7 non-fashion related things to do for the environment right now #2
Even though this blog is mainly focussed on fashion, making your wardrobe more sustainable will not solve the entire issue. Now, I will not talk too much about all the subparts of environmental pollution, because, trust me, there are many. However, the aim of this post will simply be to help you make your life a little more green.
1. Replace your toothbrush
What? Am I suggesting to throw something away? Well, please keep using the toothbrush you currently have until it needs replacement. But as dentists suggest to replace it every other three months (counting up to roughly 320 toothbrushes per lifetime), please consider buying a compostable wooden toothbrush (such as for instance the Plant-based Bamboo Toothbrush).
2. No more throw away plastic bottles
If I hadn't convinced you yet through the BYOB blogpost: those one-time use plastic bottles that you can find in any grocery store are horrible (did I mention horrible?!). There are various good alternatives available, such as: OHYO, the reusable water bottle that fits in your pocket and is BPA free! Or dopper, the reusable water bottle that is a water bottle and a cup all in one. Or the bobble, the reusable water bottle with a filter. The main message here: buy whatever bottle suits you best, however, make sure it is reusable and of course BPA free.
3. Speaking of the devil
Speaking of the devil - plastic - stop using plastic bags. Every year we produce five trillion plastic bags of which 98% ends up in landfills... Ban plastic bags out of your life and BYOB.
4. Stop your mail subscriptions
Most stores, if not all, will have an email subscription service available which most likely has the latest updates and hence is more relevant in general. No need for all those trees to be cut, simply so you can have the latest H&M catalogue in your hands. (bonus advantage: less clutter, more freedom)
5. Let's wrap it up
If we're on the topic of paper waste, let's talk about wrapping paper. It is almost Christmas and that means, we will cut a lot of trees, not only to put them in our homes and decorate them, but also so we can wrap the presents that will go underneath them. About 8000 tonnes of wrapping paper are used per year, even worse, most of these end up in landfills instead of being recycled into something new. However, this is completely unnecessary. Take the opportunity to give your presents in a beautiful reusable cotton back. Or get creative with a vintage scarf. Or if you actually still have some old paper, like maps or newspapers, laying around, you know what to do!
6. Avoid eating meat
A rough 40% of the world's surface is occupied for livestock production, requiring one-third of the world's fresh water. And even though the majority of this land, approximately 30%, is used to produce grains, fruits and vegatables, these are grown to support the pigs, chicken and cattle that we consume. The fact that this land could be used more efficiently, by consuming the grains, fruits and vegatables it produces first hand, instead of through the animals we eat, is not the only problem. Through the overuse of antibiotics and the air, water and soil pollution, eating meat also poses dangers to our health and to our environment. If going all cold-turky is a bit too much for you, you could start with vegetarian Monday. Warning; as a vegetarian for most of my life, I can say that eating vegetarian can be deliciously addictive.
7. Do the dirty laundry
Petroleum-based detergent is one of the most commonly used laundry products. Unfortunately, it has some negative effects on our health and on our environment. Some of the chemicals found in detergents are left in our clothes and others end up in the sewage system, eventually contaminating our water. A substitution for this detergent problem is introduced by SmartKlean; the laundry ball; a product that cleans without using any toxic chemicals, which can be used for +/- 1000 washes. The only downside to this product is that it is made out of plastic, hence if you want to be completely sustainable you could consider making your own washing detergent, using bicarbonate soda, vinegar, water. Nevertheless, this option is already a good step in the right direction.
The general rule of thumb: Avoid plastic at all cost.
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Furochic. (2010). Earth Friendly Gift Wrap. Furochic It! Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDPZikZoXys
Herrero, M., Havlik, P., Valin, H., Notenbaert, A., Rufino, M., & Thornton, P. et al. (2013). Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences, 110(52), 20888-20893. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1308149110
Meyer, N. (2016). An Eco-Friendly Natural Alternative to Plastic Toothbrushes: Bamboo Brushes. Retrieved from: http://althealthworks.com/813/a-natural-alternative-to-plastic-toothbrushes-bamboo/
SmartKlean Corp. (2010). Official SmartKlean Laundry Ball Video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=201kSpYAN8A
Trashedfilm. (n.d.). 10 Small things. Retrieved from: http://www.trashedfilm.com/10-small-things/
Walsh, B. (2016) The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact of Global Meat Production. TIME.com. Retrieved from: http://science.time.com/2013/12/16/the-triple-whopper-environmental-impact-of-global-meat-production/
