Q’s with Kate: Getting our ethical on
Kate Hall in an online eco-friendly lifestyle adviser who is passionate about helping people live a more ethical, planet-friendly day-to-day life.
Since Kate and I couldn’t do this interview in person, we both had to visualize sitting on some grass, enjoying the calming effects of a chill conversation while being surrounded by nature and sipping on some tea.
I really wanted to get to the beginning of Kate’s journey; I wanted to find out what made her say ‘fuck this’ to plastic and the other human-made products that damage the earth. When I asked what flipped the switch, Kate said, “I watched the documentary The True Cost in August 2015. After asking who made my clothes, I couldn’t help but then ask ‘who makes my food?‘ ‘Where does my waste go?’ It all snowballed from there.”
Turns out documentaries aren’t just informative, they make you question your life and all the wrongful purchases you’ve made… yay.
I then asked Kate why she felt compelled to share her thoughts and discoveries with the world by setting up Ethically Kate; she simply replied, “I have never been a social media person, I laughed at influencers, and still do!” Kate explained that she was about “doing rather than sharing,” but once she did start sharing she realised that a lot of people were really interested in what she had to say.
For Kate, it’s definitely not the fame that drives her, it’s the environment and what bringing people together can do to help it. Kate said, “I’m constantly inspired by how freaking beautiful the world is. I want to keep hold of the platform I have grown to keep on protecting this beautiful planet.”
As someone who hides behind my writing, I couldn’t help but ask how Kate felt having thousands of people looking to her for advice. Kate said, “Often [I feel] intimidated, sometimes confused. I laugh about it a lot because I consider myself a mere human being and sometimes wonder why people are listening.”
But even through all the scariness and intimidation, what Kate does is really motivating and informative to her audience. One of the things I really admire about Kate is she knows that with great influence comes great responsibility (couldn’t help busting out the Spiderman line… no shame).
Kate said, “I realise what I say and do, people now follow. That’s really scary: I know we’re not perfect, but it still means I have to be more careful about what I say and do.”
Though striving to be waste-free is important, it is worth noting that it doesn’t mean ridding yourself of previously purchased belongings that are damaging to the environment.
“I still totally have waste in my life. Unless I threw away my belongings (which is unsustainable), and went and lived out in the wop-wops, I will always have waste around” said Kate.
When embarking on a more sustainable lifestyle journey, don’t go nuts trying to start all over again. Even if you take on the ‘No, get that plastic poison shit away from me!’ attitude (Which I’m totally guilty of), it doesn’t mean you should throw away all your plastic containers- it just means, in Kate’s experience “being conscious of everything I buy, everything I do, and how it impacts people, planet, and me.”
And when starting off, Kate says it’s best to “Stick to one change at a time, don’t take on several. Baby steps are sustainable.”
When I asked Kate, “So I noticed you’re not vegan…any comments on that?” she said, “I’d rather not talk about this topic”, clearly knowing it was dangerous territory.
So rather than talking about it, Kate left me with a question that I too implore you to think about: “if I encouraged 1000 people to stop eating meat one day a week, would that be better than if I went 100% vegan?”
I then asked Kate what her favorite David Attenborough series is and why (a question we all think about).
Kate said, “I love Our Planet because it’s so fresh and relevant. The videography is incredible. It’s really relatable to the now. They focus on the positive as well as the negative, too.”
I for one was stoked since Our Planet is also my favorite and for all the reasons Kate mentioned, along with the fact that there’s a polar bear in it and of course that velvet Attenborough voice.
I was also comforted to find that I’m not the only one with shameful ‘waste-free girl’ moments.
When Kate spilt the beans and told me about the time she “had a business meeting on Friday and ordered a smoothie with no plastic straw”, they still gave it to her “in a takeaway cup, even though they weren’t busy.” And even though she clearly explained plastic was a no go.
Some people really don’t understand the concept of listening… I feel ya’ Kate- the struggle is beyond real.
I finally asked Kate the most important question (sorry David Attenborough), about why she believes humans should do all they can to save the planet.
Kate said, “we are the dominant species, and we are doing most of the fucking up. We are conscious and moral beings. We’ve taken advantage of other species and wildlife, and that shouldn’t be okay.”
“Also it’s not a matter of stepping in to ‘save the day’, it’s more like a ‘cleaning up our mess because we just have to’.”
My conversation with Kate is one I don’t think I’ll ever forget. It was so enlightening and also comforting to have a chat with someone who has the same environmental values as myself.
Kate not only makes you think about current society and the ethical options out there, she inspires people to do better, stop and smell the flowers, and have a couple good yarns along the way.
Check her out on:
- Instagram: @ethicallykate
- Facebook: Ethically Kate
- Or her website: www.ethicallykate.com