Must-Watch Documentaries That Talk About Sustainability
Monday, July 20, 2020
It's more important than ever to make sustainable changes to our lifestyles. From the places we shop to the food we eat, we can make changes everywhere. I love educating myself, and documentaries are a fun and engaging way to do so. There are so many documentaries that cover topics, including veganism and fast fashion. It's time we make a change, but you need to understand what is going on first. If you want to educate yourself, here are some of my favourite documentaries on sustainability.
Why It's Time To Make A Change
Having watched documentaries and researched sustainability, I have learnt about the problems with the planet. A lot is going on that we don't realise, and the effects of our lifestyles are more detrimental than we thought. Here are some statistics about why we should make a change. Hopefully, these stats and documentaries will encourage you to start making small changes.
- 70% of fresh water is used for agriculture, while 3.6 billion people still live in water-stressed areas.
- Less than a third of all plastic in the UK is recycled, with 12 million tonnes being dumped into the ocean each year.
- Up to 30% of microplastics in the ocean is because of fast fashion and synthetic garments.
- Fast fashion creates nearly 10% of all pollution, and agriculture/farming contributes a further 20%.
- Sea levels are rising around 3mm a year, putting islands at high risk for flooding and even disappearing.
- Nearly 30% of animals are at risk of extinction as global warming continues to threaten their habits.
Fashion’s Dirty Secrets
Recently aired on BBC Three, this documentary focuses on the environmental effect of cheap, fast fashion on modern society. It shows the link between our materialistic fashion habits and the rapidly changing environmental landscape.
Stacey Dooley provides a hard-hitting exposé on this topic, and I’m a big fan of her documentaries. This documentary was really eye-opening and went into where our fast fashion comes from. There were a lot of important facts in this documentary, and hopefully, it'll encourage you to change your fashion habits!
What The Health
I recently watched this documentary as health is something I care a lot about. What the health talks about diet and the sustainability of the lifestyles we are currently leading. It mainly focuses on the American food industry, but the same concepts apply worldwide. The documentary began by looking at animal products and the damage they have on the environment. It also talks about how our bodies react to mean and dairy products.
Towards the end, the documentary spoke about plant-based diets. While I am not ready to lead a fully vegan lifestyle, I realised I need to change the way I eat. If you're concerned about your health, are on lots of medication or are looking to make a change, I'd highly recommend this documentary. It was very interesting to see the internal effects that eating animal products has on our body.
Before the Flood
This is perhaps one of the more famous documentaries about sustainability and the environment. Filmed in 2016 and directed by Fisher Stevens, this documentary-film has notable appearances from celebrities such as Leonardo Di Caprio. As well as discussing sustainable living, this film also covers the wider issue of climate change- and the importance of talking about this topic as our world experiences rapid change.
‘Before the Flood’ is widely available across the world, and can be found on platforms such as YouTube. It is a really interesting documentary and shows the devastating impacts that humans are having on the world. If you're worried about the planet and climate change, this is a documentary you need to watch!
Minimalism
The documentary, minimalism, was released on Netflix in 2016. It discusses simple living. The theory of minimalism focuses on prizing experiences above material possessions. It means living a life that does not revolve around materialistic aims. Minimalism fits with the discussion on sustainability.
One of the keys to sustainable living is reducing waste. This is a great documentary to check out if you’re looking for a few ways to make sustainable choices in your daily life. There is a lot of realisations that you come across, for example, that money and stuff can't bring you happiness.
The Machinists
This documentary follows the lives of three women living in Bangladesh and working for the fashion industry. By concentrating on the lives of these women, it exposes the harsh reality of Western shopping habits on not just the environment, but also the rest of the world. This shows the environmental and human consequences of Western materialism.
The Machinists is a really interesting documentary, as it portrays the human cost of Western greed. Environmental issues can occasionally seem distant to some people. By displaying the human importance of making sustainable choices, it introduces a hard-hitting reality for many viewers.
The Game Changers
Available on Netflix, this documentary argues that veganism is a way in which we can be more sustainable. It also suggests the health benefits of this life choice. Game Changers considers the gritty realities of the meat and animal-product industry. It is important in displaying the truth about what we eat. The documentary includes Arnold Schwarzenegger and how, despite working out for his muscles, was on a vegan diet. This is a great choice if you’re interested in learning more about the effect of our eating habits on the environment. It also shows you the effects of your eating habits on your body.
The True Cost
Released in 2015, this documentary focuses on the fast fashion industry. Much like Stacey Dooley’s documentary on fashion’s “dirty secrets”, this documentary displays the effect of our shopping habits on people across the world. This documentary covers a wide range of heavy themes from materialism and greed to consumerism and global Capitalism.
This documentary was heart-breaking because you realise just how poor the conditions in third world countries are. It opens your eyes to how neglected the workers are, just so we as consumers get cheaper clothing. The world is driven by how much money we can make, but we forget the impacts this has on the people supplying us with goods.
Seaspiracy
One of the newest documentaries on Netflix. Seaspiracy talks about how the fishing industry is actually harmful to the planet. The documentary covers slavery, health, corruption and sustainability. It was an interesting documentary about how fish isn't as healthy for the planet and people as it seems. There is also a lot more to the fishing industry than promoted. I'd highly recommend this documentary if you love the oceans. It has been one of the most eye-opening documentaries that I've watched. Seaspiracy was created by the same man who made Cowspiracy and What the Health. If you enjoyed those documentaries, this is one to go for next.
Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future
This documentary was released in 2018 and discusses the global problems facing people across the world because of climate change. It is really scary to see what we're doing to the planet and how much damage we are doing with our daily activities.
Documentaries need to encourage discussion on these important topics. ‘Living the Change’ goes one step further by encouraging people to live in a sustainable and regenerative way and to make healthy choices for the environment. It is a beautiful documentary that goes into the stories of real people making real change. It shows that maybe there is some hope in this world, and hopefully, it'll inspire you to make a change.
Sustainably Vegan
This one isn’t technically a documentary, but this YouTube channel provides a range of further recommendations of ways to improve sustainability, live simply, and find out more about this important topic.
Her videos are down-to-earth, and this is a great port of call for any information you might need on sustainable living in the modern world. I think it is important to watch these videos, as it gives you a perspective on the reality of living sustainable. It shows you it is possible and gives you guidance where you may be stuck!
Documentaries and films can be great, accessible ways to find out more information on important topics. We must be aware that our actions have consequences. Documentaries can be a great way to solve any ignorance we might have concerning how to make sustainable choices in our day-to-day life. There are so many other documentaries out there, comment below what your favourite ones to watch are!
About the guest writer
Eleanor is a blogger, writer, and avid reader from Sheffield. She’s recently graduated from a degree at the University of York, and she’s since spent time working on her blog. She loves writing lifestyle posts and reviewing books and films that she’s enjoyed
Blog: notsomoderngirl.com
Twitter: @notsomoderngirl
41 comments
Great list of documentaries, I'm definitely adding them to my watch-list. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAnika | chaptersofmay.com
The are wonderful watches, I have even found a few more to add to the list! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
I always love watching doccumentaries; and ones on the environment are so important and interesting go watch! Thanks for sharing such a comprehensive list here; you’ve got my to-watch list filling up!
ReplyDeletePaige // Paige Eades
Documentaries make me so happy, and I am always finding new ones to add! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
I'm pretty sure Before the Flood is offered on one of the streaming services I subscribe to, so I better get on watching that now 😉
ReplyDelete- Laura || https://afinnontheloose.com
That's great, let me know which one! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
Such a great list! I'll definitely be taking a look at some of these!
ReplyDeleteHannah |www.savingmovingmummy.com
Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
I love this! Defo going to check out the ones I haven't already watched! I think ts so great to learn more about these issues!
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
Love anything with Stacey Dooley so I'll be watching that documentary for sure! I recently watched one on secrets of the beauty industry which I really recommend too!
ReplyDeleteTash // A Girl with a View
Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
Great post! Thank you for sharing this! I'm definitely going to check them out as I am trying to be more sustainable. I also watched this series called down to earth which is about sustainability and a healthy lifestyle!
ReplyDeleteI love down to earth, I just finished it actually! I think Zac and Darin did a great job. Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
I definitely don't watch enough documentaries! I will have to check out both Fashion's Dirty Secrets and Minimalism!
ReplyDeleteThese are really great to watch! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
I'm going to have to see if any of these are on Hulu since I don't have Netflix! Pinned for reference.
ReplyDeleteA few are on Youtube to watch! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
Thanks for sharing, I don't have Netflix so I missed these :)
ReplyDeleteNic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes
Oh no! There are lots on YouTube though! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
I’m watching Fashions Dirty Secrets currently it’s an eye opener, I was aware of some issues but others are a surprise tone me. Thank you for some great suggestions I really enjoy documentaries and will watch some of the others you recommend.
ReplyDeleteSarah
It's crazy how much isn't openly broadcasted! It's a really good documentary. Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
These sound like great suggestions! I'm a fan of documentaries that tackle and promote environment/sustainability. Thanks for this :)
ReplyDeleteI love them too! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
You have a nice variety of options here with succinct descriptions.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
Great suggestions! I thought The Game Changers was amazing and it really helped solidify my choice to go vegan. That Minimalism one sounds really good as well!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many amazing ones out there! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
I've been looking for some new documentaries so I'm definitely going to check out the ones mentioned in this post. We all need to educate ourselves to make better choices so that we can stop a lot of the damage we are causing to our planet and people in general.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of amazing ones out there for sure! This is just a short list and I am sure more will be released soon with the dramatic changes going on! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
Definitely need to check some of these out. Thanks for this, super helpful!
ReplyDeleteVicky // https://kabukirune.com
Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
Oooh I'm going to check these out asap. I'm really working on being more sustainable!
ReplyDeleteLove, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
That's amazing - good luck! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
I’m a little proud of myself that I have seen a few of these! I’ll definitely have to check out the rest! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThat's really good! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
I haven't watched any of these documentaries before but they all sound very interesting. I should definitely check them out sometime. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete-Charity https://morningsonmacedonia.com
They are really good to watch! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
I've been watching so many documentaries over the past few months in lockdown. There's quite a few here I haven't seen, so I'll make sure to add them to my watchlist!
ReplyDeleteEmily from https://emilyunderworld.co.uk x
These are all amazing. There are lots more I want to add too! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
DeleteEm x
I enjoy watching documentary about climate change and the fast fashion. There is a long step to take in order to consume less cheap clothes and demand to be more transperant for those who makes our clothes.
ReplyDeleteHad you watch the docu-series about Down to earth with Zac Efron?
Michelle| brokebutflawless.com