We Can’t All Have Chickens

Look, we can’t all have chickens. I mean it sounds lovely... morning walks out to a Pinterest-approved wooden coop for fresh brown eggs. A dream!

But then, I remember who I am.

Sure, I grew up surrounded by farmland, but absolutely none of it rubbed off. After the fresh inspiration of an episode of Growing Floret fades, I remember that a flower farm requires dirt. I’m not a fan of dirt. In fact, I was fired after one day on a landscaping job for killing too many plants.

Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate the homesteaders, flower growers, and chicken farmers. Admire it, even! But I, despite my greatest efforts, am not one of them.

I prefer my plants plastic and my eggs store-bought. (Sigh.)

As CEO of a sustainable fashion company, I’m embarrassed to say that recycling didn’t even cross my mind until I was 25 years old. Call it my own personal ignorance, but it was not on my radar to consider how my actions impacted the planet. Now, as a mom of a 4-year-old, I see cartoons these days teaching my kid that taking care of the earth is good. A group of police pups insist, “Don’t use it, re-use it!” My son even came home from preschool with a makeshift compost. 

This is the type of environmental propaganda I could have benefited from growing up.

As a product of the 90s, I can confidently “just say no” to drugs, but determining which material goes in the recycling bin is a task Google and I must figure out together. Zero waste is a term coined by those known for waste-free living—those who never have to ask, “Hey Google, does a can with a printed label go in the recycling bin?”

For me, shifts towards more sustainable living need to be just that—sustainable! We don’t need to live perfectly zero-waste lives or have only 30 items in our entire wardrobe to care for the planet. But we do need to be honest about our behaviors and willing to grow beyond ignorance. I want to inspire people to make habit changes that stick, using approachable moves that fit into our daily lives.

Chickens aren’t for everyone. But caring for the planet is for all of us – in acts both big and small.

Hey Google, add “eggs” to my grocery list.