SUSTAIN-Ability CAMPAIGN
The current use of the concept "sustainable living" has become a fashionable, commercialized phrase which is slowly losing meaningful impact. At Wild Oats, we hope to enliven a more personalized and meaningful concept of sustainability by emphasizing the latter end of the word "Ability". How does one develop the personal abilities that sensitively sustain oneself, one's family, one's home, one's business, one's community values and one's environment all at once?
At Wild Oats, we believe that the starting point is the individual. A healthy body upholds a healthy mind... and vice-versa. We believe that to encourage responsible choices, what is on offer to consumers remains the single most important variable. Wild Oats endeavours to offer the highest quality choices of food available on the Garden Route, as we believe that you are what you eat! We encourage all stallholders to uphold the highest standards in their respective businesses and to be mindful of their responsibilities to our local community and to the Wild Oats promise.
Within the Wild Oats context, we highlight many varied dimentions that help to enliven personal, sustain-able habit-patterns. We encourage reducing, reusing and recycling within the market courtyard: many of our vendors use reuseable containers; we have consciously reduced packaging; and we recycle empty bottles and tins that are generated during the market. Our rubbish-bins are creatively signposted and carefully monitored: we encourage correct sorting of waste into appropriate bins and we continuously clean up carelessly discarded rubbish within our sensitive nature-conservancy setting. Wild Oats also actively promotes environmental awareness. As an environmentally aware member of the local Sedgefield Island Conservancy, we encourage good gardening practices by selling water-wise indigenous plants and have an educational display of earthworm farming. We also actively promote the use of energy-saving devices by having a weekly display and information on the subject of solar and wind generated energy.
Our advertising heightens awareness of the need to buy local as an effort to reduce carbon emmisions. Our Going Local Advertising Campaign promotes a direct, shared and decentralised relationship betweeen local food producers and our local community. BUYING LOCAL FIRST strengthens all local businesses, promoting a stronger, more localised economy in an energy-constrained future. EATING LOCAL brings a new awareness, energy and vitality to our local food system, promoting closer connections between ourselves and our local and seasonal foods. GROWING LOCAL helps develop local food security through flourishing veggie gardens, productive smallholdings and community farms. It also expands our knowledge about good, local agricultural practice.