About.
THE WORLD IS CHANGING
We’re living in interesting times and the world is changing. Certain paradigms that used to be acceptable just aren't anymore, like smoking on an aeroplane, or drink driving. We think this is a good thing. Change is a good thing. Sometimes change is necessary, like today where current human activity is leading to mass extinction and irreversible climate change.
2020 was a rough year, the world is still in trauma recovery from the events I won’t mention. Nevertheless, we all witnessed something pretty interesting. Somehow, we were able to freeze everything, mobilize, adapt and defend in the face of crisis. This is not to undermine the massive and tragic losses we received. But still, we demonstrated the ability to cooperate on scale and problem solve under tremendous pressure.
We think capitalism and how we “do” it, needs to change under tremendous pressure. Why can’t the health of our planet be our 1st priority? Well we think it can, if we prioritise it together.
"We can solve plastic pollution and we can solve climate change."
WHAT WE BELIEVE
"We believe the true wealth of the planet is the planet itself, not the profit from its plunder."
Climate change is real, not a hoax, a conspiracy, or a figment of the imagination. We believe this solidly but we also believe we can fix it! We're optimists here. We know the problem, now lets take collective and massive action! Everyone can make a difference and we can do it together.
The Triple Bottom Line isn't just something we talk about and theorize. I got tired of talking and doing nothing! PFBD doesn't exist if we're not trying to implement strategies and practices that promote sustainability, biodiversity and mitigate mass extinction.
This is our mission and this is why we're here, so we want to have some fun while we're doing it! We're tired of "doomsplaining", followed by taking no action. Bring me solutions, not a recycling of negative information. It's positive energy that will solve climate change, not the opposite. We want to demonstrate that in everything we do, say and practice. We made a mess, now it's time to take ownership and fix it for our children.
THE AWAKENING
I feel it, you might feel it too. Something abstract and metaphysical that may sound a bit silly when you try and decribe it with words. It's more like a feeling. But it's not personal, it's collective as if everyone is feeling it with you. You can't measure it, you can't quantify it, but it's still knowledge. Its like a threshold has been crossed and there's no return. The world we knew, is gone.
Perhaps its been happeneing for years, but 2020 was like the crest of a waterfall where we all fell off.
Some of us might mourn for what's been lost, whilst knowing that it had to end. We can't unsee what we've seen, like discovering the world is round, not flat. You've been awakened, now what are you going to do about it?
I feel like it isn't just me. There's a renewed consciousness that's manifesting in different ways, for different people. Whether it's through yoga and meditation, diet or general fitness, lots of people are recognizing the importance of reconnecting the body with the mind and soul. On macro scale, this might relate to reconnecting human activities with nature.
I used to watch television, but today I find I just can't stomach the bullshit. Everything looks like propaganda to me. I can't tell if it was always that way or if I just didn't see it before. Either way,my gullet is too small to swallow the porky pies (lies) like I used to.
"We believe the true wealth of the planet is the planet itself, not the profit from its plunder."
I AM...
I’m Oz. I’m an architect and designer, and I started Plastic Free_By Design to bridge the massive gap I saw between the ‘green’ movement, and what most people find cool, or desirable.
I mean it when I say sustainability has an image problem. Almost everywhere I look, the ‘green’ choice looks like the worse choice. It needs to be the better one! For most people, it’s what things look like and how they work that matters. If we want everyone to care about the planet and make greener choices, it needs to be cool! It can’t feel like a sacrifice.
PF_BD is on a mission to make it cooler to be sustainable. We don’t focus on problems, we share solutions. Our original content focuses on technology, design, culture, nature and the planet, and we want to inspire you with great ideas, slick products and cool stories, not offer doom-scrolling and end-of-the world clickbait.
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"We believe the true wealth of the planet is the planet itself, not the profit from its plunder."