Rethinking Wellness.

Clean ingredients, sustainability, and ethical sourcing are trending. Brands tell us to seek wellness products with sustainable packaging, responsibly sourced ingredients, and carbon-neutral supply chains. But what if the most sustainable choice isn’t about what we buy—but how we live?

The idea that wellness can be consumed is misleading. Wellness isn’t something you purchase. It means stepping away from the hamster wheel of self-optimisation that the wellness industry profits from. It means recognising that we don’t need another superfood, another tracking app, or another supplement subscription to be well. What we need is to reset and reconnect.

The Illusion of Wellness Consumerism

The wellness industry thrives on the belief that we are incomplete, always in need of an upgrade. There’s no shortage of apps, gadgets, and products promising to make us the best version of ourselves. But at what cost? These tools often capitalise on guilt, making us feel like we’re never doing enough—not meditating enough, not drinking enough green juice, not biohacking our way to optimal performance. This is where we need a paradigm shift. Instead of trying to make our consumer choices more sustainable, we should question whether we need to consume in the first place. The most effective wellness practices can be free:

• Going for a walk outside

• Sleeping well

• Spending time with family and friends

• Surrounding yourself with clean water

• Getting morning sunlight

These habits don’t require a purchase. They require presence. They require a rediscovered understanding that we and the natural world are one and the same.

In my last post, I explored the concept of “nature connectedness.” What if our disconnect from nature is just a symptom of a larger issue? I believe that our lack of connection to nature is, at its core, a reflection of our disconnection from ourselves. As biological beings, there is no separation between “humans” and “nature.”

Shifting the Paradigm

Rather than focusing on making consumer choices more sustainable, we need to rethink the narrative altogether. This idea is echoed in the philosophy of New Materialism, which challenges the traditional separation between humans and nature. It reminds us that we are deeply intertwined with the environment. When we pollute our waters, we ultimately pollute our own bodies. When we degrade the environment, we degrade our own health. The planetary crisis is, at its core, a mindset crisis—one that cannot be solved through ethical consumerism alone.

Rethinking Everyday Choices

If we truly want to be sustainable wellness consumers, we need to start by consuming less. Consider takeaway coffee culture. If you don’t have time to sit and enjoy your coffee, do you really need it? Recently, I attended a webinar on reducing plastic in the hospitality industry. One speaker shared an example from high-end wellness resorts, where guests come to “slow down” yet still insist on takeaway coffee—even with nowhere to go. They reject ceramic cups, even when assured they can leave them anywhere to be collected. This mindset needs to change. It’s time for a simple shift in perspective.

Wellness is Simplicity

Wellness isn’t in the products we buy; it’s in the way we live. It’s in the water we protect, the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the connections we nurture. Being a truly healthy consumer means recognising when the industry is selling us solutions to problems that arise because we are disconnected from what is good for us in the first place. Instead of chasing the latest wellness trend, let’s refocus on simplicity.

Cellular hydration. A Water Mindset. Movement, joy, sunlight, rest—these are the foundations. This is what I call wellness through water.

Simplify to amplify – Clouds

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