Looking to learn a little more about ways to help the environment? Our ultimate list of sustainable books is the perfect place to get started in preparation for World Book Day! We believe in implementing practical solutions and climate education into our daily lives. By equipping ourselves with the knowledge to make real change, and choosing books that inspire us to make those changes, we believe we are able to make a difference. This list includes some must-read sustainability books from how to ditch fast fashion, personal memoirs from eco-activists and books with practical tips to inspire your day-to-day life. We think these are some of the best books on sustainable living that will surely help to show you the way forward...
How Bad Are Bananas? by Mike Berners-Lee
How bad are bananas was a book ahead of its time. First published in 2009, when most of us were hearing the term “carbon footprint” for the first time, Berners-Lee presents mountains of data in this straight-forward guide to determine how carbon heavy our everyday activities are. The new edition, published in 2020, includes all new facts and figures on items and activities that are commonplace in modern life, such as Twitter, the Cloud, Bitcoin, electric cars and even space tourism! This is a handy reference book for getting a rough idea of how big your carbon footprint is and learning how to reduce it.
How To Break Up With Fast Fashion by Lauren Bravo
Many of us know that fast fashion is bad; it is damaging to the environment and unfair to workers. However, we're not sure even we knew just how bad things were before reading this book. Journalist Lauren Bravo loves clothes and has a real passion for fashion, but in this book she explores how she put an end to her love affair with fast fashion in search of a slower, simpler, more sustainable way of dressing. The book is full of real honesty and realistic advice. Because fashion shouldn't cost the earth.
A Bigger Picture by Vanessa Nakate
Vanessa Nakate, a leading climate justice activist and voice of her generation, shares her personal experience of the devastating effects of the climate crisis on her native Uganda. The book addresses the harsh realities of other frontline environmental activists across Africa, highlighting the voices from the Global South that are frequently left out of the climate change conversation, despite being those most affected by climate disaster. This book carries a heavy message delivered in a way that is accessible, urgent, and relevant to all of us around the globe.
The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
The Year of Less documents Flanders' life for twelve months during which she put herself on a shopping ban. After realising the toxic relationship she had with consumerism, she challenged herself to consume less, Along this journey, Flanders' picks up many other habits and skills. She decluttered her apartment, learned how to fix things rather than throw them away, researched the zero waste movement and completed a television ban. At every stage, she learned that the less she consumed, the more happy she was. Blending Flanders' compelling personal story with inspiring insight and practical guidance, this book will leave you questioning what truly holds value in your life.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a botanist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings offer us lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. Throughout this incredibly powerful book, she offers a profound and insightful look at the relationship between humans and Mother Earth. With the growing concerns about climate change, deforestation and the depletion of our natural resources, she argues that it is more important than ever to reevaluate how we treat the living world around us. She reveals how the traditional practices of indigenous communities can help us make the world a better place for future generations.
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
This heart-wrenching book played a large part in my personal journey towards vegetarianism when I was younger. Upfront and brutally honest, Foer investigates the moral dimensions of food and questions why it is that we eat animals. Starting from a neutral standpoint on the matter, Foer answers the question of whether he and his family should eat meat. Through a series of interviews and personal memoirs, Foer investigates the sustainability and the ethics around eating meat. Foer encourages the reader to actively engage in the discussion and to ultimately come to your own conclusions, without bias.
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