How to make a difference - a portrait of an activist
It is the first day after Black Week and we are continuing our collaboration with Greenpeace to highlight other ways to engage, make a difference and consume instead of buying new things on sale. Last week Greenpeace Sweden shared with us what you can do to become a fashion activist and the week before that we highlighted the social and environmental problems of the fashion industry. We also shared our best tips to become more circular and sustainable in your fashion consumption with the members and followers of Greenpeace in Sweden. Today we talked to one of their activists Sandra Lamborn, about how she found activism if she believes it helps and how to stay resilient as an individual in a world of so many problems. We hope this interview will inspire you, it certainly inspired us.
Hi Sandra Lamborn, when did you get interested in environmental and climate causes and how did you feel at that time?
My engagement for the environment started as a kid, seeing our local forest being cut down. I remember feeling scared that we would end up with no forest (and animals) altogether, which ignited my engagement for the planet.
When did you start to get involved in an organisation and was activism something that came naturally to you?
I don’t know about “naturally” but I really felt like I had to do something, in combination with the realization that it's really hard to change the world on your own. So I started engaging in politics in my early teens but soon turned to the climate movement.
Since joining Greenpeace what campaigns, activities and demonstrations have you taken part in?
I started out as a Greenpeace volunteer back in 2010, and soon joined their climbing team and became an activist. Since then I have taken part in dozens of campaigns and activities, everything from our Toxics campaign focusing on detoxing the fashion industry, to our Meat and Dairy campaign focusing on reducing meat and dairy consumption and production, to more traditional campaigns on forest, ocean and climate.
Do you feel that your activism helps, that you somehow can see results and progress related to the causes you are passionate about?
Yes, I believe so. So for me, it's about co-creating the change you want to see in the world and about self-wellness. I will come back to the self-wellness part further down. As for changing the status quo part, I can see how I and my fellow activists around the world are pushing the political agenda every day, and that without our efforts the present and the future would look much bleaker. And of course, there are concrete examples of our actions, like when Equinor and Shell withdrew from drilling for oil in the Arctic as a result of hard work from Greenpeace and other organizations and when Sweden received the strongest marine protected areas in Europe as a result of a Greenpeace campaign.
The best thing about being an activist?
The knowledge that you are actually doing something about the injustice and wrongs in the world. And that you are not alone in doing it. You have a global community of wonderful people that believe that together we can make the change we must see in the world happen. That is really empowering.
How do you stay resilient and have the energy to continue? As the social, climate and environmental issues are daunting, how do you cope?
A really good, and important, question. Sustainable activism is one of my passions, as many activists tend to burn out from giving too much of themselves for the cause. It is important to take a break from activism every now and again and to try to distance yourself from all the problems. It might seem selfish, but it's the best thing you can do for the cause. Surround yourself with like-minded people who care as much for the planet and the cause as they do for you and don't forget that activism is supposed to be FUN and empowering. If you feel that your activism is lacking that, try out something else, or talk to your fellow activists about maybe changing the way you do things.
What are your recommendations to anyone who feels like they want to do more but don't know where to start?
Try to identify your passion. Is it sustainable fashion, is it changing the food system, is it protecting the forest or all together something else? Once you know what you want to fight for, find an organization that focuses on this or start your own group on social media. Greenpeace offers a bunch of different opportunities to volunteer and be an activist, more information to be found on the Greenpeace website.
Follow Sandra Lamborn on Instagra, @sandris_lambis, and Twitter, sandra_lamborn