Part 2 of Maddie and Andreas’ Interview
Welcome to Part 2 of our interview with Maddie and Andreas, the owners of Providence Foods bulk food store in Ferntree Gully, in Melbourne, Australia. We asked them for some easy sustainability ideas for our sustainable business showcase, where we interview people who are making real world changes everyday for a better future.
In Part 1, they told us about them and their store and ethos.
Here in Part 2, they are sharing their knowledge of sustainability ideas about sustainable swaps, sustainable travel tips, how we can make small sustainable changes over time and how to BYO when you’re travelling or out and about.
Maddie and Andreas started by highlighting that becoming more conscious of the way we shop is a journey. We can learn to consider our impact on the environment, the waterways, the animal life, our land, and everything around us, one step at a time. It doesn’t have to feel like missing out, or being uncomfortable.
Podcast Interview- Video & Audio Versions
Interview Transcript:
NB this transcript has been edited for smoother reading (removed filler words & repeated words)
00:00– Chapter 1: Preview
Andreas: Reusable cups for coffee and drinks, cutlery, plates, bowls. Especially if you’re going out for a picnic or something to eat. And if you need to wash up at the end of it, bring along, you know, a tub. Wash up your cutlery and crockery and take it home with you rather than sort of getting the disposable stuff and just throwing it away.
00:25– Chapter 2: Intro
Zachary Phillips (voiceover): G’day mate, and welcome to the Sustainaroo Travels Podcast. Where we showcase the ways real people are making real world changes to live, work and travel sustainably.
00:37– Chapter 3: Sustainable Swaps
Maddie: So I’m Maddie and this is my partner, Andreas, and we’re the proud owners of Providence Foods Bulk Foods Store in Ferntree Gully.
I think in terms of swaps probably, you know, your Instagrammers and your Pinterest stars are probably a great place to look at researching. Cause I think a lot of people out there have some really, really amazing swaps. The most basic ones that I can think of are, do I need this harsh cleaner that’s then gonna end up in our waterways? Can I just use things like vinegar, like bicarb soda, like citric acid? What about clean your teeth with coconut oil and activated charcoal instead of toothpaste? Do you need all that toothpaste?
I think in terms of of swapping, just think about simplifying the process. Rather than looking at all these products, these ready made products and going you know this is suitable that’s suitable. This is marketed to us, for us to buy it. But think about what’s in it, what’s active ingredient? Look at psyllium husk. Psyllium husk is the basis of Metamucil. Everyone turns to Metamucil because they want flavour. Well, put some orange juice in it or put some cordial in it. It’s not a difficult swap.
(to Andreas) Did you wanna have a go at some of those?
Andreas: Cleaning products: an easy one would be going from a cream cleaner to just some some soapy water and bicarb soda.
Maddie: Yeah.
Andreas: Maddie showed me bicarb soda a few years ago and it’s been a…
Maddie: The most easiest ingredient in the entire world.
Andreas: It’s fantastic you just throw it on a bit of everything, and it’s a really good sort of scrubber. It’s a less of a swap and more of a conscious change. Or going over to some other product. But recyclable toothbrushes there’s a lot of plastic that goes into toothbrushes.
Maddie: Yeah.
Andreas: So get some toothbrushes that are a little more…
Maddie: The wheat straw ones.
Andreas: Yeah, they’re a lot more environmentally friendly. So there’s that, you still get to have clean teeth. The end of the day that’s pretty important but you’ll.. you know, you’re having less of an environmental impact. And again coconut oil, bicarb soda those sort of bits and pieces, activated charcoal they all make for good replacements for toothpaste. And if you want the minty fresh just grab some you know some mint flavouring or something along those lines. Or something that will freshen up your breath, yeah like a bit of essential oil.
Andreas: Yeah, some…
Maddie: Essential oils go such a long way.
Andreas: The consumable ones.
Maddie: Yeah.
Andreas: Yeah.
Maddie: For sure.
Andreas: Yeah a few bits and pieces like, that washing with salts and what was it, rice and bits and pieces like that. You can just turf it in the green waste once you’re done with it, if you don’t use a bunch of half harsh chemicals. Of course, and bits and pieces like that.
04:01– Chapter 4: Small Sustainable Changes
I guess it’s sort of for me it’s – I don’t like to make things too much of a chore. I like to make it, what can I replace with it? That just fits in with my lifestyle. ‘Cause if you make things a chore or force things it very much becomes like a chore and you’re more likely to revert back.
Maddie: Tedious and hard work.
Both: Yeah.
Andreas: And you’re more likely to revert back to just the stuff that, you know, that’s easy. That’s probably not great for the environment and not quite so sustainable.
Maddie: I think on that note, with trying to aim for an environmentally conscious lifestyle we sometimes make it hard work. We sometimes make it too difficult, we go too far in the extreme. We go down these rabbit holes and we research something until the point where we go well I don’t wanna use that product anymore.
Because I now know how it’s mined, where it came from, how it got to me. And there’s always going to be an environmental impact to everything that we purchase. We didn’t grow you know, a toothbrush from the ground. So it came from somewhere. It still had an environmental impact, but it’s that reducing your environmental impact, not just necessarily about stopping all western life completely.
And looking what other countries do, how do they swap things? We sometimes live in this really western centric kind of world where we think you know, this product is available to me, it’s the only product available. Or it’s the best, or it’s the newest. But we don’t stop to think well, hang on, how can I actually simplify this? What is actually going on here? What do I need it for? What can I use that’s more natural rather than this harsh or this strong impact item?
Yeah I think there’s merit to not being a perfectionist. I think we place a lot of pressure on ourselves in everyday life, not just in sustainability. But in parenting, in work life, in you know, home life. We create these, we create the illusion of perfectionism, which isn’t always or… is rarely attainable. But we guilt ourselves when we don’t get it right, which can really cause us to stop in our tracks and give up altogether.
06:49– Chapter 5: Sustainable Travel Tips
Maddie: Mechanic step in!
Andreas: Oh look, travel’s a tough one. Obviously communal travel reduces a lot of the footprint that you’re dealing with on an individual level. Once you sort of spread it out, it becomes a lot less impactful per capita. Our industry is not well “our industry, the industry”, the automotive industry is not overly environmentally conscious.
Even now like to say they are to try and hit certain sort of..
Maddie: Marketing targets?
Andreas: Yeah…
Andreas: Marketing targets, government targets all that sort of stuff. But yeah look, really it comes down to you know, communal travel if you can.
Diesel- I don’t think it’s that bad compared to other fuels. It can be bad in certain circumstances, but it does use less fuel, so there’s an argument there but you getting into some murky waters.
Biodiesel’s great, but we don’t have any infrastructure or industry based around biodiesel so it’s a tough one to try and go anywhere near.
We’re still sort of learning and playing around with electric and what it means for sustainable travel. Hopefully it will go somewhere. Hopefully, we’ll see hydrogen and stuff like that come into play.
You know if you can, the more the merrier, if it’s gonna be a large vehicle. Diesel’s always your best bet. Petrol’s gonna consume a lot more, in terms of you know, large, if you’re moving large quantities of people around. And well at the end of the day, if they’re willing to jump on a treadley or you know, a little bicycle or something along those lines. Obviously in your (Sustainaroo) circumstance that’s probably not feasible ’cause asking 20 people to jump on a bike and ride halfway across Melbourne ain’t gonna work!
Maddie: *giggles*
Andreas: But yeah it sort of really depends and like I say the biggest one for per capita reducing emissions is public transport. That’s why it’s a bit of a bug bear for me, I won’t go into it, but I don’t like the public transport system. It’s not as reliable as it should be, especially compared to elsewhere in the world.
Andreas: So yeah.
Maddie: Yeah.
Maddie: I think that it depends where you live. I think that’s the the key there that where you live too, you know, is defined by your government and your local government and what rules and regulations they want to put in place. What they want to tackle and what they don’t and some, you know, areas/regions are putting a lot of energy and time into making their travel sustainable. They invest much more in public transport, in, you know, marketing small cars, you know, I think it depends on where you live.
I think in terms of sustainable travel, I have a friend who doesn’t catch a plane because you know one plane ride is equivalent to one year’s worth of travelling in a car. So he won’t catch planes I have… what else do I think of?
I think yeah, the larger cars are probably, you know if you can fit the more people you put in you fit in the better.
10:54– Chapter 6: BYO While You’re Out
Andreas: Look if you’re travelling around the place, it definitely helps to have reusable cutlery, reusable, you know, plates, bowls. You can get little bits and pieces from camping stores and stuff like that and, you know, any of your local bulk food stores would have a some range of sort of travel travel bits and pieces.
Maddie: Or at least refillable items.
Andreas: Yeah, yeah, we’ve got your refillable items. We have soaps, which would help a lot with sort of, cutting down on that plastic waste and that sort of stuff and then on top of that, you know just making sure you take it home with you. Wash it up, rather than finding something that’s there easy to use, you know disposable coffee cup, you drink your coffee throw it in the bin- there you go there’s a bit more waste that’s contributed. You know, we do have reusable cups and bits and pieces like that.
So yeah, reusable cups for coffee and drinks, cutlery, plates, bowls- especially if you’re going out for a picnic or something to eat. And if you need to wash up at the end of it, bring along you know, a tub, wash up your cutlery and crockery and take it home with you. Rather than sort of, getting the disposable stuff and just throwing it away.
Maddie: Yeah reusable coffee cups are a massive one. We try to get our cups everywhere or sometimes they’re not convenient, but you know what price are you paying? Like are you paying for convenience or are you paying for, you know, are you being a bit more mindful and and choosing to use something that’s more renewable or reusable?
Andreas: If we don’t have them with us or clean, we might sit down and have a cup of coffee. It’s nice to sit in your local community and to sit down, see who’s going past. It’s fun to watch the people around you go by and do their thing, while you are sitting somewhere and enjoying, you know coffee or whatever else.
Maddie: I think there’s a relationship between travel and slowing down, being mindful and getting to know your community, and I think those things can really work in harmony. I think if you… you know, mindfulness is something that we rush. We don’t think about what we’re doing a lot of the time, we’re just on autopilot all the time, we’ve got to get from place A to place B as quickly as we can we don’t stop to think: why do I need to rush so much? How can I introduce more mindfulness into my everyday life? Is it about going to a cafe and sitting down not getting a takeaway?
You know, do I need a cup that is disposable? Can I actually take 5 minutes of my time today, sit down at a cafe, get to know the local area and enjoy a good cup of coffee or tea or whatever it might be, rather than just rushing through? And often what happens when we rush is that we’re then choosing that convenience and that’s when that environmental impact also comes into things. And if we are in a rush just make sure you rush out the door with your KeepCup.
Maddie: Absolutely.
14:22– Chapter 7: Outro
Zachary Phillips (voiceover): Thanks for tuning in. You can follow us on social media @sustainarootravels and check out the resources on our website: sustainarootravels.com.au. If you liked today’s guest speaker, please check them out via the link in our show notes.
If you haven’t already check out part 1, where today’s guests share their sustainability journey and everything they do.
Thanks mate!
Sustainable Swaps
There are many easy sustainable swaps that we can choose to buy and use. It may mean trying a new brand, or it may feel slightly different, but we will still get the results we want.
To get a feel for some sustainable swaps ideas, and sustainable travel ideas, Maddie recommends to have a look at some instagrammers and pinterest accounts.
Here are some examples of accounts that incorporate sustainability ideas:
Sustainable Instagram Accounts- Swaps and Ideas
There are many sustainable Instagram accounts to browse through, so we’ve made our Sustainaroo Travels picks here. Of course, start with our own Instagram account where we share our journey!
Here are our top 3 picks:
Bonnie Wright is a face we all know, as she played Ginny in the Harry Potter movies. She went on to start a sustainable living community and shares a lot of tips, swaps and in her sweet way encourages us to “go gently” on this earth. @gogently.earth
Kate Hall is a sustainability inspirer and shares sustainable products and habits in fun, quirky and joyous posts. @ethicallykate
Ketti shares her knowledge with sustainable travel advice everyone can use. @tiltedmap
Best Pinterest Accounts for Sustainability Ideas and Swaps
Here we share the 3 best pinterest accounts for sustainability ideas – apart from our own Sustainaroo one of course!
Honestly Modern is a sustainability resource founded by Jen Panaro, and the account shares lots of green living tips for the household and families.
Sustainable Jungle is a resource that is passionate about positive change for people and the planet and the account shares lots of swaps, tips and inspiring stories.
Oksana and Max St John are sustainable travel enthusiasts and share their journey and advice.
Green Cleaning Products
When looking for sustainability ideas, there are many swaps out there for, but Maddie reminds us that an easy place to start is using green cleaning products instead of using harsh cleaners in plastic bottles. Those harsh cleaners end up in our waterways unfortunately.
You realistically don’t need a different cleaner spray (in a plastic bottle), for every little task around the house. A lot of those different products are different companies wanting to market their product. But let’s keep in mind, cleaning is cleaning, and a cleaning product that cleans one thing, can and should be able to clean every other thing as well. Simplicity can be a beautiful thing.
For green cleaning products, you can use soapy water, vinegar, bicarb soda and citric acid to clean most things with the same results. These things are better for your own lungs when you use them, as you’re breathing in the product that you’re cleaning with, and it is getting on your skin, and in general around your home. You can buy all of these at Providence Foods and other bulk food stores.
If you don’t want to make your own, there are pre-made green cleaning products you can buy at Providence Foods and other bulk food stores, and you can refill the container when it runs out at the store
Let’s look at these green cleaning products more closely:.
Soapy water
Good old fashioned soapy water is the most wonderful and underrated combination in our time. Top of the list for sustainability ideas, a bar of soap goes a long way.
Washing your hands with warm soapy water often is the best thing we can do for our own immune system. But apart from that, making up a bucket with warm soapy water, can help us clean anything in the house. Use hot soapy water to wash your dishes, your floors, any surfaces, toys and anything you want to clean.
Do not use soap in the dishwasher though! They were not made for suds!
50 uses for vinegar
Vinegar is a wonderful household all rounder, which is edible, good for you and also is a wonderful cleaner in all areas of your house. There are over 50 uses for vinegar, in cleaning but of course in cooking as well.
To make an all purpose cleaning spray, place one part white vinegar and one part water in a spray bottle. Use as you would any spray bottle cleaner, in the bathroom, kitchen, even on windows and glass to replace a glass cleaner.
Here is 50 uses for vinegar, and many of the uses are all great sustainability ideas!
100 uses for baking soda
Baking soda, also known as bicarb soda, or bicarbonate of soda, is on a very basic level a “salt”, and is safe and environmentally friendly. There are 100 uses for baking soda around the home!
It is edible and used in may recipes, and it also works really well as a cleaner – it cleans anything from your dishes to the oven to any surface. It also has many other uses like deodorising your carpet, polishing your silver, softening your skin in the bath, and descaling your coffee machine.
Here is 100 uses for baking soda, and here at Sustainaroo Travels we are loving experimenting with it. When it comes to sustainability ideas, baking soda has so many interesting uses that we have to try them all one at a time so that we don’t get too overwhelmed.
Here is a book about over 100 uses for baking soda:
Citric Acid Cleaner
Citric acid is a natural acid and can be used in baking, pickling and preserves, and to make your own soap and bath bombs.
It is also a great all rounder cleaner, and you can make citric acid cleaner by mixing a little citric acid with a little water to make a cleaning solution to scrub surfaces, or make it up in a spray bottle for an all purpose cleaner.
Here are some ways to use citric acid cleaner.
Here are some ways you can use citric acid in cooking.
Simplify your shopping
Maddie encourages us to think about simplifying the process. When you simplify your shopping, you often learn a lot about the ingredients you actually need. Often it can be cheaper to buy the simpler option too.
The ready made products we often use are marketed to us, to make us want to buy them. Have a look at the active ingredient in a marketed product and see if you can just buy that ingredient, without the marketing and the plastic packaging. Or if it’s a chemical, you can Google a biodegradable alternative.
For example you can buy psyllium husk (at a bulk food store in your own container of course), add a spoon to water and add in a bit of flavoring, instead of buying Metamucil. The active ingredient in Metamucil is psyllium husk.
Eco Friendly Toothbrush
Normal toothbrushes are generally made from plastic. Unfortunately, these are usually not able to be recycled and end up in landfill. Due to the nature of the product, and how often we need to buy new toothbrushes, there is a lot of waste generated in this process.
Andreas reminds us to have a look at getting an eco friendly toothbrush, made of bamboo or wheat straw. Providence Foods and other bulk food stores sell them.
Wheat Straw Toothbrush
To make a wheat straw toothbrush, the wheat straw that is leftover from the agriculture process is collected and turned into plastic and paper products, which saves wasting the wheat straw. Check the packet to see if it is compostable or home compostable as well, as ideally you’ll be able to throw it in your compost bin when you’re done with it!
Eco Friendly Toothpaste
Toothpaste unfortunately usually comes in plastic tubes, and similar to toothbrushes, these usually cannot be recycled and end up in landfill. Andreas also reminds us to consider an eco friendly toothpaste to save on all of that waste.
You can buy toothpaste powder at the store, in eco friendly packaging.
Or you make your own, with ingredients such as activated charcoal, bicarb soda or coconut oil to clean your teeth.
Here is a blog recipe using those ingredients to make your own toothpaste, and some ideas.
Note that these alternatives do not contain fluoride, so if you prefer to have fluoride in your toothpaste here is a sustainable toothpaste tablet in a glass jar from White Glo you could try.
Another option to get the best of both worlds, is to use fluoride free toothpaste powder in the morning, and the fluoride included one at night before bed. Have a conversation with your dentist about what would be best for you.
Rice and salt
Some people get benefits from washing their hair with rice and salt. The rice is the key ingredient, and it is fermented in water first, then a little salt is added and this is used to rinse your hair. The properties in the rice are beneficial for hair quality and growth. Here is a great resource to check out.
Small Sustainable Changes
Something to keep in mind is, there is always going to be an environmental impact with everything we do. This is OK, we have to live life – Maddie tells us about making small sustainable changes in our day to day life.
It’s about reducing or minimising our impact, and doing small things over time. Think about little changes you can make that fit in with your lifestyle. We can be happy with these small changes as they really do make a big difference.
Maddie also says it is important to not only consider what is happening in our own country. We should look at what people in other countries are doing, and how we can learn from them.
Consider how to simplify what we do. Do other parts of the world have habits or paradigms for cleaning, cooking or sustainability that’s not only easier, but more eco-friendly, than what we’ve grown up with in the west?
They may not even be called sustainability ideas overseas, they may just be the norm, or the way it’s always been done, or the way their grandmothers always did it. Often these ways are simpler and more environmentally friendly.
There is no need to place pressure on ourselves to be perfect, in everyday life as well as in sustainability. The illusion of perfectionism is rarely attainable. Small sustainable changes are often the best way forward. There is no need to guilt ourselves for not “being right’. This can make us give up altogether. Instead let’s keep our spirits up, celebrate small sustainable changes and find the joy in the journey.
Sustainable Travel Tips
Maddie and Andreas went on to share their best sustainable travel tips with us, looking at getting around, different types of fuel, using reusable items while you’re out and about and learning to travel slowly. When you are travelling, don’t stop using all the sustainability ideas that you use at home – think of creative ways to still be mindful of waste and our impact.
Different types of fuel
Andreas reminds us to utilise communal travel if you can. The highest amount of people going together will always have a smaller environmental impact than everyone travelling by themselves in a car.
He said that If you are using a large vehicle, aim to use diesel rather than petrol. Diesel, according to Andreas, is better than other fuels. It can be bad in certain circumstances, but it does use less fuel.
Andreas thinks Biodiesel is great but feels we don’t have enough infrastructure in place. Electric Vehicles (EV) we are still working out as well. Hopefully we will see hydrogen coming into play.
Here are some great site if you want to learn more about different types of fuel
Fuel Comparison Chart
An Article comparing Electric Vehicles to Fossel Fuel Powered
An article that explains quite simply the different fuel types and their pros and cons.
Andreas also mentioned that using a bicycle is great if it is something that works for what you are doing.
Public transport at the end of the day is the best option. Unfortunately some areas are not set up well for public transport so it will depend where you live. Would be great if the government could add more public transport options, is there any lobbying that we can do?
Maddie also considers that some people choose not to travel on planes. One plane ride is the equivalent of a year of travelling in a car. Here is an article that talks about this.
BYO While You’re Out
While we’re out and about, either on a day trip or travelling, it can be easy to use more single use plastics. Maddie and Andreas talk to us about planning ahead and choosing to bring your own containers.
When you’re out, it helps to have reusable cutlery, plates, bowls and coffee cups with you. Check out camping stores as well as bulk food stores for supplies. Providence Foods has reusable mugs, cutlery and bowls for sale.
Another practice to cut down on plastic waste is to bring soap with you when you are travelling. Soap can be used for dishes, cleaning even hand washing your clothes if you need to while travelling.
Reusable mugs
Reusable mugs are a great weapon in the war on waste. Try to always have a coffee mug with you, or in the car. Whether you’re on a trip, or just out on the town, having reusable coffee mugs with you will take away the temptation of getting a takeaway coffee cup.
Reusable cutlery
Reusable cutlery are another way you can cut down on plastic waste when you are out. You can either buy a special reusable cutlery set to have in your car, or to have with you on trips. Or you can make your own reusable cutlery set by finding a container with a lid, and putting a knife, fork and spoon in there, and maybe a reusable cloth to use as a serviette.
Reusable picnic set
Similar to the reusable mugs and reusable cutlery, you can either buy or make your own reusable picnic set. You can make your own set by checking out your local op shops (or thrift stores), and finding a basket and filling it with supplies.
Or, to make it easy and simple, when planning a picnic out, just fill a tub, or a reusable bag, with cups, plates, bowls, cutlery and (cloth) serviettes. Pack this alongside the food. Take your reusable cutlery, plates, bowls and coffee cups home to wash afterwards.
If we did this every time we had a picnic, or brought our own lunch, imagine the amount of waste that would be saved from going into landfill.
If going out for a picnic, you could even bring a tub and some soap and tea towels, and wash up while you’re there. These practices are slightly less convenient, but let’s consider what do we value more. Do we really value the convenience so much? Or is it more important to slow down, be mindful and make more conscious choices.
Providence Foods sells reusable bowls, plates, cutlery, coffee mugs, tea towels and even little stakes for the ground to hold your wine glass. Browse around the store and see what else you find – Providence Foods is a little hub for sustainability ideas!
Maddie and Andreas also say, if you don’t have your reusable coffee mug with you, consider sitting down for a coffee at the cafe. It’s nice to sit in the community, watch people go by and relax.
Travel Slowly
Maddie told us there’s a relationship between travel and slowing down, being mindful and getting to know your community. These things work in harmony with each other. To travel slowly is to really take in the place.
We often rush, trying to get from place A to place B as quickly as possible on autopilot. We don’t always stop to think why we are rushing so much. Often what happens when we rush is we will choose convenience, and will end up making a higher environmental impact in the process.
If we can slow down, travel slowly, plan ahead a little bit by bringing the reusable coffee cup, or find the time to sit down for a coffee, it will be not only better for the environment but better for us to approach the day in a slower and more relaxed manner.
You will also find yourself coming up with your own sustainability ideas as you go – we would love to hear them so leave us a comment on the YouTube video and let us know!
Check Out Providence Foods
New website and online store coming soon: https://www.providencefood.com.au
Address
Shop 24
1880 Ferntree Gully Rd
Ferntree Gully
Phone: 0451 046 451
