LISTEN UPJessica Ferrow and Livvy Drake launched their podcast Woke & Confused earlier this year; an accessible show on the everyday environmental dilemmas of our time. They told us about why they’re spreading messages of hope – with humourWe decided to set up the podcast because not enough people in sustainability are funny. The climate crisis is a really big, really scary issue. And it’s going to affect us all – of course it’s affecting millions of people around the world already. But experts often talk about sustainability in a really dry, worthy way. And people just ignore it. We wanted to change that.

We listen to stuff like The Guilty Feminist, and loved the way she approaches a serious topic – in that case feminism – with humour. And we thought to ourselves, ‘we can do that for sustainability too’. We called it Woke & Confused because we wanted it to appeal to a wider audience who are now just waking up to the state of the planet and our society – and are looking for answers. We aim to always be aware of our privilege and use it to communicate positive messages.

We’re both eco-warriors in our own lives. We shop in charity shops, and we’re always carrying around backpacks full of reusable coffee cups, water bottles and bamboo cutlery. We get a kick out of bringing our own lunchbox to street food markets, or our own reusable cups to the pub. People always love it – and usually give us smiles and high fives.
But we’re not always perfect.

We know lots of people are trying to make little changes in their lives, like flying less, eating less meat or using less plastic. And we know that sometimes it’s really hard. You can easily lose motivation and think ‘I’m just one person, what’s the point?’ We’re there to be the friendly voice in your ear saying ‘it’s alright, we mess up too, keep smiling, keep going’.

We both have backgrounds working in events and festivals and we both consult businesses on sustainability. Jess focuses more on sustainability strategy and communications whereas Livvy is a behaviour change expert, especially on single-use plastics and waste reduction in businesses. So we have a lot of expertise and knowledge to share.
As well as just the podcast we get out and do talks at workplaces, events and wherever we can to make sustainability accessible – and fun. We’ve got 10 years to get the message out – and seriously change – before we enter a slippery slope of runaway climate breakdown. We need more people to engage. And it’s not always black and white, we don’t all have to be perfect. If everyone ate half as much meat, that would be better than 10% of us going vegan.

We have fun discussing the nuances of the challenges that people encounter in their everyday lives; the ‘existential crises’ we have on every trip to the shops. Do I buy organic bananas in plastic, or Fairtrade bananas without packaging? Is palm oil ‘worse’ than coconut oil? We also call out companies for using greenwash terms like ‘compostable’, ‘bio-based’ or ‘eco’ packaging. It’s a minefield!

In most episodes we interview an expert and we generally have a revelation. For example, Livvy found out she could refresh her beloved polyester jackets by hanging them in the steam of the shower!

People have already told us they’ve made changes to their lives after hearing the podcast. We recently had an email from one listener in Germany saying he won’t fl y at all next year after hearing about the Flight Free 2020 pledge on our show. That’s what keeps us going – to know that we’re making a real impact. These small changes really can add up to something big.
OUR WOKE & CONFUSED TOP TIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVINGREDUCE, REDUCE, REDUCE
It’s hard to do everything at once, so
pick an area, like remembering to bring
a container for your lunch every day and
just focus on that. You’re more like to
achieve long lasting behaviour change if
you work on one thing at a time.

GET TO GRIPS WITH YOUR
CARBON FOOTPRINT
You can find a handy carbon calculator
on the WWF website. We were shocked to
find out how big an impact flying has on
our carbon footprint – we talk about it in
episode 3. footprint.wwf.org.uk

START TALKING
Eco anxiety is totally a thing. More and
more people are worried about what our
future world will look like. Talk to your
friends and family about sustainability
and how you’re making changes in your
life. Build a community around you of
people who share your concerns and
hopes for the future.
CAMPAIGNS YOU CAN SUPPORT
Flight free 2020 – could you give up flying
for a year and discover the joy of slow
travel? flightfree.co.uk

Support Fashion Revolution – check
out their Take Action page for ways you
can make a difference and reduce your
fashion footprint fashionrevolution.org

Refill – Check out this map of free tap
water stations all over the UK. Seriously,
you really should have a reusable bottle
by now. But if you don’t then that’s your
easy first step! refill.org.uk

Listen to the Woke & Confused podcast
here: wokeandconfused.com