Eco Français-ly

As an eco-friendly clutch ‘designer’ I’m doing my best to live my daily life in a way that reflects the sustainable lifestyle I promote.

And, since moving to Paris, I’ve been doing my best to engage in the culture and language I’m blessed to be surrounded by, in an attempt to immerse myself in this experience.

There are some days when I feel that if I were to put my actions on a rating scale I’d get a gold star sticker for practicing what I preach. That said, there are just as many days when old habits creep in and I fall off the proverbial eco boat and end up swimming in the swamp.

Today, was one of those days I was sailing smoothly. I woke up and read a book I’ve been meaning to read,
printed on recycled paper, written by a Vietnamese monk living in France (if you ever have the chance to visit Thich Nhat Hanh’s mindfulness practice centre, do, it’s magical: Plum Village)

Feeling clever, I geared up and went for a
run in my favourite Parisian park (Parc des Buttes Chaumont) wearing my eco-friendly, ethical, fair trade sneakers, made by a French company here in Paris (Veja).

With my brain and body jazzed up after the run, and an honestly healthy juice in my belly, I sat
down and got creative finishing the tassel on the eco-friendly Leotie Lovely
Souk Soiree clutch which was ordered by a French customer

Creatively, physically and mentally fulfilled, I hopped on the metro down to the
Canadian embassy to take care of some
logistical loveliness and on the way… found myself wandering into a Starbucks, standing zombie like in a line full of North Americans, and, after a day of using French ferociously, ordered a ‘soy latte’ in English. 

With one sip, my eco francais-ly day melted away in a
haze of vanilla flavoured consumerism and that gold star I’d been eyeing floated out of my reach.

I mentally scolded myself with a quick “Dagnabbit, Holly”,  and smiled at passers by, doing my best to enjoy this guilty pleasure, knowing tomorrow I’d (probably) do better.