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My live-on-less heroines
Beth Terry
I started out on our eco journey by reading a book by Beth Terry, Plastic Free: How I kicked the plastic habit and how you can too. She is a full time accountant who has been raising awareness for the eco since the early days of recent public interest in the issue (around 2007).
Beth realised something that we all need to. If we just took in half of what the following statement implies, the world would be much better off:
through my unconscious overconsumption, I was personally contributing the the suffering of creatures I hadn’t even known existed.
https://myplasticfreelife.com/about-me/
I hear so much of what Beth says in her book and second it. Our overconsumption as a society is frightening, and it is one of the main issues in our broken world.
Beth takes a very practical and evangelical approach to eco living. Where she lives (USA) she is able to access many things that others might not be able to, such as bulk bins. She’s also very down to earth. On her website, she says to those who want to ask her a question she might not be have written about already:
try Google. Because honestly, if you send me a question about a topic I haven’t researched, that’s what I would do if I had time.
https://myplasticfreelife.com/contact-me
One of Beth’s most helpful and motivational quotes:
No one can do it all at once. But we can all get started!
https://myplasticfreelife.com/plasticfreeguide/
Bea Johnson
For a number of years now I have also been following many of the principles of Bea Johnson of Zero Waste Home fame. She lives as a minimalist in the USA but originates from France.
Bea was not always a minimalist but lived in a lavish home with lots of possessions until one day she decided enough was enough and it was not what she wanted for her family. Her story is told in her book, well worth a read.
Bea and her family have massively downsized in both their square footage but also in their possessions. When they go on holiday, they can fit their entire wardrobe into one suitcase per person. Now, while this is possibly not something that every individual can aspire to, it certainly gives an idea of what is possible given careful planning.
Since 2008, Bea has reached millions of people with her plastic free living message through her book, social media, website and talks she undertakes around the world.
Why are Beth and Bea heroines?
Both of these women are my zero-waste heroines because they forged the way for others to go against the flow and stick up for what they believed in.
My heroines did not spend years researching what was on-trend, they just found things that worked and step by step came closer to zero waste living.
Beth and Bea did mind that others thought they were absolutely mad. They did not mind when following their chosen path made life harder before it made life easier.
Both women wrote accessible, easy to read books. Their books tell the stories of two women living real lives that now act as eco- bibles for millions of people around the world. When they first started out, Beth and Bea didn’t know that their beliefs would soon become acceptable, never mind mainstream.
So if they could, then I believe that this girl (and her family) can. And you can too!
