This month of love, we talked to couples whom we know have been choosing to live green. We asked them about their story, their lifestyle practices, the pandemic, and how being eco-conscious has affected their relationship. For the first part of our Environ-meant to be series, we talked to couple Deng Garcia and Belle Rodolfo.
Deng of bands Flying Ipis and Assembly Generals has been a vocal environmental advocate and champion of shark conservation. In 2017, she even started a petition calling on Miss Universe Organization and Department of Tourism to cancel swimming with whale sharks in Oslob, Cebu–where unethical practices causing harm to the whale sharks and the marine ecosystem have been documented– from the itinerary of Miss Universe candidates. Belle is a writer, producer, and still-life stylist who loves animals and has been practicing mindful living.
They share some of their ecological practices (including those as cat and dog parents), their COVID lockdown experience, and advice for couples who want to take steps towards a greener lifestyle.
What’s your story?
Deng: “I have someone to set ya up with! A cat person too.” Gaki, my bandmate, texted me in October of 2019. I said “Go!” with no questions asked. We met for the first time a couple of weeks later at our gig, went for karaoke, and bonded over our fat cats and Taylor Swift. It was super comfortable since day one. She gave off a vibe that was sincere and someone I can totally trust 100%. A few months later, Belle had to vacate her then condo, and I said why not live with me? Voila! So here we are, a pandemic, eleven cats and a dog later. 🙂
Belle: We were introduced at a gig of Deng’s band! Their drummer is the girlfriend of my good friend. They thought it would be a good idea to introduce the both of us since we both have been single for a while. We went to karaoke after and I found out she’s also a Swiftie!!! The rest is history. LOL. We got together for real a couple of months after we met. Moved in together right before lockdown happened! To me it was super simple. I like this girl. Wanted to be with her. Luckily she felt the same and we were just super aligned with what we wanted in a relationship from the start.
What are some of your eco-conscious practices and advocacies?
B: We try to minimize waste as much as we can, and choose everyday items that we can use in the long run. For example, switching to consumable products that are biodegradable (like sponges and using old paper bags and boxes and reused plastic for our trash!). Switching to refillables and items with less packaging where we can (soap, shampoo bars, home cleaning items in gallon refills, reusable pantyliners).
We also are mindful with purchases like groceries for example, that we only buy what’s enough and avoid excess. We really try to adapt these mostly with our pets’ needs because we have a lot! For example from sand litter we switched to timber which has a longer life in the box, lesser waste as you only need to dispose the used bits and not the whole batch, and is completely biodegradable and can be used as fertilizer for non-food plants. We also switched to non toxic soap bars for them and enzyme based cleaners.
D: With eleven cats, switching from the regular sand litter to timber litter was a big difference. We would buy about four 10L sacks of sand litter a month. With timber litter, it immediately created less trash. Plus, as Belle mentioned, timber is totally biodegradable and reusable as fertilizer for your plants. It kills the poop stink faster too! Haha.
Matagal na din na I’ve had my metal straws, bamboo/ wooden utensils, chopsticks packed in my car. I also support and use bamboo toothbrushes, eco-conscious bathing and sanitary products, and even sunblock that’s non-harmful to coral reefs. And, yeah, Belle and I buy our fresh produce from responsibly, and preferably, locally sourced online markets as much as possible. We are both huge animal welfare advocates too.
B: Personally though, while I have no issues practicing a more eco-conscious lifestyle, I’m also aware that:
1) it’s a privilege to practice it because it’s not accessible to everyone. For example, refillable personal care products in giant sizes are definitely more environmentally friendly but to some a sachet is all they can afford in that moment. And that’s not really a choice all of us can easily make. And so…
2) The responsibility of reducing our waste and driving our lifestyles to a more mindful direction should really be resting on shoulders of the biggest producers of waste—big corporations. While definitely we have power as consumers there is also so much each individual can do to reduce the world’s waste and work towards sustainability.
How and why did you decide to go green?
D: It was the most sensible thing, really. Switching to timber was even cheaper because we don’t need to use as much in a month. I’d like to believe that the more eco-friendly things/alternatives are made to be more affordable, it’ll be a no-brainer that people will switch to them. Althoughhh, maybe I believe in people too much. Lolz
B: Even before we met both of us have loved animals and the earth and mindful living practices! I make this choice not just for us but for all people in the future who will be living on the planet. I mean that’s the goal right? That we leave a habitable planet for the future generations.
How has it affected your relationship and/or your individual lives?
D: I love that Belle and I are on the same page when it comes to living more eco-consciously. There was no struggle between us at all. She’s also really good at finding new things to try online. I think, as human beings, there is and will always be room for improvement when it comes to helping the world be a little bit better. We are blessed we are able to do it, and to do it together.
B: It’s nice because practicing mindful living together came naturally to us. It was sort of a given, even a dealbreaker! We agree on most of our eco conscious practices naman. I think I’ll draw the line at something like, reusing shower water for pasta though. Haha. Although that’s probably a myth???
How has COVID affected your relationship and lifestyle? Have there been any challenges since the pandemic broke out?
B: You could say we had the ultimate lockdown experience—we literally had covid together!! It was the biggest challenge definitely, especially because we felt the effects long after we recovered. We made it a point to also be mindful in terms of diet and vitamins! And, when our bodies finally allowed us, exercising every day. Aside from that, a challenge mindful-living wise is now that we’re home every day every moment, we really consume more. We have to strategically time our groceries and our purchases so it’s not too much. For example if we buy too much the fridge is full and that isn’t the most energy efficient! Deng has also encouraged me to remember to turn off lights and appliances when not in use. Which is so basic but i forget! Haha COVID brain.
D: Of course getting used to having to source EVERYTHING online took a few weeks getting used to. But Belle’s super good at that, so we got right on track when online services got streamlined themselves. Maybe it took me a little longer 😅 **
As Belle mentioned, UBE (Ultimate Bonding Experience) talaga namin so far is getting COVID together. We never imagined getting sick because we rarely went out this whole lockdown! So getting it was such a shock to us both.
Being in lockdown together, 24/7 for 11months now — work and study from home setup —has definitely brought us closer to each other exponentially. Per month of lockdown is like x7, just like dog years! 😅 I think neither one of us imagined this, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What’s your advice to couples who want to be more eco-conscious?
B: Small steps matter as long as you keep doing it. Consistency leads to habit. I wouldn’t consider myself the best eco-conscious example for living, but now that I had to list all the efforts we’ve been putting in for a more mindful lifestyle, I realize we haven’t been doing too bad either! And we didn’t get here in a day, too, it’s little things we switched to that added up.
If you have other people with you at home, it helps to introduce and normalize every day mindful living so they see that it doesn’t take a lot to do. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t switch to zero waste, strictly vegan today—i mean we aren’t, either—but baby steps really help! Also assess what practices are sustainable for your actual lifestyle and personal needs.
For example, we are still working towards trying menstrual cups but on the way there we have switched to reusable pantyliners. Or another is shampoo bars did not use to work for me as i had color treated hair but because of the lockdown, I got to stop getting it colored and switched to more cost efficient shampoo bars that use much less plastic too.
Another thing that Deng has taught me is when you need/want something, consider first if you have a substitute or something already existing for that purpose at home. Deng taught me that mindfulness also includes being cost efficient! Simple things that are part of your daily life might seem trivial but you consume these the most so they do matter a lot.
D: Start practical and choose things you can sustain and do forever. Let your decisions to live more eco-consciously come from the heart talaga. It’s a lifestyle change. If it’s forced on you, most likely it won’t be sustainable..Parang diet lang yan. Hehe! But this change can be gradual naman. Adjust, adjust, and make the process fun. It’s a responsibility, but, true, also a privilege since most eco-conscious things are not that cheap yet. So, adjusting your budget talaga ang challenge din. but keep in mind na lang that you’re doing this for a better you, a better life with your loved ones, and a better world. We also do it for our cats. 😅✌🏼
Individual lifestyle choices make a difference in stopping many environmental problems like plastic pollution. But we must also demand action from companies and our government to end single-use plastic production! Sign the following petitions:
Call for a nationwide ban on single-use plastic: act.gp/supbanpetition
Ask Lazada & Shopee to reduce their packaging waste: act.gp/plasticfreeshopping
Our coastlines are among the most impacted by plastic pollution in the world. Be part of the solutions!