_Illustrated by_ [**Paula Castro**](https://breedlondon.com/artists/paula-castro/)
Nothing can truly be thrown away. While it might be out of sight for most of us, the idea of waste is still in the mind of Sabrina Wisbiski a.ka. @sabrina.sustainable.life on TikTok. Using the viral video app, Sabrina hopes to spread awareness of the little things we can all do to minimize our waste and maximize what we reuse and recycle. Her viewers learn with her step by step, collectively reducing our footprints on Earth one toothpaste tube at a time, with each of her videos making environmental content easily accessible to her 140.8k followers.
The Eco-content creator’s page first started as a passion project documenting her steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Influenced by her brothers who are both vegan, Sabrina became aware of the consequences to the planet that came from animal agriculture. Now five years later, after switching to a plant-based diet, she provides her personal knowledge and experience as she explores a more renewable way of life that does not harm the place we call home. Sabrina highlights finding your ‘why’ when committing to this alternative lifestyle because becoming the most sustainable you can be is a daunting task. And when it comes to it, your passion and what calls you can always win over what is easy.
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**How did your journey into sustainability begin?**
It began about four or five years ago, in 2017, when I decided to switch to a plant-based diet. A lot of the influence came from my brothers because they both went vegan. From them, I started learning more about the negative impacts of animal agriculture on our environment. From there it continued on, and I became more passionate about reducing my waste in other ways and diving deeper into sustainability.
> [@sabrina.sustainable.life](https://www.tiktok.com/@sabrina.sustainable.life "@sabrina.sustainable.life")
>
> for one of the richest countries in the world, we could be doing a lot better. 🤷🏻♀️ [##ecotok](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ecotok "ecotok") [##sustainability](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sustainability "sustainability") [##america](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/america "america")
>
> [♬ Mud Flow "the Sense of me" ( Soundtrack Life is Strange) - DOLKINS](https://www.tiktok.com/music/Mud-Flow-the-Sense-of-me-Soundtrack-Life-is-Strange-6889814757348493313 "♬ Mud Flow ")
**What prompted you to create a TikTok?**
When the pandemic hit is when I started creating content and learning more about sustainability. I just started sharing my journey as I was learning it. I wasn't an expert or anything when I first started on TikTok. I think that might be part of why my followers like my content, because they were kind of learning along with me.
**What was the first video that popped off for you?**
I made a video about toothpaste tabs, just showing me using them, and I really didn't think anyone would care. It's just something I made for fun, but the video got over a million views. I was like, ‘Wow, people are really interested in learning more about zero waste and swaps.’ It wasn't something that a lot of people were talking about on the platform at the time, so it really took off.
**Can you speak about how EcoTok came to be and what your goals are with this group?**
EcoTok came together last year when I joined TikTok. There weren’t a ton of environmentalists on TikTok, and because of how the algorithm works—it shows you content that they think you’ll like—it was pretty easy to find other environmentalists. One of our members, Alex Silva ([@ecofreako](https://www.tiktok.com/@ecofreako)), he came up with the idea to create an ‘environmental hype house,’ so there could be one page where people talk about all different areas of sustainability and environmentalism. We pretty much started a group chat and were like, ‘Hey, we want to do this with people who are already creating content, are you interested?’ We started from there and have grown a lot. We have 17 members now. That includes scientists, students, educators, and people who are just passionate about sustainability.
> [@sabrina.sustainable.life](https://www.tiktok.com/@sabrina.sustainable.life "@sabrina.sustainable.life")
>
> What's your fav vegan protein option? 🌱 @hellmannsmayonnaise [##FridgeHunters](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fridgehunters "fridgehunters") [##HellmannsPartner](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/hellmannspartner "hellmannspartner") [##MakeTasteNotWaste](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/maketastenotwaste "maketastenotwaste")
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> [♬ Up and Away (Vocalese) - GHOSTLAND](https://www.tiktok.com/music/Up-and-Away-Vocalese-6777299168986662914 "♬ Up and Away (Vocalese) - GHOSTLAND")
**You live in the Detroit and work as a Corporate Wellness Specialist overseeing the environmental wellness programming. What exactly does this role entail?**
As a corporate wellness specialist, my role is to help employees stay healthy and enhance their overall well-being. One area of wellness is environmental well-being, which encourages people to live in harmony with the Earth by taking actions to protect it. For that, I provide education and resources to teach our team members how to be more sustainable in their lives. We’ve done things like reducing food waste challenges, plant-based eating challenges, and also environmental educational events which teaches team members how to compost and recycle.
**How hectic is your schedule having a full-time job and also creating so much eco-content?**
It’s a pretty hectic schedule. It can be challenging. I do my best to focus on my job, and if interviews like this come up, I can just clock out, so it's not a big deal. But after work, I spend my evenings and weekends focusing on my content. I work quite a bit, and it's definitely a balance I'm trying to learn. It was unexpected with social media, it was more a hobby, and it has kind of spun off into a career.
**What aspect of sustainability is most important to you and why?**
I would say my top ones are waste, agriculture, activism, and environmental justice. With waste, I find it important because it's a tangible thing that most people can see and learn about. I think it's a good entry way into sustainability for many with recycling and reducing waste. With agriculture, veganism is something that's super important to me. And while veganism oftentimes focuses on animals, there also is a human rights issue along with it. A lot of meat processing plants rely on workers who are oftentimes immigrants or people of color, and it can be a really underpaid and dangerous industry to work in. I'm also very passionate about reducing your own environmental footprint, but I think more is accomplished when a lot of people are working towards a goal, and when we work together to address environmental issues and concerns.
> [@sabrina.sustainable.life](https://www.tiktok.com/@sabrina.sustainable.life "@sabrina.sustainable.life")
>
> [##ad](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ad "ad") The only diet I’ll take part in! @oi\_glass #[#PlasticFreeDiet](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/plasticfreediet "plasticfreediet") #[#chooseglass](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/chooseglass "chooseglass") #[#ecotok](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ecotok "ecotok")
>
> [♬ Make My Day (V2) - Max Farrar](https://www.tiktok.com/music/Make-My-Day-V2-6777548429758302210 "♬ Make My Day (V2) - Max Farrar")
**What are some of your go-to eco-friendly brands?**
I would say Imperfect Foods I use pretty much every week. They take foods that are labeled as imperfect—stores won’t take them if they're shaped weird or a little bit discolored—and they sell them. It’s delivered right to your door, which is really nice. So, it's convenient, and I like that I'm reducing waste from going into the landfill. EarthHero is also a really great one stop shop for all sustainable swaps. They have pretty much everything on there. It's kind of like an eco-friendly version of Amazon.
**What are some tips you’d give to someone who is interested in becoming more sustainable?**
I would say start slow, because it can definitely feel like you're taking on a lot at once. I think finding your ‘why,’ whether it's waste, animals, nature, or people, can help you stick to it. It’s not always the easiest thing, but if you're able to connect with others who are passionate about it, it does make it a bit easier to get ideas and advice. I just think finding a community is super important if you're able to.
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