Living sustainably with Belgian company Mixua
by Riselle Celestina
Wouldn ’ t it be wonderful if we had superpowers and we could use those powers to save the world from impending doom ? We could put on our capes and fly into battle to defeat evil , while the crowd below cheers us on . Now , what if the villain in this story is humanity itself and the victim , the environment ? But most importantly , what if I told you , the superhero in this story could be you ?
One such hero working towards a better earth is Emilia Cantero , who four years ago started her company
Mixua . Mixua , pronounced Mee- Shua , is a play on the Spanish word mi , meaning me and the French word choix meaning a choice . It ’ s a true representation of who Emilia is . Born in Argentina and raised in Ghent , Belgium , she grew up not only multilingual but like most of us , completely unaware of how our daily choices affect the environment and the earth we are so privileged to call home .
It wasn ’ t until Emilia went to university to study economics that she stumbled upon the subjects , circular economy and cradle to cradle , that her eyes were opened and her passion for sustainability was born . Both these subjects teach us about production and innovation of products that are truly recyclable and reusable . Living a sustainable life is a personal choice and the theory behind Mixua focuses on exactly that : my choice . It is up to each one of us to make that switch from an ordinary life to a more ecological one . In other words , we can all become the superhero in this story .
But where do you begin to live a more sustainable life ? Emilia explains that that is often a trade off , since sustainability has such a broad meaning . Do you wish to use less plastic , do you want to buy exclusively from local vendors or do you want to produce less waste ? Perhaps you want to live a life that combines all three . Back when Emilia started she had to do a lot of her own research , since the information was just not readily available back then . But nowadays sustainable living is trending and in places like Belgium it is becoming the norm , with more and more zero waste stores and supermarkets and second hand stores popping up everywhere .
Making the switch to a sustainable lifestyle is not easy , especially when you take into consideration that in general we do not like change . Most of us try to resist it as much as we can , while others just refuse to change anything , unless it is mandatory . The only change that is fairly acceptable is a change that will bring more convenience into our lives rather than challenges . And unfortunately making the change to a zero waste , plasticfree and only strictly local products remains hard for most .
Where to begin ?
To make the transition a little easier , Emilia suggests asking yourself these three questions before you begin :
1 . Which part of the house is most important to you ? By starting in the location you are most comfortable in , the task becomes easier .
2 . What is the easiest to start with ? What everyday product can you easily replace with a sustainable product ? A kitchen sponge can be replaced with a kitchen
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