Despite the difficulties of student budgeting, we can make eco-conscious decisions and manage the emotional cost of "eco-guilt" even when green living feels out of reach
Many students today feel a strong desire to live sustainably, motivated by environmental awareness and a sense of responsibility toward the planet.
However, the rising cost of living presents significant challenges. Organic food, eco-friendly products and slow fashion often come with higher price tags, which makes green living seem unattainable for students juggling rent, groceries and tuition.
This creates a growing tension between values and finances, leading students to question how much they can afford to care and whether their individual actions will truly make a difference.
The reality is that many sustainable products are priced beyond the reach of the average student. For example, organic produce can cost up to 60% more than non-organic options. Organic farming is more sustainable than non-organic because it reduces chemical inputs, promotes biodiversity and enhances soil health through natural practices like crop rotation and composting.
Similarly, bamboo toothbrushes and other eco-friendly alternatives are more expensive than conventional plastic ones. Even thrift stores, once considered an affordable staple for students, are experiencing rising prices due to increased demand for second-hand fashion. This trend places additional financial pressure on students, making it difficult to prioritize sustainability when basic needs are already a challenge.
Fortunately, living green doesn’t always have to come with a steep price tag. There are several budget-friendly strategies that students can adopt. One effective approach is meal prepping, which not only saves time but also reduces food waste.
Public transit offers both a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to driving. Additionally, participating in clothing swaps or thrifting through student-led events provides access to sustainable fashion without breaking the bank. These small changes can make a meaningful environmental impact while keeping expenses low.
On campus, McMaster students have access to several sustainability initiatives that align with eco-conscious living. The OPIRG community garden provides an opportunity to learn about organic gardening and supports local food security. The university’s Zero Waste Club promotes waste reduction through accessible recycling and compost stations across campus.
Despite these opportunities, many students still experience eco-guilt—a feeling of anxiety or frustration stemming from the belief that they aren’t doing enough for the planet. Social media platforms often exacerbate this guilt by portraying an idealized version of sustainable living that feels impossible to achieve.
Young people, in particular, report feeling overwhelmed by the expectation to be environmentalists while also managing academic pressures and financial stress. The weight of these expectations can make it hard to see the value in small, everyday actions.
Simple actions like switching to reusable water bottles or reducing single-use plastics matter, even if they seem small. Additionally, advocating for systemic changes, such as supporting divestment campaigns, can amplify students' impact beyond individual choices. McMaster's institutional efforts to implement greener policies are often more effective in addressing climate change than any single person’s actions, making advocacy a powerful way for students to contribute.
Sustainability is a journey, not a destination. Despite the prevalence of climate change, students shouldn’t feel burdened by the idea that every action must be flawless or that every product they buy must meet the highest eco-standards. Instead, the focus should be on making intentional, thoughtful decisions that align with both their budget and their values.
Composting, reducing food waste, or choosing public transit are all practical ways to contribute to environmental efforts without adding financial strain. It’s also important to recognize that sustainable living is not an individual burden—it’s a collective effort. In this vein, we shouldn’t feel that an occasional unsustainable action invalidates our overall efforts.
While we may sometimes make non-eco-friendly choices—such as forgetting to bring a reusable bag to the grocery story—this doesn’t erase the impact of our eco-friendly efforts, like bringing reusable water bottles to campus or reducing single-use plastics. Small choices, even when inconsistent, build on each other to create a more sustainable lifestyle over time.
For instance, choosing to take a longer shower one day for self-care doesn’t erase the positive impact of habitually reducing water consumption by turning off the tap while brushing teeth or doing laundry with cold water to save energy.
Students can take comfort in knowing that progress, not perfection, drives meaningful change. By balancing eco-conscious habits with financial realities, we can live sustainably without sacrificing our well-beings. When we embrace progress over guilt, we not only contribute to a healthier planet but also cultivate a more compassionate approach to sustainability—one that celebrates small victories and encourages collective action.
C/O @ourovintage
The owner of Ouro Vintage shares her love for all things vintage
Once you fall in love with vintage, it is difficult to escape it. Each item carries a unique history and these stories, combined with a sense of nostalgia associated with the items, invoke feelings of comfort. Discovering unique pieces hidden in warehouses and thrift stores also holds an element of adventure.
Growing up with parents who were antique dealers, Eady’s passion for vintage developed naturally. She loved learning about the stories behind vintage pieces and different eras of clothes. In 2017, she turned her interest in hunting for rare, quality vintage items into Ouro Vintage where she currently sells second-hand clothes, accessories, shoes and home items.
Ouro Vintage originally launched online under the name Daughter Daughter, but after changing its name to Ouro to be more gender inclusive in its name, Eady opened its brick-and-mortar location in Barton Village in July this year.
Through Ouro Vintage, Eady hopes to share her love for vintage and provide people with more options for eco-friendly, second-hand shopping. In an era of fast fashion, second-hand shops like Ouro Vintage encourage upcycling and reusing clothes to reduce waste, preserve water and lower your carbon footprint. In line with the theme of sustainability, the pieces offered at Ouro Vintage are timeless, minimalistic and chic to ensure they last a long time. Eady also mends damaged pieces for the store herself and tries to avoid microtrends.
“I just hope people shop vintage or thrift or anything second-hand and hopefully, we won’t contribute to the problem with fast fashion,” said Eady.
Although born and raised in Burlington, Eady opened her business in Hamilton as she was drawn to the city’s arts scene. She recalls going to concerts at the Underground when she was younger with her current spouse and wanting to be part of the creative community here. Hence, as soon as she could move out at the age of 17, she relocated to Hamilton. She has found her community here and it has become her new home.
“The communities and scenes in Hamilton are really rich with creativity — everyone you meet is into something creative. There’s so much talent in Hamilton. I love Hamilton,” said Eady.
Eady was concerned about opening the brick-and-mortar location during the pandemic. She worried the reception would be low, but to her surprise, it was met with lots of positive support.
“I thought it was actually probably a really bad time to open a store. It wasn’t my original plan, but I ended up getting a lot of responses and the community has been really great. All my neighbours have come and introduced themselves and they’re all so nice and supportive. I’m really happy with it. It’s always been a dream,” Eady said.
Before opening the physical location, Eady also struggled with maintaining her work-life balance. Like most of us working from home during the pandemic, it was difficult for her to set work hours and boundaries. She would answer messages and work on social media posts in the middle of the night instead of enjoying her time with her children and relaxing. Having a separate space for the business has helped her to be more organized and take her mind off work when at home.
Outside of operating the second-hand shop, Eady is an artist. She graduated from Ontario College of Art & Design in art, with a degree in sculpture and installation.
In 2009, she and her husband Sean Gadoury founded a collage collective, Group of 7 Billion. The duo started the collective by selling their collages made using hand-cut pictures from vintage books at the monthly Art Crawl on James Street North.
Since then, Eady and Gadoury have regularly attended art shows and events including Supercrawl. Their art pieces are available on their Etsy shop, website and Ouro Vintage.
For Eady, Ouro Vintage represents her childhood memories, her parents and her love for objects with a history. She has plans to sell other artisan goods and wholesale gifts at the shop in the near future, but she says she would like to keep the business as small as possible for as long as possible.
Ouro Vintage is a place of classic and wonderful second-hand pieces. Discover a new way to live more sustainably and fulfill your antique dreams by shopping second-hand.
When many professional athletes finish their careers, they struggle with how to use their skills and knowledge to make a living. For former National Hockey League forward T.J. Galiardi, his path after hockey involved co-founding and becoming the chief marketing officer of TDF Sports, a sports nutrition company that McMaster has recently partnered up with. The partnership will provide McMaster athletes with TDF Sports’ supplements. TDF Sports specializes in plant-based and vegan supplements, such as protein powder, creatine and multivitamins.
Galiardi played for the Colorado Avalanche, the Winnipeg Jets, the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks. When asked whether he had relied on plant-based supplements, Galiardi mentioned that he had started using them late in his career, due to the fact that plant-based supplements were not widely available available or were unappetizing.
“Later in my career, I did my best to stomach most of the plant-based proteins on the market but that was not easy as most made me want to gag! It took us almost 2 years to formulate a plant-based protein that we were happy with the flavour and texture — Plant-Strong Protein is a product we are very proud of,” Galiardi added, in reference to one of TDF Sports’ protein powders.
The benefits of plant-based diets are well-documented. They have been shown to help with weight loss, potentially prevent and help manage diabetes and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. However, not all individuals will experience the same effects on their health, which is why it is important to take all study conclusions with a grain of salt.
A common argument against relying on plant-based supplements or diets (for example, the vegan diet) is that they lack necessary nutrients compared to animal-based supplements or diets. These micronutrients include, but are not limited to, calcium, vitamin B12, iron and omega-3 fatty acids. For example, a lower proportion of the iron in kidney beans, spinach, cashews and other plant-based foods will enter our circulation compared to the iron in meat. However, the American Diabetic Association reported that a plant-based diet can meet iron requirements.
On the other hand, vitamin B12, a key nutrient for our blood and cells, is difficult to obtain without consuming animal-based products. Therefore, additional supplementation would likely be necessary when on a vegan diet. Mistakenly, many people believe that protein, a key macronutrient, is also lacking in plant-based supplements diets. Galiardi had strong words towards those that believe this.
“Get on Google and look at all of the most up to date studies that prove this wrong,” Galiardi said.
Brown rice and beans, whole wheat bread, quinoa and other plant-based foods can provide adequate protein for an individual if properly incorporated into one’s diet.
A key unique element that Galiardi believes sets TDF Sports apart from other supplement companies is that they try to take an eco-friendly approach through a sustainable production system.
“It is our goal to reduce food waste in North America, and to achieve this we divert near end-of-life produce that would have normally been wasted and divert it to our facility to be converted into nutrient dense powders which we use in our supplements,” Galiardi added.
Galiardi is trying to lead by example by creating sustainable products. He hopes that this will encourage others to lead a more eco-friendly life.
Plant-based diets have been growing in popularity among athletes and the general public alike. In support of this, and as a result of the growing popularity, there is more research being done on how plant-based diets can sufficiently provide the nutrients that athletes need to perform at a high level. Whether this trend will continue remains to be seen, although Galiardi believes that it will.
“I believe that this trend will continue to grow as more athletes make the switch to plant-based diets . . . ” Galiardi added, “Earlier this month a movie was released called The Game Changers featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and other elite plant-based athletes that highlights the benefits of plant-based diets for athletes. It is movies and icons like these who will help to push the movement even further, and I expect to see even more high-level athletes make the switch.”
Galiardi extends the philosophy behind TDF Sports to his personal life. Having been vegan for five years, Galiardi sees it as a lifestyle change that has many benefits and is not too difficult for most people to pick up.
“I’ve been vegan for over five years now and the fact of the matter is, it’s not that hard if you put a little bit of thought and effort into your meals. There are restaurants all over the world with plant-based options and the category as a whole has grown significantly in the last three years and continues to do so at a rapid pace,” Galiardi said.
An area where TDF’s plant-based supplements shine is in filling the nutritional gaps for athletes and individuals. It can be difficult to keep a balanced diet with all the stressors of life, especially as a student-athlete.
“Many plant-based supplements contain a wide variety of healthy greens, fruits and/or other vegetables which provide an abundance of nutrients that many athletes lack in their diets. Although whole foods are where we should be getting the majority of our nutrients from, plant-based supplements will provide additional nutrients that an athlete may not be consuming enough of,” Galiardi mentioned.
Many former professional athletes can lose their footing after they retire. This could be due to a lack of direction or a resistance to adopting a certain lifestyle, but these obstacles did not stop Galiardi. The transition to business was rather smooth for him because he was excited to embark on a new path.
“By the time I retired, I was definitely ready to test my skills at something new so the transition was not that difficult. That being said, I was lucky enough to partner with Dr. Burke who has helped my transition from sport to business immensely,” Galiardi added.
Dr. Burke is the co-founder and chief executive officer of TDF Sports.
“Dr. Burke and I were blessed to have great first careers, his with a successful business and mine with hockey. We wanted to create a business that made a difference for the customers and the planet,” Galiardi said.
A partnership with TDF Sports could be beneficial for McMaster as well as our athletes. Last week, we took a look at supplements and how effective they are. It is important to make sure we remain educated on supplements and the effects they have on us and our bodies.
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