My dearest, darling Chile,
I’d never seen anywhere so beautiful before I met you. I’d never seen lakes so blue, or mountain peaks so craggy. On the shores of a faraway ocean, we’ve built the loveliest life. I’m so grateful for all you’ve given me, and for the adventures we’ve shared.
Recently, my friend and I hiked up a mountain in the south. No one was around, and we felt so alone, in the most freeing way – at one with towering rock above us, and the clear water below. Almost as if we were the first human eyes to have ever seen this view.
Except we weren’t the first. Other eyes had seen this too. Eyes that seemed to think that what this view was really missing, was an old, tattered tent lying on the floor; bottles and food packaging lodged between the bushes and the cherry on top: a ripped, navy blue pair of underpants. It seemed there was no regard for life on land, or for sustainable consumption patterns.
In the north you have the Atacama Desert, famous for its mars-like rocky landscapes. It’s home to vicuña, flamingos, and the world’s fastest growing fast fashion dump. Heaps of unwanted clothes, sometimes with the price label still attached, are discarded simply because they were just a short-lived trend.
My dearest, darling Chile, thank you for opening my eyes and my heart.
I’m sorry that our plastic is so deeply embedded within your soils and I’m sorry that we’re so detached from the repercussions of our actions. But sorry isn’t enough. We need to take responsibility, we need to educate, and we need to remember that every choice has a consequence.
I hope you know I do try my best to protect you; my choices are guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. When hiking, I always leave no trace, stick to paths, and follow guidance, to help protect your life on land. When travelling around, I opt for buses instead of planes. I purchase my fruit and veg from local markets, to reduce its environmental impact. I buy second-hand clothes, to ensure ‘sustainable consumption and production patterns’.
Like all good things, our time together is coming to an end, but that is not to say that you will not weave a tale, just as sweet, with travellers to come. For them, my words are these:
• Please help protect this gorgeous place, and all those that inhabit its lands and waters, by following CONAF’s advice https://www.conaf.cl/
• Chose overnight buses for longer distance travel, via https://www.recorrido.cl/es
• Consider the impact of your fashion, buy from second hand shops, or via apps, like Vinted.
• Donate any clothes you don’t want to bring back with you in shops like: https://coaniquem.cl/COANIQUEMstore/
• Buy locally grown produce in markets. These can be found at: https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiZGViMjgxNmItOTBmYy00NGQ5LWEyMDEtNzRkY2U3ZGM1ZDgwIiwidCI6IjMzYjdmNzA3LTZlNmYtNDJkMi04ZDZmLTk4YmZmOWZiNWZhMCIsImMiOjR9
Chile, you’re on the shore of a far-away ocean, but I’ll never let that distance remove you from my thoughts.
All my love.
References:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/chile-fashion-pollution#:~:text=Fast%20fashion%20goes%20to%20die%20in%20the%20world%27s,there%20tells%20the%20story%20of%20modern%20fast%20fashion.
