Justine Reichman on Simple Habits That Reduce Waste Without Moralizing

Justine Reichman is the Founder and CEO of NextGen Purpose, a sustainability-focused platform that works at the intersection of food systems, consumer behaviour, and everyday environmental practice. Based in San Francisco, she is also the host and executive producer of the Essential Ingredients podcast, which highlights innovators, founders, and practitioners advancing regenerative and responsible approaches to living and consumption. Reichman’s work emphasizes practical sustainability—reducing waste, rethinking habits, and favouring durability over disposability—without moralizing or perfectionism. Drawing on experience in entrepreneurship, community building, and media, she advocates for intention-driven change that fits real lives rather than abstract ideals.

In this conversation, Scott Douglas Jacobsen speaks with Justine Reichman about practical, non-performative sustainability rooted in daily habits rather than guilt or moral pressure. Reichman outlines strategies such as eating in to reduce packaging, managing food before it spoils, buying in bulk, and planning meals for flexibility and minimal waste. She extends this logic to hosting events, home design, and fashion—favouring durability, vintage, and upcycled materials over fast consumption. The discussion also addresses greenwashing, corporate responsibility, and why sustainable change works best when framed around intention, accessibility, and personal meaning rather than shame or perfection.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What are simple daily habits that make sustainability part of everyday life?

Justine Reichman: As of the start of 2026, I am trying to eat at home more. It is a new goal for me, and I am approaching it in a small, thoughtful, and mindful way rather than as a rigid rule. That is a big one for me. If I want something while I am out, I eat it at the restaurant rather than taking it home in additional packaging. In my experience, many people take food back to their office or home, and eating in helps me be more mindful about packaging. So that is one. Was that too long? Nope. Okay, because you can always edit.

The second thing I do is check my fridge every day to see what's about to spoil, so I can use it before it goes bad. If it is fruit, I freeze it in ice cube trays. If it is vegetables, I make juice out of them. Those are simple things that I do.

The third thing I try to be sustainable about isn't a daily habit; it's about my dog food. Instead of buying products with a lot of packaging, we buy them in bulk—ten-pound quantities—and then separate them into our own containers. I mention this because, in my experience, many “healthy” food products still come with substantial packaging.

Jacobsen: What about being mindful and using leftovers when you are not going to eat them immediately?

Reichman: That is one of the first things we do. This year, I am trying to carve out Sundays to plan meals, choose what I want to make, and buy ingredients that can be used across multiple dishes. I often get bored eating the same thing, but I still want to use the food before it spoils. Instead of making one dish with those ingredients, I make two or three different dishes. The ingredients go further, I get more variety, and I eat at home more.

Jacobsen: What about events? Hypothetically, you are hosting an event—family, friends, or a club you belong to. Do you apply the same bulk-thinking approach?

Reichman: Yes, I do. It depends on the event. Many of the events I plan, at least personally, are for holidays, which are centred around specific foods. If it is a Jewish holiday, it is about the foods I grew up eating. I make enough for everyone, but I generally make smaller portions so people can try everything, and we finish it. Instead of producing vast quantities—which are harder to prepare and can leave more leftovers—people get to taste a little of everything. That is usually what they want anyway.

I can offer one more sustainable tip for holidays or parties. Instead of buying cut flowers, which are temporary and can be expensive, I use potted plants that I already have around the house. When I host a party, I place them in the center of the table. They make a lovely decoration and last beyond a single event.

Jacobsen: Are there certain Jewish dishes or holidays where sustainability becomes more challenging?

Reichman: It depends on how you look at it. With Hanukkah, for example, there is Hanukkah gelt, and each piece is individually wrapped in foil. Aluminum is widely recyclable in principle, but whether small pieces of foil or wrappers are accepted depends on local recycling rules and on whether the material is clean and large enough to be sorted. So the individual wrapping can still create waste. I usually buy one small package and then supplement with regular chocolates to reduce packaging.

That is the example that stands out to me. More broadly, sustainability has a lot to do with how we plan and portion meals. I like abundance, but I think of abundance as variety rather than quantity. That approach can reduce food waste and still allow everyone to taste a little of everything.

Jacobsen: What about sustainability and aesthetics, the choices you make in home décor and clothing?

Reichman: I used to work at a horse farm, so I needed both protection and warmth. I wore long-sleeve shirts made of UV-protective, quick-drying fabric. None of them was white because farm work gets dirty, and I could wash them all in the same load. It is a small thing, but I used them repeatedly for many different purposes.

As for décor, my house is intentionally put together. I bought it in 2021, and during the renovation, I chose vintage and antique pieces. That means the items were pre-owned rather than newly manufactured, and we repurposed them for our home.

Other choices included a kitchen renovation and installing an induction stove, which is generally considered more energy-efficient and avoids on-site fossil fuel combustion compared to a gas stove. That was a deliberate choice. In terms of appliances, I chose brands such as Fisher & Paykel, which position themselves as more sustainability-focused than many other kitchen appliance brands. More broadly, when it came to home décor, I leaned heavily into antiques and vintage pieces.

I also leaned into buying appliances that were more efficient and designed to last. As for clothing, I have kept much of my wardrobe for a very long time—some pieces since high school, which was a long time ago. I tend to hold on to clothing rather than constantly replacing it. My grandmother ran a consignment store, and I still have many of her handbags, because she kept high-quality pieces for herself and for my mother. That influence carries through in how I live my life.

I try to invest in things that are meant to last—pieces that stand the test of time. It is not fast fashion. I am still wearing the same trench coat I bought in my early twenties. Classic styles do not really go out of fashion. That matters to me. I wear a lot of white shirts for the same reason. They are timeless. I try not to chase trends, even though I love fashion.

When I think about sustainability and fashion, I also pay attention to the ethos of the brands themselves—who is making the clothing and how. I look for companies that use upcycled materials or more sustainable fabrics. In denim, for example, there is a company called ELV Denim that reconstructs old Levi’s jeans into new pieces. That is one example. There are others I shop from as well, such as Citizens of Humanity, and other brands that use organic cotton or upcycled fabrics. I tend to support those.

I also shop vintage. You can find really special pieces that work either for special occasions or to add something unique to your wardrobe—something not everyone else is wearing.

Jacobsen: Vintage shopping can take time. How do you approach that?

Reichman: It does take time. But now, so much of it is online. There are many online vintage shops and resale platforms where people sell their own clothing. The real question is whether you know what you are looking for or whether you are just scrolling. It can feel like a kid in a candy store.

I already have what I need at this point. So if I buy something new, it has to be truly special. I encourage other people to think that way because most of us already have enough. When you think about it, you usually reach for the same items over and over again. I know I do. You go back to the same pieces because they are easy and familiar.

Jacobsen: Right, you mix and match.

Reichman: You mix and match, and you can create entirely different looks for different occasions from the same core wardrobe. That is precisely what I do.

I also love that vintage shopping is part of a journey. A few years ago, when I was in Paris, there were many great vintage shops. I went with my partner, who has a good eye. He picked things out, and I tried them on. I found amazing pieces—designs I had admired years ago—that were pre-owned but still looked great.

Part of the enjoyment is the process itself: going through items, discovering what you love, seeing what fits. Vintage sizing can be inconsistent because sizing standards have changed over time. A size two decades ago is not necessarily the same as a size two today. You have to set that aside and focus on whether it fits, feels good, and suits you. If it does, that is a win.

Jacobsen: What about people who hate shopping? Even clicking around online feels like a chore for them. By temperament, let us call them minimalist by inclination, maybe even resistant to consumption.

Reichman: Shop your own closet and swap with friends. Most of us have clothes we no longer wear or that no longer fit quite right. Swapping with friends gives you access to more clothing, new ideas, and new outfits. It is social, and it can be fun. But if you do not like being social and do not want to do that, there is another option some people are using.

Some retailers allow customers to buy items and then sell them back to the store, where the items are resold. The terminology varies, and not everyone uses the same language, but the idea is a form of resale within the retail system. Sometimes people buy something for a specific occasion, return it within a defined time frame, and the store resells it in a designated resale section.

I would have to double-check specific brands, and I do not want to state this as a firm fact, but some clothing companies have experimented with this kind of resale model. More broadly, some stores are doing versions of this.

When it comes to higher-end items, selling them through resale or vintage shops can feel disappointing because you often do not recover much of what you originally paid. I would rather give an item to a friend and swap it with her. That feels better to me. I know where it is going, I know she is enjoying it, and I receive something meaningful in return. I value that exchange.

Jacobsen: There is also a broader critique here, sometimes called “greenwashing”, where sustainability is framed as individual responsibility, even though corporate policy and structural factors play a significant role. Some people argue the problem is a matter of personal choice; others argue it is corporate behaviour. In reality, it is both, and we are all operating inside the same system.

Reichman: I agree. If we do not demand change, create demand for change, or model what change can look like, we are not going to get it. At the same time, I do not believe in shaming people. Not everyone can do everything. Sustainability is less about perfection and more about intention—focusing on what is meaningful and realistic for you. We are not going to solve every problem individually.

Jacobsen: Modern audiences tend to resist moralizing. The cultural landscape is flattened; everyone has a voice, and lecturing people is rarely effective. That approach may have worked in smaller, more homogeneous communities, but it does not generate traction now.

Reichman: It is about encouraging people to do what matters to them. When people feel good about what they are doing, they are more likely to stick with it. They feel successful and engaged. If we shame people by focusing only on what they are not doing, they end up feeling defeated rather than motivated.

Jacobsen: That makes sense. Thank you for your time today.

Reichman: Thank you so much.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the publisher of In-Sight Publishing (ISBN: 978-1-0692343) and Editor-in-Chief of In-Sight: Interviews (ISSN: 2369-6885). He writes for The Good Men Project, International Policy Digest (ISSN: 2332–9416), The Humanist (Print: ISSN 0018-7399; Online: ISSN 2163-3576), Basic Income Earth Network (UK Registered Charity 1177066), A Further Inquiry, and other media. He is a member in good standing of numerous media organizations.