There is more to the Lifestyle - By Reg Awid

It all started when a friend gifted me a bamboo straw some years ago.

I’m Reg and that's when I gained the interest in sustainable lifestyle, and from there began a long journey of learning. It was all rather slow though, since I personally knew little of it, and if I did, it all seemed too daunting to put into practice.

"(sustainable lifestyle was a) long journey of learning. It was all rather slow though."

There are too many factors to think about - practicality was one of them. When you have several things to worry about, sometimes, sustainable living is the last of our priorities.

Starting this lifestyle also means enriching one's knowledge. Personally, I've already immersed myself in the lifestyle a bit. I started in fashion by slowly gearing away from fast-fashion and moving towards ethical sources, like thrifting.

But it's one thing to know the basics: reading lists of unethical practices, slave labor, and how the fast-fashion industry is greatly involved in dumping tons of waste, to being actually involved and being more knowledgeable of the lifestyle on a more responsible level. 

I believe we cannot just preach “practice a sustainable lifestyle!” when all we know are issues that barely scratch the surface. Did you know that most vegan leather is mostly made out of plastic? That leather needs roughly 50 years to biodegrade while plastic needs about 500 years?

"With all that said, doesn't it all sound overwhelming for a beginner?"

You don't know where to start. Where do you even begin to look? Who do you listen to, what to believe? It's all just a chaos of bits and pieces of knowledge and trying to look further into it feels too much of an effort when you're already dealing with other issues on an average lifestyle.

When I was given that bamboo straw, all I knew was that it was better than plastic and it was a good start. What I never knew was that there was more involved in learning the lifestyle than simply replacing harmful items to sustainable ones. Yes, you may be saving planet earth, the practice of eco-friendliness, but was it sourced ethically?

That I believe is Ugnay by Kamilas's mission. Like me, the rest of the team are all beginners, and in this we would like to take you with us to discover that there is more to a straw made out of bamboo. To let you know that you are not alone and hopefully build a community that aims to share. There's many of us who would love to learn too but are also just lost wandering souls hungry for knowledge.

We wish to send the message that Ugnay is not here to shame, but to hold each other's hands as we aim for a better eco-friendly, ethical, and sustainable lifestyle.