Welcome to In(finite) Earth, our sustainability blog about how we can help the world. Everyone wants to do a better job of reducing their impact on the environment, but the reality is that it is not always convenient to do so. That is why we are providing a list of simple ways that you can look out for the environment on a daily basis.
1. Bulking season all the time
Do your shopping in bulk to avoid packaging waste. Yes, this means that Costco is your friend. Not only are you saving some fun money, but you’re saving the environment. When you think of buying in bulk you probably think about products like nuts, meat, and dry foods but there are so many other products that can be bought in bulk like toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Keep this in mind every time you go shopping and you’re off to a good start reducing your impact.
Bulk buying absolutely rocks for a few reasons:
First of all, you are reducing your packaging waste! Individual products sold in supermarkets are almost always packaged in plastic, much of which is unnecessary and causes you to pay a higher price. To top it all off, plastic packaging contains chemicals that can leak into water and soil, severely damaging the environment and food chain (which humans just happen to be at the top of).
Secondly, buying in bulk allows you to minimize transportation pollution. The combination of you driving to the store less and large packages being more space efficient in transport trucks means that you are doing your part in reducing CO2 emissions.
Finally, you will be enjoying a much fresher product (yes the food is actually better). It is well-known that bulk stores have high stock turnover, which means there is no chance for older products to get pushed to the back of the shelf.
At the end of the day, it is always a good time to buy in bulk. Just one big win-win for your wallet and the environment.
2. Food and beverages
Here’s an easy one. It’s important to be monitoring a lot of your habits with food and drink. Do you have any idea how many plastic water bottles you are using? It’s actually pretty scary. Let’s say you only use 2 a week. Not so bad right? Well that’s 104 plastic water bottles you use in a year. If everyone in your hypothetical house of 5 that I’m imagining for you does it, that’s 520 bottles a year! That’s enough to fill your living room. Quick changes to your drinking habits can have huge effects.
To do list:
Add a filter to your kitchen sink to have an endless supply of water (for real it only takes 20 minutes)
Make a rule that you only take reusable water bottles out
Pleaseeeee stop using plastic straws. In America alone, 500 million plastic straws are used on a daily basis
Get rid of plastic bags for food and use reusable storage containers
If you’re feeling extra sustainable use beeswax products, as they are great for storing food, much more sustainable, and reusable
3. Go #Plasticfree
We all know by now that plastic never goes away. Today billions of pounds of it can be found in swirling convergences making up about 40% of the world’s ocean surfaces. Every single day approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into the ocean. Thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, seals and other marine animals are killed after ingesting plastic or getting tangled up in it. Specifically, recent studies have found marine plastic pollution in 100% of sea turtles, 59% of whales, 36% of seals, and 40% of seabird species analyzed.
Ways to Cut Down:
Use reusable bags when you shop
Ditch single-use water bottles, bags, and straws and avoid products made from or packaged in plastic whenever possible
Give up gum
Bring your own container to a restaurant for takeout
Try to use matches instead of lighters
Use a razor with replaceable blades instead of a disposable one
4. Pay attention to labels
From fruit to coffee to clothing, the number of options out there can get overwhelming. However, there are some clear leaders when it comes to minimizing your impact on wildlife and the planet. If you’re a coffee drinker, look for “shade-grown” coffee, which is grown while keeping forest habitats intact for migratory birds and other species. It is also important to choose Fair Trade certified goods when possible to support companies dedicated to sustainable production and paying laborers a fair wage. Finally, this is not always easy, but buy organic food whenever possible. This could cost you a little bit more but at the end of the day it keeps harmful pesticides out of our land and water, protecting farm workers, wildlife and your family and is also better for your health.
5. Be water wise
We already talked a bit about water but now we’re really going to talk about it.Bottled water companies try to give tap water a bad name, even though the water from your faucet is practically free and much city water has won quality tests and taste tests against name-brand water. I don’t know about you but I can’t tell the difference. Not to mention, the extraction of water and production of all those plastic bottles is notoriously harmful to communities and wildlife.
Some of our ways to be smarter with water:
Don’t wash your clothes if they aren’t dirty. It’s actually best for your jeans to get 5-10 wears before washing
Make sure you have a low flush toilet
Wash your dishes by hand instead of using the dishwasher. If you’re eating alone this is much faster too
Shorten your showers and aim for 5 minutes or less
6. Take Extinction Off Your Plate (or at least do a little better)
Meat production is one of the most environmentally destructive industries on the planet, responsible for massive amounts of water use, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and habitat destruction. Meat production generates 65 per cent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2.” Yes, burgers rock. Chicken wings, unreal. I personally love a shawarma but we are not asking you to give up meat. However, you have three chances a day to improve the health of the planet.
First, by reducing your meat consumption you can reduce your environmental footprint. This is done by having meat with only one meal a day.The average person should be getting around 50 grams of protein a day, which is easily attainable while including meat in only one meal. For instance, a chicken breast and a spinach salad fulfill this amount. Not to mention the additional protein you can get through snacking on nuts, eggs, tomatoes, hemp seeds, yogurt, etc.
Next, when you do eat meat, look for labels that specify free range, organic and hormone and antibiotic free. There are resources to help you find sustainable food locallyso you know exactly where your food is coming from - especially since it can not only affect the environment, but your health as well.
Finally, swap out red meat for more sustainable meats. Do your best to limit your intake of red meat to two or 3 times per week. Not only are chicken, duck, turkey, and fish better for your body, but they’re better for the environment too.
Anyone can do this. Even if these steps seem too big for you and change seems hard, even a small contribution helps a great deal. Little things like removing meat from a meal a couple times a week or swapping red meat for white meat make a difference.
7. Support Better Brands
If you’re going to give brands you’re support through purchasing their products, read labels carefully. Look for beauty and cleaning products brands that are responsible in their production, looking for responsible brand seals. Check out this site, where you can find a list of eco-friendly product labels and logos. While we're on the topic of being responsible, why not look for items that aren't tested on animals. It's a cruel process and showing your support for companies that don't use animals for testing can end it for good. It's easy to find cruelty-freeand environmentally responsiblebrands. You just need to know which labels to look for and there are a lot more options than you might think. You can find brand guides for conscious consumers here. It will make a small difference to you but a world of difference to the animals involved, not to mention, no longer supporting companies that condone such
cruel practices. If you support them, it's kind of like you're condoning it too, isn't it?
8. Share on social media
This is the easiest way to do your part. You’re probably active on multiple social media channels and have a wide social network. I know that I personally spend way too much time on social media and this only takes 10 seconds. The innovation of social media has made knowledge sharing easier than ever and has helped generate a great deal of money towards environmental causes.
Things to look for:
-Share the posts of pages related to sustainability issues
-Share Instagram stories to create awareness
-Participate in environmental and sustainability related hashtags
-Send posts and movements to your friends and encourage them to share
-Give your opinion on environmental issues to start conversations and get people talking
9. Reduce your consumption by following the minimalist lifestyle
These days, everyone has so many possessions and so many things that they really don’t need. Everyone (me included) could look around their room and see at least 10 things that do not have any use. This way of living just creates clutter and frustration. It is much easier on you, and easier on the environment to only have things in your life that you value and actually use rather than accumulating items that you don’t use which adds to waste. This e-book will help you on your journey to decluttering your wardrobe and making it sustainable.
With regard to your clothing specifically, you should be looking for eco-friendly fabrics such as organic cotton and hemp. It is also great to seek out stamps like “locally manufactured” and “ethically made.”
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These are great ideas and they are very easy. Great article.
i love the ideas and i like how most of them are really easy
These ideas are such good ideas. Most of these things are pretty easy to do, and thats the good thing about it :)
grey ideas
Thanks for the great new resource!