Sustainabrew Reflection (LO7)

[LO7] Recognise and consider the ethical implications of choices and actions

Considering that Sustainabrew involves the usage of sustainable ingredients, it was obvious that our decision making involved ethical considerations. I believe that throughout the service as we learnt more about the way we not only produce, but also transport and package certain ingredients, I was able to make connections with parts of my academic life. For instance, it linked to my knowledge of the environmental consequences of an overuse of plastic. Being aware of the details and not just the facts provided a sense of responsibility to firstly educate others but additionally make more environmentally-ethical choices in my daily life. In the service itself, when ordering ingredients, we would focus on minimal and biodegradable packaging even though it came at a higher cost.

However, this brought me to think about an different circumstances all over the world and how it can become difficult to make such choices. For instance, I was able to really notice the significant difference between the prices of organic and biodegradable packaging. Although I believe that I should now prioritise the environment, I considered how this may not be possible for many other people in the world. Therefore, I believe that there are fundamental socioeconomic issues that are preventing our ability to full remove the use of plastic. It also lead me to wonder how these global issues are prioritised and that in fact, it is near impossible to pick between socioeconomic and environmental issues since they actually influence each other. This helped me understand the cyclic nature of such issues and furthermore how one issue may deepen another.