May 2021 – Kapil's Take

A couple of years ago I was introduced to the idea of “Buy it For Life”, which means what it says. The idea is when you purchase something, one of the requirements that you must consider is longevity of the product that you are buying. You must buy something which will last you a very long time.

Why?

Saves Money

There a couple of reasons for this. Buying something that will last a very long time will in most cases saves you money, although, that sometimes means spending more now so that you can save in the long run.

Reduces Waste

When you purchase something that lasts a very long time, you end up purchasing less of that type of product ultimately reducing waste which generally is better for the environment.

Simpler

Another consequence of “Buy it for Life” philosophy is minimalism. Now minimalism is a whole philosophy of its own. But the the idea is that if you buy something that is going to last a very long time, you will probably own just one or hopefully at least fewer of that type of product.

The Criteria

Quality over Style

This mostly pertains to clothing and footwear. One of the downsides to living in Canada is having multiple types of clothing and footwear. There are 4 seasons that require about 3 to 4 types of clothing. You can get away with using the same jackets and shoes for spring and autumn. But you definitely need a dedicate winter jacket and some summer clothes.

For example, I use a high quality plain black parka jacket which works in work or business and casual settings. It is not fancy looking at all. It is just plain black with a black zipper and a black hood. It was the most expensive jacket that I had ever bought, but it has been 6 years and it is still going strong. I did start having issues last winter – the hood now keeps coming off. The buttons have gotten loose. However, the jacket has a life time warranty, so all I have to do is send it to the manufacture and they will repair at no cost.

Which brings me to my next criteria.

Right to Repair

This is a bit of a misnomer. Of course, you have a right to repair anything that you like; the key idea is that it should be easy to repair. As I have mentioned, my jacket has a life time warranty and the manufacturer will repair it free of charge – this is the kind of product you should consider buying.

When you buy something, you must take into account the time, effort and money it will take to repair the product in case it breaks or gets damaged.

When it comes to violating right to repair, the biggest culprits are electronics manufacturers, and especially laptop and cell phone manufacturers. I loved buying cell phones that had removable batteries. It increased the lifetime of the cell phone. I also miss the days when laptops were upgradable with faster RAM, or faster or bigger storage. It meant that consumers could increase the lifetime of the product. Nowadays companies are notorious at going out of their way to ensure that their products are not upgradable.

Multipurpose over Single Purpose

Buying products that can be used for multiple purposes or in multiple settings means you can get away with buying fewer items in general. I will give you the example of my black parka jacket. It can used in multiple settings, both casual and business.

The same goes for footwear. When purchasing shoes, instead of purchasing something that looks ‘cool’, but only works in certain situations, why not go for something that is of a higher quality, may look plain, but can be used in multiple situations.

For the Canadian climate, I prefer waterproof hiking shoes because I can use them in the winter when paired with warm winter socks that keep me dry when I step on snow, and keeps me dry in the fall or spring when it rains. I can wear them in the summer by pairing up with regular socks, when I am out and about, plus I can even go hiking with them – you know because they’re hiking shoes.

When it comes to sports shoes, I prefer cross trainers as they are built for a variety of workouts. Lets face it most of us, including myself are not high performance athletes and we do not need dedicate shoes for different types of shoes.

A common concern that people might have is – will owning generic multipurpose items not make me boring? Sure, if you have boring personality!… BURN.

But seriously, let your personality, your passions, your interests do the ‘talking’ for you. You are not the brand or style that you own.

About a year ago, I decided to adopt a vegan lifestyle. I call it a vegan lifestyle, because I feel that there is some negativity associated with the word “vegan” or rather the phrase, “I am a vegan”.

It’s Lifestyle

Also, “I AM…” signifies a core identity, and that somehow that is the lens through which I see everything. I have come across the idea that being vegan is associated with someone who is uptight, inflexible, and unreasonable, and somehow every aspect of the person’s life and every decision is based on the idea of being vegan.

I am not like that and I do not want to be associated with such an attitude. I stopped consuming meat and eggs and anything that comes from an animal. I also stopped wearing leather belts and bought a single ‘vegan’ belt made of nylon. The fact that I have never really used it is a different matter; we have been living in very strange times. It has been a year since we have been locked in our homes in one way or another so I have not really had the chance to utilize this ‘vegan belt’.

Now, going back to why I say I have adopted a vegan life style rather than saying “I am a vegan” is again because of negative connotations associated with that phrase. It somehow gives the impression that I am right, and everyone who does not follow my way of living is WRONG. Sadly, I know vegans who do in fact behave in such a way. This really does not help the ‘vegan cause’ or the ‘vegan movement’, or whatever you want to call it.

I like a more flexible approach. To me living a vegan lifestyle is just that, a lifestyle. That is the way I choose to live my life and I do not want to be judged for living this way, neither do I want to judge others for not living this way. I do hope that more and more people join me, and ideally, I would rather have it that everyone adopted the vegan lifestyle. However, I know that it might not be a right for everyone, or rather not right just yet.

Think about the Environment

I decided to adopted a vegan lifestyle for moral and philosophical reasons. In simple terms, violence against animals was a big factor in my decision. However, there are other reasons to adopt a vegan lifestyle. There is a phrase that a lot of vegans(that I know of) say:

You cannot be an environmentalist and not be a vegan

I happen to agree with this idea. Animal agriculture is one of the leading factors in greenhouse gas emissions, which as you may know already, is one of the greatest threats to our environment.

Also, when people talk about the environment, it almost has a dissociated characteristic, as if it is something that is external and separate to an individual person. What affects the environment, affects us all. So if you care about the environment, if you are someone who believes in recycling, using electric cars, or at least fuel efficient cars, then you may want to consider adopting a vegan lifestyle.

Vegans – take the win!

And I am of the belief that every bit helps. You can be a weekend vegan, or have vegan Wednesdays, especially if you are someone who eats meat or eggs or milk 7 days a week. You can start by taking a couple of days off.

I know a lot of vegans, including some of my friends who would be appalled that I even suggested this. To them I would say, take the win, every small win counts.

Take this analogy. More people are buying electric cars, hybrid cars and fuel efficient cars. Not everyone is going to suddenly be driving electric cars over night. Likewise, not everyone is going to be turning vegan overnight. But a reduction in the consumption of meat, fish and dairy is a good start – take the win.

Drinking Milk is Weird

Not only is a vegan lifestyle good for the environment, it is also good for the body and the mind. A few thing that come to mind are fat, cholesterol, hormones, antibiotics.

Did you know that no other animal drinks milk that comes from a different species? Also, did you know that no other species drinks milk in adulthood? Humans are the only ones that do this very odd thing.

Choice

Anyway, I am not here to convince you to change your habits. All I am saying is this is the way I am choosing to live my life… and is that not a very important distinction. Choosing to live this way?

Whatever habit, whatever programing that you may have whether it is cultural, or family, or any other, you do have the mental faculty of choice. You can choose to behave a certain way. You can choose to not eat meat, or drink milk, or eat eggs. You do not have to make it permanent. You could occasionally choose not to do those things.