Nathalie, we are so stoked to learn from you and what drives you. Can you share with our audience a little about yourself?
Hello everyone, My name is Nathalie Hunt, I am 21 years old and am from Torquay Victoria. I have lived in Torquay for my whole life and this year I have moved to Ballarat into a cottage with my partner. I moved to Ballarat for my second year of university as I’m studying a bachelor of outdoor and environmental education. This year has been incredible having already undertaken a 5-day canoeing journey on the Glenelg River, a 6-day sea kayaking journey at the nooramunga marine national park, a 3-day hike at the mount Cole national park, a 5-day trip to the cathedral ranges for hiking, rock climbing and mountain bike riding and a 5-day hiking trip in the Grampians.
I am very passionate about the environment, sustainability, travel, music, photography, fashion, keeping active, being mindful and living a conscious life. I hope to be a positive influence to all those around me, spreading love, kindness and support.
Let’s get stuck into your very progressive, informed, and passionate commitment to Sustainable living? Have you always been this aware and conscious of looking after our earth?
I have not always been this aware and conscious about sustainable living. I would say that in the recent few years it has been something I have begun to understand and delve into more deeply. I remember when I had a pivotal moment during my overseas travel in Europe, where I realised, I could make my own choices and do what aligned with me then. I decided to go vegetarian around 2 years ago, when I realised that I had a choice with what I eat. I was so used to just eating what was put on the dinner table each night, without much thought into what I was eating.
My awareness about living a more sustainable life stemmed from growing up in a family who spent so much time in the outdoors and nature. I am so grateful to have grown up in a family who grew their own food, recycled properly, and has engrained all of these things within in me that I don’t even need to think twice about. I realise now that this is such a privilege.
Alongside an environmentally aware family who discus environmental topics and renewables, I was lucky enough to do marine studies and outdoor environmental education at school which brought a lot to my awareness on climate change and our impact on the environment.
As my passion has grown over the years, I have begun involving my values into my day-to-day life, learning more every day, researching, asking questions, and doing my bit to do more each day. I also love educating others and having open discussions about our day-to-day choices.
What, as a collective community do, we need to know and do more of?
-reduce our waste
-reduce our consumption, stop always thinking we need more and consuming more
-buy second hand
-recycle properly
-have reusable items: keep cups, containers, metal straws, produce bags
-reuse items
-value what we have, before we think we need more
-really think about what we are consuming/ supporting
-be accepting and respectful of all people
-think of others than just ourselves, be selfless
Tell us about your incredible side hustle’ the Conscious Collective?
The Conscious Collective is my online second-hand clothing store on the depop app. Over the last 3 years I have been selling second hand, preloved and vintage clothing. I absolutely love doing this as my side hustle alongside uni as it allows me to contribute to sustainable fashion, keeping clothing circular rather than buying new or from fast fashion industries. This year I have put lots of time and effort into growing my small business. I believe the more you put into anything the more you are going to get back. I have been doing online programs with depop to guide me, give me tips, connect with other sellers, and boost my sales. We have so many clothes on this earth that have so much life left in them. I remember during high school when people used to say that you couldn’t wear a dress again once you’ve worn it to one event, which to me just makes no sense and is such an unhealthy view. Its viewing a piece of clothing as something that is only valuable for one occasion and treating it as disposable. What we need more of, is clothing of quality, that we appreciate, value, re-wear, re-style, and love. We are in a society that keeps consuming, demanding more, without understanding where its coming from, who’s paying for it, what wages go into making that and what things are exploited to have things that aren’t truly necessary.
The rate of consumption just keeps getting faster and faster, but there is a cost of this. Since 2000, the global production of clothing has doubled, we are buying 60% more clothes than we did 15 years ago and only keeping them for half as long. Fast fashion is in fact the second most polluting industry in the world. I think in general we need to think more carefully about what we are consuming.
Where is this awesome initiative going? What are your plans moving forward?
The Conscious Collective is continuing to grow each day, gaining more followers, and making more sales. To this date I have sold over 300 items, had 200 5-star reviews, and currently have a following of 3700 people. I’m currently a part of a depop program I applied for, called the ‘Level Up’ program, which is designed to take dedicated sellers to the next level. We have had zoom calls with depop top sellers, have access to an online community for support, have access to workshops on photography, brand identity etc. They have also provided us with listing goals to increase our sales. It has been super helpful so far, to inspire me, motivate me and keep on track. My plans moving forward are to stay consistent, create curated drops, find more unique items, and get a backdrop and lighting to take better quality photos. I’m so excited to continue growing my business, do some branding and create some business cards. I’m hoping to do a clothing sale soon too. I can’t wait for what’s to come.
Let’s talk about life for you as a Gen Z. What are some of the obstacles you feel teenagers/youth face now in regards to expressing themselves honestly and authentically?
I think the biggest obstacle for youth these days is social media and phones. It’s so easy for people to say things online that they wouldn’t say to someone’s face, as their able to hide behind a screen. I remember as a teenager I used to worry so much about what I posted and cared so much for how many comments and likes I got and used it for validation. Phones can be such a highlight reel of everyone’s most perfect moments and photos. Which can be quite a negative thing as people compare themselves to other people’s lives which aren’t always realistic. Regarding youth expressing themselves honestly and authentically, people may filter what they are truly like online.
But in general, I feel as though our generation is getting so much more confident to be unapologetically themselves.
Finally, Nat, before we leave you, tell us, if your voice could be heard on EVERY platform, what would it say?
I would voice the need for more focus on sustainability and care for our earth. The rate at which our climate is changing is scary and that our own country continues to fund and support the creation of new coal power plants instead of making the move towards renewable energy sources. Australia currently runs 87% off brown coal powered plants which are the highest producers of CO2 emissions contributing to global warming. Australia ranks last for climate action among UN member countries. If each one of us made small but effective changes in our day-to-day life we could make a huge difference all together. If this is taking one day a week with no meat, if this is consuming less plastic, if this means carpooling or taking public transport rather than driving on your own. Be better, be more conscious, be more considerate, be more caring and be more intuitive.
Follow Nathalie and The Conscious Collective on @nathalie_hunt and @the.conscious.collective_ on Instagram, and see her Depop page on: theconsciouscollective
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