Sustainable Travelling to Save Earth for Future Generations
One of the simplest ways to reduce individual carbon footprints is to fly less often. Travel enthusiasts may not be happy with this suggestion, but there are ways to make travel more sustainable. By carefully and smartly selecting the places to go, the things to pack, the food to eat, and the mode of transportation, travellers can reduce the harm caused to the environment. With travel being a part of lifestyle, sustainable travel is one of the major contributors that can help achieve a sustainable lifestyle.
The Message of Sustainable Living
What is meant by sustainable living? It is the art of living life by following a lifestyle that can help advance good health and well-being. Sustainable living restricts the destruction of the environment, wildlife, natural resources, and ecology. In other words, it involves experiencing a healthy and happy life by consuming limited resources of the earth and allowing wilderness and wildlife to flourish.
A sustainable lifestyle involves the way people do things, seek entertainment, eat food, build houses and buildings, and travel. In a nutshell, the way they live in every walk of life. The principles that guide sustainable living include reducing waste, minimising the use of natural resources, careful handling of the environment, and ensuring the quality of the environment.
The Significance of Sustainable Travel in Life
Most people like to travel, and it has become an integral part of their lifestyle. Travelling sustainably means being conscious of the impact of travel on the earth and adopting best practices to minimise its negative effects on the earth and environment. People are becoming more aware that the resources are limited, and an uncontrolled lifestyle that includes irresponsible travel can be detrimental to the planet and its resources, putting its existence itself into question.
Sustainable travel is a method to enjoy the earth and its environment by protecting them instead of commercially exploiting them without restriction to promote tourism. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines sustainable tourism as:
‘Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.’
Sustainable travel is about adopting sustainable travel practices to reduce the negative effects and enhance the positives of tourism.
Sustainable Travel: Best Practices
To live a sustainable life, people have to follow the best sustainable practices in every walk of their life, which also includes travel. Some best practices that can make travel sustainable and eco-friendly are discussed below:
Selecting eco-friendly dwelling: Eco-friendly staying options typically use renewable energy, have a mechanism to reduce the wastage of water, and are built adopting bio-architecture. Eco-friendly habitations that implement green practices in maintenance, services, logistics, products, and supplies, help reduce the negative impact of tourism and travel on the environment.
Using public transportation: Public transportation helps reduce pollution and minimise traffic congestion in day-to-day life and as well during trips. Public transportation leads to a reduction in the number of private vehicles on the roads resulting in the reduction of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. In addition to employing more electric vehicles and trains, encouraging walking, cycling, and electric scooters by creating dedicated lanes will contribute further towards sustainable travelling.
Respecting the local culture: Appreciating the local culture encourages the conservation of cultural traditions and heritage. One of the attractions and advantages of sustainable travel is connecting with locals, which helps protect the traditions and culture of the local community from extinction. Respecting their traditions and culture encourages the local community to preserve unique local lifestyles.
Buying local products and services: Using local products and services helps the local businesses and economy. The other benefits of buying local products are that they require less transportation and packaging and help in the generation of jobs.
Slow travel: Slow travelling helps minimise the harmful effects on the earth and the environment. Choosing trains and public buses over flying is a way to reduce the impact and save money. Travelling slowly also facilitates better views and appreciation of the scenic beauty of places along the way.
Eating local food: Eating locally made food is one way to enjoy the authentic local food habits and cuisines. In addition, local food needs not to be transported and does not use artificial preservatives, keeping it fresh and healthy. Eating local food also empowers the local community’s businesses and economy.
Optimal Use of Eco-friendly Natural Resources
The use of natural resources helps protect environmental heritage and biodiversity, but the problem is that the consumption of environmental resources above their regeneration potentials can cause climate change and deterioration of biodiversity. The ecological footprint is an indicator to measure the environmental impact created by the excessive use of natural resources.
While the sustainable travel practices discussed above are relatively easy to implement, it becomes a bit difficult for travellers to source eco-friendly travel items accessories like bags, clothes, water bottles, sunglasses, and first-aid during the trip. Using these items made of non-degradable materials like plastic or natural leather is harmful to the environment.
Those planning a trip must carefully select eco-friendly items for their travel to minimise the impact on the earth and ensure principles of sustainability are being followed. Amala Earth has around 200 eco-friendly travel accessories and items in stock that can be bought online.
Travel bags: Bags and other packing containers are indispensable items on a trip. Choosing a travel pack made from eco-friendly materials and produced using sustainable processes is one of the major contributors to sustainable travel. The following eco-friendly packing containers are available at Amala Earth online store.
Handcrafted laptop bags
Handmade laptop bags
Jute shoulder bag
Canvas Dopp travel pouch
Travel accessories: No travel can be complete without proper accessories like sunglasses. Amala Earth has plenty of eco-friendly accessories in stock for people to choose and buy online.
Wooden sunglasses
Wood frame sunglasses
Bamboo wood sunglasses
Travel clothing: Travel requires a specific type of clothing. Choosing the appropriate clothing for travel helps make the trip convenient and safe. Explore different types and styles of clothing suitable for sustainable travel at the Amala Earth store.
Sweatshirt with drawstring
Sweatshirt drawstring
Embroidered shorts
Printed top with shorts
Personal care and other travel items: Many other items are needed while travelling, such as first-aid, sunscreen, water bottle, and gift box, among others. Select and buy online anything that you need to make travel sustainable and happy.
Organic sunscreen spf50
Ayurvedic care travel pack
Herbal shampoo
Wooden copper bottle
Sweatshirt drawstrings
Personal care pack
Eco-friendly gift box
Buy Eco-friendly Travel Accessories Online at Amala Earth Store
Sustainable living involves doing everything in life in an eco-friendly manner. Travel is an integral part of living, and to follow sustainable travelling, many elements have to be managed in a sustainable fashion, ranging from selecting eco-friendly transportation, clothing, travel kits, and bags to mingling with local people, eating their food, and using the locally available products and services. So, travelling sustainably is crucial for leading a sustainable life.
As discussed above, eco-friendly items and accessories contribute the most towards making travel sustainable. Amala Earth selects eco-friendly accessories that are suitable for sustainable travel and maintains a stock of them in its online store to enable people to travel sustainably.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is sustainable living?
Sustainable living is the way people can live life by following practices and using resources that enhance their health and well-being without harming the earth and its environment. It is about reducing the usage of natural resources of the earth by understanding how lifestyle decisions impact the world and environment.
What is sustainable travel?
Sustainable travel involves the selection of eco-friendly and sustainable modes of travel, travel items, and following a sustainable lifestyle during the trip. In other words, sustainable travel takes into account concerns for social and environmental issues to reduce the impact of travel and tourism on the environment.
What are the best practices of sustainable travel?
The best practices that enable sustainable travel include the selection of eco-friendly accommodation, using public transportation, choosing slow travelling modes, eating locally available organic food, buying locally available products, respecting local culture and customs, and using eco-friendly travel bags, accessories, and clothing, among others.
