Instagram: @zewami
Parents: Why did you get involved in this zero waste fight?
My: I have always been sensitive to the question of consuming well, quality products made in France. My parents held
a grocery store with a large “bulk” section. In 2015, I read Béa Johnson’s book which made me want to get started. She was my age, two kids and she said it was simple. At the same time, in 2016, I completely changed my job.
From the SNCF, I started on my own in the creation of Japanese packaging with second-hand fabric and yarn.
How did you start?
Like many, with very simple things. Replace household products with white vinegar, do my laundry with flakes of Marseille soap. And swap shampoos and shower gels with solid products. I recommend going step by step. Start with the easiest. Do not buy all the products marked zero waste, because there is also a business behind… For example, for toothpaste, a drop of essential oil of tea-tree and water is enough…
How do you do your shopping?
I go to the butcher and the fishmonger with my containers. Ditto for organic groceries. I buy my flour directly from a mill (we live in the countryside near Tours), my ice cream from a craftsman. It takes me a long time! Paradoxically, living in Paris would be easier for shopping! For clothes and decoration, furniture, I only buy second hand.
How did your children react?
My eldest was 13 years old, she was in her teens with this need for mimicry and these consumer cravings for big brands. I had to pretend to get her to adhere to my approach. I made bi-phasic makeup remover, cloth wipes. These were the beginnings of Vinted …
For my son, it was a little easier, we did a lot of flea markets, we found what interested him, like video games for example. Now they are fed up with vintage! I think it is better to start with young children so that they take the fold …
And your husband ?
He is not against it, as long as he does not have to take too much care of it … Over time and understanding the financial interest of the process, he has taken up some shopping or shopping habits on the Bon Coin, but he still has trouble sorting the waste! On the other hand, he is very handy, like me.
So, that does not generate tension in the family?
No, because I do not impose anything on others. I don’t want to be a donor
of lessons. One does what one can. For example, if I had a baby today, I don’t think I would wash diapers, when I see all the water it uses… And I also have some plastic bags and absorbent paper to handle the diapers. emergency room.
For meals, do you do everything yourself?
Yes ! But I don’t like spending more than 30 minutes in the kitchen. And there’s frozen pizza on hand just in case. Sometimes I even give in to pressure from my children to go to a fast food restaurant. It makes them laugh. But I accept from time to time, it’s important to spend time together.
An easy trick to sting you?
When taking a shower, there is always cold water coming out before it gets warmer. I put a small watering can to collect it and I use it for my plants or flush the toilet.
Teenagers, are they that difficult as they say?
I’m lucky, mine are cool and polite, they work well in school. I think that clear rules of life from the start help avoid worries. We eat together. We respect bedtime. We each have responsibilities for household chores. And we don’t put pressure on them, we always encourage them. Of course they spend time on their phones …