I really enjoyed the article “Is Poverty Responsible for Global Environmental Degradation?”. It covered a lot of thought-provoking ideas regarding how poverty can cause several environmental problems. It goes on to talk about how poverty is a structural phenomenon and the different ways it is responsible. I found the article’s perspective on this topic very interesting and I am always intrigued to read and learn more about these topics. Another topic that was interesting to hear about was Leyla’s ted talk. When thinking about sustainability in general, I usually think of the very obvious issues like plastic bags and common ideas like this. Leyla discussing the concepts of food waster or her primary example of wasting energy with over-filled tea points was very eye-opening to me. It is sad because it seems so simple but just reducing our energy use or being smart with how much food we buy can have extremely severe impacts on our environment. It’s crazy to think how much energy could be saved and the amount of waste that could be produced if every individual changed these simple habits. These concepts I have learned about have influenced my response to a post-disposable future. A few products that I have seen recently on the internet that believe in this concept are reusable coffee filters, reusable produce bags, toothpaste tabs in a reusable container, collapsible straws, and more. I would like to start incorporating items like these into my daily life in order to reduce my individual carbon footprint and hopefully, others can do the same. One idea that I would like to look into is a zero-waste air freshener or something of the caliber. As a merchandising major it is interesting to look at the Rila sustainability report. The conclusion of the report mentioned how leading companies not only were focused on sustainability within their company but also engaged customers with these ideas as well. It also explains as companies continue to increase focus on sustainability and report their successes, this will encourage other companies to do the same. This article was intriguing and helped me reflect back on my experience working retail. I thought back and thought about how we were not educated on it as employees. The only noticeable sustainability that was promoted at the retail company I worked for was a run of jeans we had that was made of recycled materials. Thinking back, I think the company I worked for should prob work on more ways that even individual stores can do more to help the environment. Moving forward in the fashion industry I want to make sure I promote more sustainable fashion options. One thing that I have seen becoming more popular within my generation is eco-design within fashion. For instance, one small business I saw uses thrifted clothing items and screen prints trendy designs to add more life to the refurbished items. They also use eco-friendly packing and sell their extras and mess-ups for a reduced price to further reduce waster. I hope that in the future big corporations can work towards more sustainable eco designs within fashion.