3 documentaries to get you started on a more sustainable lifestyle.

Feb 7, 2018 | 5 comments

There’s especially 3 documentaries that, since I started my blog almost 4 years ago, have had a big impact on my content and developed the way I look at living sustainably. There are so many great books, podcasts and documentaries like these out there but these are just the 3 that kind of started it all for me, and that ultimately made me feel like I had to make a difference in this area. Therefore I thought I wanted to share some thought about them with you guys, because maybe they’ll mean something to you too.

Der er især 3 dokumentarer som siden bloggens spæde start for ca. 4 år siden, har haft stor betydning for den måde mit indhold og mit eget syn på bæredygtighed har udviklet sig. Der findes mange andre gode bøger, podcasts og dokumentarer om samme emne, men dette er som sagt de 3 som satte starten for mig, og som har givet mig lyst til, at gøre en forskel for vores miljø. Jeg tænkte derfor jeg ville dele lidt tanker om dem her, for måske kan de få ligeså stor betydning for dig derude også.

The True Cost

Find it here. I saw this documentary for the first time 2 years ago, and I’ve rewatched it a few times since. It left me shook and inspired at the same time; inspired to do something. In short the documentary evolves around the horrific incidence and collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh back in 2013 where over 1000 people lost their lives. Many of the highstreet clothing brands get their collections made at places like Rana Plaza, and even though these brands are not the only ones to blame in this equation, it still makes you wonder. You meet a lot of people from the fashion industry that express how much of a pressure they are underlying, especially because of the low price the garments are being sold for in the end. That hardly leaves room for beter working conditions and wages. The documentary is trying to prove the true costs of our (clothing)consumption, like the title refers to. The price we as consumers are not willing to pay, someone else will pay that price for us weather that being the people in the production or the environment.

The documentary is quite heavy, especially if you’re a fashionista like me and always have been. But instead of closing our eyes for these facts, we should look at it like an opportunity to truly be revolutionary in terms of changing an industry, where many brands still turn the other cheek in regards to how much damage is actually being done. In my world non-shopping can never become part of the solution, because so many peoples lives and income are depended on these jobs. I’m working in the industry as well! But I do strongly believe that the businessmodel of this industry can and has to change, which is why I’ve gained such a huge interest in sustainable fashion and lifestyle. Because I believe in it. My blog has become my creative space where I intend to show fashionistas all around the world, that fashion and great style can in fact be joined with sustainability without ruining all the fun. Hopefully this will turn into something more than a blog one day, I’ll admit I’m working very hard for that to happen hopefully within the next few years.

The documentary is not only about how our consumption of fast fashion is peeking, but also about how we treat each other in this business. It’s not only inspired me to become a better consumer but it’s also inspired me to respect other people and their stories even more.

The True Cost

Find den her. Denne dokumentar så jeg jeg første gang for ca. 2 år siden, og jeg har genset den et par gange siden. Den efterlod mig fuldstændig chokeret og inspireret på samme tid. Kort fortalt tager dokumentaren udgangspunkt i den forfærdelige hændelse på fabriksbygningen Rana Plaza i Bangladesh i 2013, hvor over 1000 produktionsarbejdere mistede livet, da revner i bygningen fik den til at kollapse. Mange kendte highstreetmærker og -virksomheder får produceret rigtig meget af deres billige fast fashion tøj netop steder som Rana Plaza i Bangladesh, og selvom disse mærker ikke alene kan få skylden for, at et en tragisk hændelse som dette sker, så sætter det alligevel gang i nogle tanker igennem hele filmen. Man møder mange mennesker fra branchen der giver udtryk for hvor stort et pres de er under, især på baggrund af de urimeligt lave priser tøjet skal sælges for, før slutforbrugeren “gider” at købe det. Det giver ikke ret meget luft til bedre arbejdsforhold eller løn for den sags skyld. Filmen undersøger de sande omkostninger af vores (tøj)forbrug, som titlen så fint antyder. Den pris vi som forbrugere ikke vil betale for vores tøj, er der desværre andre mennesker (for slet ikke at nævne vores miljø), som betaler for os.

Dokumentaren kan være en tung én at sluge, især hvis mode er en indgroet del af dig, som det også altid har været for mig. Men i stedet for at lukke øjnene for de facts filmen lægger på bordet, så se den som en mulighed for, at være med til at nytænke en branche, der på mange områder stadig blindt lukker øjnene for hvor meget skade den egentlig gør. I min optik kan nul forbrug aldrig blive en del af løsningen, fordi der er så mange mennesker der er afhængige af deres jobs i denne branche både i ind-og udland. Ja, heriblandt mig selv! Til gengæld tror jeg på at branchens forretningsmodel skal og kan fornys, og det er én af grundene til, at jeg har fået så stor en interesse for bæredygtig mode og livsstil, som jeg har. Min blog er mit frirum og mit sted hvor jeg kan vise især kvinder der elsker mode og stil, hvordan man kan forene dette med bæredygtighed, uden man behøver tage det sjove ud af ligningen. Og forhåbentligt udvikler dette koncept sig til noget mere en dag – det vil jeg ihvertfald gerne afsløre, at jeg arbejder hårdt på, kommer til at ske inden for de næste par år.

Filmen handler ikke kun om, at vores forbrug har taget overhånd, men jeg synes på en måde også den viser hvor dårligt vi behandler hinanden i denne branche. Den har ikke blot inspireret mig til at blive en bedre forbruger, men egentlig også til, at blive mere forstående over for mine medmennesker.

Minimalism – a documentary about the important things

Find it here. I’ve already written a review of this documentary last year (read it here), but I just thought I wanted to mention it again. I’d actually like to rewatch it soon and I’ve also got the podcast of the people behind the documentary on my list of things to dig into this year. 

The film seeks to prove how our consumption doesn’t make us one bit happier. You know, thinking that “if I just get this next thing, my happiness and my life will be complete”. It is actually scientifically proven, that consuming a lot of excess things makes us unhappy. No other than Jim Carrey has even said, that he wishes that everyone in the world could try to be rich and famous for a while, because then we would all discover that it’s not worth it. The good old ”money can’t buy us happiness”, and I think we all know deep down, that being able to buy whatever we want isn’t equal to being free. This is exactly why I don’t believe in retail-therapy as a healthy and longterm solution to our personal problems anymore.

Minimalism – a documentary about the important things

Find den her. Denne dokumentar har jeg allerede skrevet en længere anmeldelse om lige her, men jeg synes den er værd at nævne igen. Faktisk vil jeg gerne snart have den genset, ligesom jeg har personerne bag dokumentaren’s podcast på min liste over ting, jeg gerne vil dykke ned i i år.

Filmen demonstrerer hvordan vores overforbrug ikke gør os lykkeligere. Den her tankegang om, at lykken venter lige rundt om hjørnet, hvis bare jeg får den dér næste ting. Vi tillægger de ting vi køber en social værdi, og denne sociale værdi presser os og gør os ulykkeligere. Det er videnskabligt bevist, at jo højere forbrug man har, jo mere ulykkelig er man. Ingen mindre en Jim Carrey udtaler, at han ville ønske at alle kunne opleve, hvordan det faktisk er at være rig og berømt, for så ville alle finde ud af, at det ikke er dét værd at kunne købe alle de ting man går og tror vil gøre én mere lykkelig. Jo vidst giver det mere frihed at have penge – men er det de materialistiske goder der skal definere denne frihed? Jeg tror godt vi selv kender svaret, og dokumentaren har derfor været medvirkende til, at jeg ikke længere tror på “retail-therapy” som en holdbar løsning på vores personlige problemer her i livet.

Food Choices

The latest inspiring documentary I’ve watched about sustainable living is Food Choices. I’ve also written a few words about this lately, especially in my recap post about #veganuary, which was a challenge I did (along with thousands of other people on social media) throughout January.You basically had to live like a vegan the entire month. If you want to know how that went, you can read my post right here.

There are so many fact and personal stories both with and against the vegan lifestyle. But one things is for sure, and that is the fact that our consumption of animal products are harmful to our environment and ourselves. Recent discoveries and nutritionists in the film are trying to prove how unhealthy our obsessions of foods with protein has become. You can buy so many products that brands themselves with being “high in protein” as something purely healthy, but this documentary speaks against this and tries to figure out if we even need all that protein in our bodies to be healthy. Like the title refers to, this film will probably change the way you look at your food for ever – it’s made a huge impact on my that’s for sure, so I can highly recommend it.

Food Choices

Seneste skud på stammen over inspirerende dokumentarer om bæredygtig livsstil er Food Choices. Denne har jeg også allerede delt lidt tanker om, senest i mit indlæg om #veganuary, som var en udfordring der udfoldede sig især på Instagram i hele januar måned, hvor det altså handlede om at leve vegansk hele måneden. Du kan læse mere om hvordan det gik lige HER.

Der findes mange facts og personlige beretninger for og imod den veganske livsstil. Men én ting er helt sikkert og det er, at vores overforbrug af animalske produkter skader vores miljø og ikke mindst os selv. Der er også mange undersøgelser og ernæringseksperter i filmen som giver udtryk for, hvor usund vores optagethed af protein faktisk er. Du kan jo købe et hav af forskellige madvarer, som brander sig selv via “højere protein-indhold”, men filmen undersøger hvorvidt dette overhovedet er sundt for os, og om vi faktisk har brug for så meget protein i kroppen. Som undertitlen antyder, så vil dokumentaren muligvis ændre dit syn på dine madvaner for altid – den har i hvertfald gjort en kæmpe forskel for mig, så den kan klart anbefales.

So because I’m just a consumer like you reading this right now, I’m no expert in any of these areas. That’s why I think it is especially important, to constantly have an open mind and look for information and general knowledge about how to live more sustainably. Besides that just always remember that there are two sides to one coin, so there will never be just one right answer in all this. That being said I think it’s really interesting and it feels awesome getting some fresh inspiration sometimes, and as consumers I think we all have a responsibility of gathering some knowledge in terms of sustainability and how we consume. And documentaries like these can be a good place to start!

Eftersom jeg blot er en forbruger ligesom dig der læser med nu, så er jeg langt fra ekspert på nogle af disse områder. Derfor synes jeg det er ekstra vigtigt, konstant at have et vågent øje og et åbent sind for netop dokumentarer og generel viden om bæredygtig livsstil. Ikke mindst skal man altid huske der er mindst to sider af samme sag, så der er sjældent ét entydigt svar på især vores miljømæssige udfordringer. Med det sagt, så synes jeg det er spændende og fedt at få et nyt skud inspiration engang imellem, og som forbrugere synes jeg faktisk vi alle har en pligt til, at sætte os lidt ind i tingene og altså evaluere den måde vi forbruger på. Og det kan dokumentarer som disse især være behjælpelige med!

5 Comments

  1. Natascha

    Minimalism dokumentaren så jeg i sidste uge på Netflix. Måske en anelse ekstrem ift., hvor langt jeg vil tage minimalisme, men bestemt en dokumentar, der lever op til navnet – og jeg vil også den følelse af at tænke over, om de ting, vi har i vores hjem i bund og grund gør os glade og ikke kun et øjebliks materialistisk glæde. Jeg begyndte at downsize min garderobe efter min datters fødsel i oktober (perfekt anledning for mig, da jeg ikke kan passe halvdelen stadig) – og den her gav mig også anledning til at kigge resten af hjemme igennem. Ps. rigtig fin blog (er forholdsvis ny) ;D KH Natascha

    Reply
  2. Antonia

    Hi Signe,
    I really loved this post, even though I already know the documentaries you recommended. I found them all very insightful and interesting, like you.
    The photos in this blogpost were especially beautiful!
    Best regards
    Antonia

    Reply
  3. yasmin

    Thanks for the awesome recommendations. Really love your photography, too! x

    Yasmin ?
    The Sweet Seven Five

    Reply
  4. Michelle

    I started following you because I love your personal style, and am building a basic capsule wardrobe within my closet based on your suggestions. However I just finished watching The True Cost, and it has had such an impact on me.
    Thank you for educating me!
    Michelle

    Reply

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