it takes so much water to wash all those reusable items once you have them!
Ok, yes, it takes water, but let's see if it's that bad...
So one load (50-90L) for our reusable items (and the fun thing is that we can put them all together!) and with a little soap, that's really all it takes for reusing them.
VS
Making a new disposable item for our immediate need: extraction/collection of materials, transport, transformation of materials, energy, hundreds of liters of water for a single item, transport (C02), transport (C02), transport (C02)….
And I won't talk about the "afterward", when the item is thrown away, because it's so sad, distressing and alarming.
So in short, we agree that the water in a load is a real JOKE?
IN CONCLUSION
Out of respect for our environment and for all those making efforts, bring us better arguments than "using reusable items is not more ecological."
Because YES, it is more ecological in the long run.
So, tell us the real deal: if you're just not interested at all, if you find it too complicated, or if you still have a psychological barrier, for example.
Don't blame the object. Realize that the consumption of this object has a significant impact on the environment. The goal is not to make you feel excessively guilty; you need to either accept it or change your behavior.
But please, don't speak nonsense... 🤔🤫
