The vegan blogger Justine Siegler talks about her sustainable lifestyle.  

Justine is 23 years old, lives in Vienna and is a convinced, modern Vegan.

Her successful blog justinekeptcalmandwentvegan.com is all about vegan fashion, fair fashion, sustainability, super delicious, healthy vegan recipes, and her personal development. We talked to Justine about her sustainable lifestyle. 

1. Since when do you deal with the topic of sustainability? 

Actually, it's been years. But really intensive, with waste avoidance, and the concept of Zero Waste shopping only since about one and a half years ago.

Shopping in Zero Waste Shops and getting unpacked regional & seasonal vegetables is part of Justines sustainable lifestyle.

2. Did you have a key moment?

Not really, it was more of a constant process. The first thing I did was to exchange the one-way bottle for returnable bottles. About three years ago, I started to buy organic food and to avoid plastics. For example, I bought sustainable straws made of glass. Meanwhile I go to the Zero Waste Shop two to three times a month, get a box with unpacked regional and seasonal vegetables every week, and take my cotton or net bag with me to every further purchase.

Just recently I started to carefully list and photograph everything we buy within 30 days. There is a lot of packaging left. But it's nice to see that we are currently producing far less garbage than we did just a few years ago. You keep on developing, you see exciting documentaries, you become aware of things by reading interesting articles, and so my (not perfect!) eco-life took its course.

3. What has changed in your lifestyle since then?

I am consuming less and less and more consciously. Of course it's still a long way to go. But to be honest, a minimalist life is what I want: less waste and conscious consumption just sounds perfect to me and so I keep working on it. 

Less wastefulness and conscious consuming – these are her goals

4. What would you hope for in the future from the fashion industry or consumers?

Of course, I hope that the fast fashion industry will finally take responsibility. That workers will be paid fairly, and that more high-quality materials will be used in order to last longer and become more eco-friendly, thus relieving the burden on workers and our planet. It is simply incredible how much our environment suffers from the clothing industry alone, the toxic dyeing processes, the pesticides on cotton fields and the like.

I hope we will get away from this terrible throwaway society.

But this will only work if the industry brings out collections less frequently, sells only higher-quality items and consumers learn to appreciate clothes, wear them more often and follow trends less intensively.

5. Can you name three sustainable hotspots in your hometown Vienna? 

My favourite café is the Simply Raw Vegan Bakery (Drahtgasse 2). There you will find delicious raw vegan dishes. I also love Neni (Naschmarkt 510) - fantastic Israeli cuisine. In the Neubaugasse you will find great fair-fashion shops (We Bandits and Ebenberg), as well as one of my favorite organic shops: Dancing Shiva.

 Her favorit Restaurant: The Simply Raw Bakery in Vienna.

Justines favorite items on the wearness:

1. White boxy T-Shirt white by Phyne, 39,90 Euro.  2. Striped Pants "Riviera"by Santa Lupita, 60 Euro.  3. Bracelet "Isar Bangles" No1 by Saskia Diez, 169 Euro.