Florine Hofmann:

Golden Hours: When did all of this start?

Florine Hofmann: I grew up in a very sustainable household. My mom has always been really adamant about healthy and organic food, so I’ve always eaten this way. But then I saw a video of Lauren Singer by Story Seekers, and that was really inspiring. She lives a Zero Waste lifestyle in New York. I saw that video, and that night I put out all of my plastic things. It was really really inspiring. That was three years ago now.

Do you think you had already been thinking about this before since this shift was so instant, or was it more of a revolution?

FH: It really was a revolution. It never even crossed my mind that it was a possibility to live without waste, or with little waste.

GH: Has your reason for reducing waste changed over time, or do you still feel like you’re coming from the same place?

FH: Sustainability from a health perspective is still what motivates me the most. Learning more about ZW and why other people try to live a ZW lifestyle, I’ve learnt more about environmental issues. That is also a motivation. But the main motivation is still me me me (laughs).

GH: How do you personally reduce waste?

FH: I think the biggest impact I make is shopping package free most of the time. I still buy olive oil for instance, in a glass bottle, which I’ll recycle. But I try to avoid plastic packaging most of the time.

GH: Since your main angle is health, what does going green here mean?

FH: Purchasing organic produce, but now without packaging. Eating non-processed foods most of the time. When it comes to cleaning, I use apple cider vinegar, or distilled vinegar. And soap, which has way less toxins than anything else that you could use for cleaning.

I don’t have many beauty products, but I have a shampoo bar as opposed to bottled shampoo with lots of ingredients. I brush my teeth with a bamboo toothbrush. I use baking soda as deodorant.

GH: What kind of strategies do you have for saving time? Is it a misconception that going green takes more time?

FH: I think switching to a more sustainable lifestyle always takes more time and money. For people who try in the beginning and then give up after a certain amount of time.. obviously you could argue that it’s more expensive. You need to invest in reusable things, and invest time in finding the right places to buy things.

But once you have a routine, and once you have all of your sustainable things, I think it take me less time, and that it’s actually quite easy. My vinegar and baking soda I can use for other things. I don’t need to buy as many things, and go to numerous different stores to get my stuff. It’s simplified.

What are some of the challenges you face trying to create zero waste?

FH: I think when you first start living a ZW lifestyle, you’re so inspired and want to do everything perfectly. It’s really really frustrating when it doesn’t happen right away. And it won’t happen right away. There are so many small changes that you have to do and that can be frustrating.

I also started living a ZW lifestyle before I moved in with my boyfriend. You know- ZW was the easiest thing ever- and then we moved in together, and he doesn’t live a ZW lifestyle. And just kind of dealing with that, and handling that. I don’t want to invade his space and tell him what to do, and I think finding the balance there has been the most difficult.

GH: How do you talk about food waste with your friends and family?

FH: I don’t. I’ve never really told any of my friends that I live a ZW lifestyle. I think they know I have a blog, and that’s how they’ve found out, if they have. I don’t think that when you’re outside, people see that you’re living a ZW lifestyle, so it’s not really a conversation. I don’t really try to put my lifestyle on anyone.

GH: Your blog about ZW- how did that start?

FH: I started writing a blog before this, and it was just about sustainable fashion, and sustainable skin care products, and all those things. But then I saw the ZW video, and I was like- I’m not being sustainable at all! So I changed the name, and I started writing about my ZW journey.

GH: You have a large following online. Where did they come from?

FH: I joined the Ethical Writer’s Coalition- I think they’re called The Ethical Writers & Creatives now- and so that got me involved with a few sustainable brands that I could work with. And then with that, they also shared my blog, and bloggers shared my blog, and that’s how it came about.

GH: Going greener- especially ZW- can seem like a daunting lifestyle. What are some simple ways to be greener?

FH: It’s really about creating a habit. Creating the habit of bringing a reusable bag to the grocery store, or always bringing your own water bottle. Creating a habit with small things is the most important, because once it becomes part of your daily routine, you can create another habit and move forward slowly, and more sustainably. I think that’s actually all it is.

GH: What are the biggest personal benefits to adopting this kind of lifestyle?

FH: With this lifestyle- and I don’t know that it would be like this for everyone- I have adopted a bit of a minimalist mindset where I now care more about experiences than about the things that I have. I mean, I still care about my mason jars. But to a lesser extent (laughs). And I guess just doing everything, or most of my things with more intention. I know that everything I’m doing is because I choose to do that, as opposed to being told by media or something that I need it. And I think that’s really empowering, and that’s been really cool to explore.

GH: How would you describe a ZW lifestyle compared to what I would do, for example?

FH: I don’t think there’s that much difference, it’s just about putting a little more intention into your daily life. I think that’s one of the biggest misconceptions, that it’s this different lifestyle. People also ask me a lot like- “what about your friends? Do they accept this?” It’s not even a conversation. I think it’s more of a conversation when you go vegan than when you go ZW.

I think ZW just makes sense. No one ever told me “why are you trying to produce less waste? That’s ridiculous!” No one has said that, ever.

GH: Anything else to add?

FH: Just that it doesn’t work overnight. I experienced this first-hand. It takes a lot of time, and it’s also OK to make mistakes. I still produce waste sometimes, especially living with someone who produces waste on the daily. This makes it way harder- and it’s OK to make mistakes. And they’re not even mistakes- just trying your best is enough, and I think that’s really important to take away.