This episode originally aired on May 29, 2024. As we're prepping for season 3, we're revisiting this episode in honor of our February Collective Challenge in the Commons app: Boycott Fast Fashion. Join us!

Fast fashion is cheap, but the low cost to customers comes at a high cost to garment workers, communities, and the environment. So, how do we break free from the fast fashion cycle?

Second Nature is your community for practical, sustainable living. On this episode, we're commiserating with listeners over the allure of fast fashion and getting real tips to break free from it. Plus, we're doing the math on the impact of buying less fast fashion and talking to Kestrel Jenkins (journalist and host of Conscious Chatter) about the human cost of fast fashion. 

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On this episode, you'll hear:

• Practical guidance from real-life, former fast fashion shopaholics. 
• An interview with journalist and Conscious Chatter host Kestrel Jenkins about the human cost of fast fashion and how to recenter the supply chain in our buying habits. 
• What happens when get this right? Commons CEO and founder Sanchali Seth Pal does the math on how ditching fast fashion can make a real carbon impact. 

 🌎 To see photos of our contributors, citations, and further reading, check the full show notes.

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Second Nature is a podcast by Commons, the sustainable spending app that tens of thousands of people use to track their footprint. Earn rewards for climate-friendly purchases like plant-based restaurants, and join collective challenges. Download the app and join May's collective challenge, Secondhand Shopping.

Episode credits

• Listener contributions: Alyssa Barber, Drew Crabtree, Freya Dumasia, Hattie Webb, Kellie Rana, Lawrence Hott, Madeline Streilein, Miriam Jornet, Romina Román, Rozalia Agioutanti, Tavia Anon, Willa Stoutenbeek 
• Featuring: Kestrel Jenkins and Sanchali Sate Pal
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild
• Fact checking: Sophie Janaskie‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

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We're excited to hear from your for season 3! Fill out this form to start your submission to Second Nature: https://j09c5.app.link/e/KfZvWw9izPb

After you fill out the form, you'll receive questions based on the topics you chose, with details about how to submit your audio.

At the end of this call for submissions, you heard the voices of listeners Jordan Webb, Cindy, and Artie Sadahiro. 

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When you’re trying to live more sustainably, fashion can be hard to navigate. The industry is ripe with greenwashing that masks exploitative practices for people and planet. But sustainable fashion is an expansive, exciting world of circularity, repair, and trustworthy, responsible brands.

On this episode (our season 2 finale!), we’re coming face-to-face with the cost conversation when it comes to sustainable fashion, getting real about overconsumption, envisioning a practical future for the industry with fashion expert Samata Pattinson, and finding out what sustainable fashion means to you. Plus, we’re talking to Commons’ Carbon Strategy Manager Sophie Janaskie about what to look for in a sustainable brand. 

➡️ If you’re struggling to find sustainable fashion brands that you can trust, we got you. The Commons team has researched and rated hundreds of fashion brands so you can skip the greenwashing. Check it out here: thecommons.earth

🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Season 3 submissions coming soon!

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Alexa Rivera, Cindy, Danielle Bird, Faith Winston, Liv, Obehi Ehimen, Verity 
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

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A third of the food we produce goes to waste, and a shocking amount of that waste happens in our own homes. The good news is that fighting food waste is easy with a few life hacks up your sleeve. And even better, it'll save you money too. 

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In this episode, we hear what types of food our community struggles with and get their tips to curb the waste. We're asking plastic-free, low-waste chef Anne-Marie Bonneau about her recipes and tips to eat our food before it becomes waste. We're also reckoning with the amount of money we're tossing out with our food waste and finding out some surprising upsides to food delivery. 

🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Amea Wadsworth, Anandi Yadav, Cindy, Jessica Tucker, Jordan Webb, Nick Blocha, Shayda Soleiman, Sierra 
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

• (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0

We’re eating way too much meat. An unsustainable, unhealthy amount of meat. If you’re looking for one way to drastically improve your health and carbon footprint — plant-based eating is it. But even if you’re not going fully plant-based, reducing your meat intake is a huge step in the right direction. 

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In this episode, we hear how our community has noticed a difference in their health since eating more plant-based, how much of an emissions impact we can make by eating fewer hamburgers, and we’re talking to Professor and Nutrition Scientist Christopher Gardner about exactly how meat impacts our bodies. 

🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Diana Holguin, Drew Crabtree, Elisabeth, Miriam Jornet, Will, Willa Stoutenbeek, Brian Stancheski
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

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When we need or want something, our first thought is often, "Where can I buy it?" But what if our first thought was: "I wonder if my neighbors have it?" Buy Nothing groups and free groups are community-rooted solutions for overconsumption and how much overconsumption costs us and the planet. 

Whether you're looking for empty plastic containers for a craft or you want to give away an old Kindle you don't use, these groups are a great way to realize the resources and generosity of our neighbors.  

On this Community Voices episode of Second Nature, we're diving into the generous, thrifty, free world of free groups and Buy Nothing groups to discover new opportunities to connect with community and find new value in our stuff.

🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes. 

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Taylor Barkley, Morgan Gallagher, Diana Holguin, Madeline Streilein, Nick Blocha
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

• (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0

Government seems to move slower than the pace of climate change, so do our votes for climate candidates and policies actually make a difference? 

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In this episode, we're connecting the dots between climate and policy and hearing from people around the world about how their governments’ policies are affecting their lives and their regions. We're also catching up with HEATED editor-in-chief Emily Atkin to hear how climate reporting has changed over the past couple of presidential terms and how she keeps her head above water after a decade of reporting on climate. We'll also talk to Commons founder Sanchali Seth Pal about climate policies around the world that have actually worked. 

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If you're looking for resources to help you vote for the planet in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, or any upcoming U.S. election, here are some resources that could help: Vote Climate U.S. PAC's Voter Guide, Climate Cabinet's Climate Scorecard, League of Conservation Voter Scorecard.

🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Anandi Yadav, Clara, Danielle Bird, Lindsay Kerns, Michael Chase, Nick Blocha, Shai
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

• (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0

Plant-based cheese is better than ever, but can we expand our expectations of cheese to ease our reliance on Big Dairy?

Cheese is delicious. Even aspiring vegans find cheese hard to quit. But making dairy cheese is not only rough on the planet — the dairy cows’ lives aren’t great either. In this episode, we’re getting the full picture of the impact of dairy cheese, including the United States’ decades-long surplus cycle with the cheese industry and how it’s connected to Pizza Hut’s Summer of Cheese. 

We’re chatting with famed vegan chef and cheese icon, Miyoko Schinner about how far plant-based cheese has come and her favorite plant-based cheese bases. We’re learning practical tips to learn to love plant-based cheese, and having our very own cheese taste test.

🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Amea Wadsworth, Diana Holguin, Drew Crabtree, Kenzie Rattray, Melissa Athina, Miriam Jornet
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

• (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0

Gifting isn't easy for everyone, and it certainly isn't cheap. On top of that, unwanted gifts can be wasteful and lead to piles of returns or trash. But becoming a more sustainable, low-waste gifter will make you a better gifter and save you money!

In this episode, we give you dozens of great gift ideas from our community, and all of them are backed by the research of leading Dr. Julian Givi. We'll also talk about the carbon (and waste impact) of big holidays like Christmas.

If you want more gift ideas, we've got you covered! The Commons team curated gift guides for everyone on your list with over 300 unique, memorable gift ideas, including vintage items, experiences, and DIYs.

🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Read the episode Click here to view the episode transcript.

• Listener contributions: Adyasha, Alyssa Barber, Amea Wadsworth, Anandi Yadav, Cara Haberman, Deb Hansen, Ezra Chaviv, Kelly Kandra Hughes, PhD, Morgan Gallagher, Rachel Orenstein, Timmin Vooijs
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

• (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0

Whether it's from a catastrophic storm, a brutal heat wave, or dying coral reefs, we're all dealing with the effects of climate change. All that stress and sadness can lead to climate anxiety (aka eco-anxiety).

If you've felt anxious about the state of our climate, you're not alone. In our first-ever Community Voices episode of Second Nature, we're focusing all on you, our listeners, to hear various ways to cope with climate anxiety through nature, community, and gratitude.

If you're looking for more resources to help with climate anxiety, we highly recommend this list from the team at All We Can Save.

🌎 For photos of our contributors and further reading, check the full show notes.

📞 We'd love to hear from you! Submit to the show.

📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Adyasha, Artie Sadahiro, Camille, Liv, Natalie Pullen, Nick Blocha, Savannah Vize
• Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

• (00:00) - Tempo: 120.0