Episode 197: Responsible Travel with Desirée and Ginger

Welcome to Clotheshorse, the podcast that really knows how to over pack for a trip!

I’m your host, Amanda, and this is episode 197. And yes, this week we will be talking all about travel: how to do it more responsibly, ways to rethink souvenirs, and ultimately, how we can get the most out of our travels.  I am joined by two amazing guests to talk about this today: Desiree, who owns The Pewter Thimble, and Ginger, a writer for Lonely Planet as well as numerous other publications and books, she also teaches courses on the history of travel for Atlas Obscura. We will be breaking down the question: How can we be better when we travel? This might feel like a weird topic for Clotheshorse, but ultimately, travel is yet another thing we consume, and there are certainly tons of people trying to sell us stuff for travel.  In fact, in the mid 2010s, a lot of my employers began selling travel related products, like luggage, sleep masks, travel cubes, passport holders, and so much more because it was another way to sell us stuff! And of course, there were also emails and curated collections of vacation clothing and even comfy stuff to wear on the plane.

Now, I’m going to tell you now that we are not going to be digging into the carbon footprint of travel or the ethics of to travel or not to travel.  And that’s primarily because I just don’t have a simple black and white answer for you when it comes to that. There are many thoughts around this all over the internet, from people who say we should never travel period if we care about the planet, to those that say “oh yeah, go ahead and do it but be sure to purchase carbon offsets.” Others point out that it would be even more impactful to minimize business travel by utilizing virtual meetings more often and pushing companies to stop shipping so much via air cargo, even slowing down our own personal expectations around how fast we should receive those shoes we just ordered by allowing them to ship slowly via train and truck, rather than overnight via air.  And some experts say that the best thing we can do is push the aviation industry to shift to hydrogen powered planes, which ostensibly have little-to-no carbon impact.  

Like a lot of things we discuss here on Clotheshorse, there is no easy black and white answer, and it’s up to us to find what feels right for us on an individual level.

Here’s what I do know: 

• A 2018 study published in Nature found that global tourism is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. For some context, that’s pretty similar to the greenhouse gas emissions of the fashion industry.
• About 70% of those emissions from travel are the actual transportation of it, with much of that coming from air travel.
• The remaining 30% of that  is from food, accommodations, and shopping.
• There are many people who are opting not to travel at all, or at least not to travel via airplane, in an effort to mitigate their own individual impact.
• For myself, traveling is one of life’s greatest pleasures and it’s really the only luxury that I give myself.  I minimize my food waste as much as possible.  I buy new stuff only when absolutely necessary, opting to shop secondhand for the things I need. I reuse and repair everything.  I try to avoid plastic packaging and plastic waste. I minimize my car use.  I hang my laundry to dry, rather than using a dryer.  And so on. I do as much as I can to minimize my own impact on the planet. I eat a plant based diet. But I also travel.  It has been a difficult thing for me to reconcile at times, but when I do travel, I practice the same thoughtful avoidance of waste and excess that I do in my day-to-day life:
  • I take public transportation everywhere (unless I am somewhere rural where it is not an option).
  • I avoid overshopping and generating a lot of trash.
  • I skip plastic bottles of water, etc as much as possible by bringing reusable containers with me. And I just try to be thoughtful and respectful at all times.
• Once again, my concern for the planet and its people has been at times difficult to balance  with my love of travel, of being new places, having new experiences, and meeting new people.  But I also have to remind myself that my entire existence has an impact on the planet and it’s always going to be a process to find that balance between minimizing my impact AND living my life to its fullest.  When it comes to travel, it means changing up my approach to travel by doing it more responsibly, ensuring that I receive the maximum amount of impact from it, while minimizing the external impact of it.  Does that make sense?

My overarching advice on travel is this:

• You don’t need to buy a new suitcase of clothing for your vacation. I actually always pack my most favorite clothes, because then I know every day of my trip will feel a little bit more special.
• Don’t buy a bunch of dumb travel-related stuff based on listicles.  Find a travel pillow that you will actually use, you can organize stuff in your suitcase using tote bags you already have (although a hot tip is that I see a lot of packing cubes at thrift stores these days), get yourself a pair of compression socks for long haul flights, and even change into your pajamas and slippers for an overnight flight. 
• Take public transportation. Seriously, it’s the best, cheapest way to get around and you get to really experience what it’s like to live somewhere.
• Bring a refillable water bottle (you’ll need it on the plane). Dustin and I even bring stuff to make coffee so we’re wasting less coffee cups and plastic lids.
• Be thoughtful about souvenirs and other things you buy on vacation.  We will be getting into that a lot more in today’s episode.

I guess I would say that my approach to travel is similar to everything else that is sold to us: don’t make decisions impulsively. Don’t overconsume. Do what you can to get the most out of what you consume (in this case, travel).

Okay, this conversation with Ginger and Desiree is super long (and in my opinion, very fun), so I’m going to jump right into it. I did break this down into smaller pieces for you to enjoy over several days, if you like a short listen. For all of you like me who love a long listen, you’re in for a treat.