World Environment Day- Being a conscious consumer

World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 annually, to encourage awareness and environmental protection. According to the United Nations, “the celebration of this day provides us with an opportunity to reflect as individuals ,  enterprises, and communities in preserving and enhancing the environment.”

This year celebrating Biodiversity is the theme for the world Environment day. Nature has its own way to repair itself . With so much of damage already already done, this pandemic has resulted in actually repairing our eco system while man has been caged at home to bear the wrath of his action.

This period has indeed given us the time to reflect on ones action , consumption habits, thus giving us a signal about where we are headed . More than anything else, World Environment Day is intended to serve as a global platform upon which the seeds of real change can be sown.

Let’s not talk about what the government can do, let us begin with how each one of us can contribute by being mindful towards our environment. Can we tailor our daily habits to reduce plastic consumption, reuse as many materials and recycle what we cannot reuse? Can we as educators and parents be the role models in being conscious consumers?

Today on World Environment day, I  would like to highlight the issue of the  use of Microplastic or the  presence of Microbeads in each and every cosmetic and personal care product we consume. Not many are probably aware of the same.

Microbeads(MB) are man-made solid plastic particles of less than one millimeter in their largest dimension. Microbeads are frequently used in the most common cosmetic products including toothpaste, deodorant, face and body cleansers and exfoliants. Once ingested by humans, they can cause gut blockage, physical injury, changes in oxygen levels in cells in the body, altered appetite and reduced energy levels, which impacts growth and reproduction.

If you see the presence of any of these chemicals (Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), Nylon (PA), Polyurethane, and Acrylates Copolyme ) mentioned on a product, then it is about time to dump these.

These MB then get drained into the sea water and affect the aquatic life, thus creating havoc in our eco system.

As educators and parents it becomes our responsibility to help children understand the harmful effects of consuming such products and coming up with ways and means to make or use organic produce.

As we are headed towards an evolved society lets us not forget that only when education evolves and produces mindful citizens can the society evolve.

Let us together as educators and parents sow the seeds of  empathy and kindness in our children towards Nature and  respect for the same. Nature is the only asset we all have to ourselves and after all it’s the World’s best Teacher J

Would like to know your views towards World environment Day. Do leave your comments.

Rakhee Chhabria
Educator/Parent
Founder-TeachersHelpTeachers

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