Is anyone else freaking out a little bit inside about the global warming scenario and the harmful effects of our everyday lives on the planet that we live on!!! I’m absolutely concerned myself, and now that I am enjoying my new life with my 10 month old baby Judah, I’m really feeling the weight of laying out a healthy future for him as well as for my community.
There are so many things that we can do to participate on an everyday basis to step back and reduce the foot print each one of us adds everyday to the planets health. You may have heard of some of these before, but as I go through my daily activities I keep finding more and more ways to do my part and conserve so I thought I would show you my style of conservation for all the fashionista’s out there. Check it out.
1. Cup of Latte? I’m your kind of girl. I tend to drink at least one yummy vanilla latte almost everyday. The best thing you can do in this situation is buy yourself a reusable metal travel mug and bring that with you everywhere you go. As if you don’t have one of those seriously cool carry all bags to throw one in. Even if you forget it once in awhile at least you are using disposable cups less.
If you do tend to use a “to go” paper cup and plastic lid with your coffee once your done instead of throwing the whole cup in the bin consider this option when your at home or in the office that has these facilities: separate the lid and then the cup & paper cozy and rinse the cup. Put the lid in the plastics recycling bin and the paper cup and cozy in the paper recycling bin. So easy to do. If there isn’t a bin to put them into, demand that there is one.
I request to the manager at almost every Starbucks I enter to offer a recycling bin for each piece. For such an giant of a company they should be leading the eco way. What about all those Frappacino plastic cups, lids and straws? Those should be recycled as well!!! I have seen far too many in garbage bins at every coffee shop that never make it to the recycling centers. Instead they sit in a land fill or worse make their way into our waterways never to breakdown…
2. Write your local retailers directly, or their websites, or simply make a suggestion with the manager of the store about what to stock on their shelves. Tell their “Buyers” to buy more “green or eco” products!!! They will pay attention because “going green” is on most everyone’s minds these days. You can make a difference. Use your voice!!
For example: “You guys usually have almost everything I’m looking for, however I do think you guys need tocarry a “green” alternative in every product you sell as much aspossible such as green diapers for the eco minded moms out there.”
3. Use your buying power to stop buying products that aren’t “green” and buy the ones that are local. The less that product has to travel to get onto the shelves, the more “green” it is and the less of a footprint it has as a whole. Remember that even if it is organic that doesn’t mean it didn’t come from afar. Look at where it comes from and buy locally or at least Canadian as much as possible! That goes for all things fashion as well!!! Shop local, its eco-friendly!!
4. Stop using plastic shopping bags. There is absolutely no need to use them unless you did a random shop and you didn’t plan for it. Obviously there are exceptions but really that is your excuse once in a while. You have options now. Many of the grocery stores are giving away fabric grocery bags if you buy over $100 in groceries. For a more fashionista approach check out my girlfriends eco chic company Bring Your Own Bag. They carry a whole range of fabric carry all bags with cool quotes and prints on display. http://www.bringyourownbag.ca
5. Repeat after me… I’ll never use another plastic water bottle again. I just read that title article in my 100th Issue Making Waves Magazine by The Surfrider Foundation. As I read this article I thought immediately about how I could actually make that happen. It’s going to be tough, but I am determined. For example before I read this article, I was at a club dancing the night away the other night, and I ordered a water from the bar. Of course they gave me a water bottle with their logo on it and ended up taking it home with me later. I just put the bottle in the recycling bin at my pad which seemed like the end of it… Its not. I thought I did my part.
As the article says “water bottles aren’t the only culprit, they’re just one of the most popular. For me all single use plastic is in the same category. To be blunt I see plastic water bottles as… wrong. I’m suggesting you give up using them.”
To sum it up:
North Americans spent $15,000,000,000 on plastic water bottles last year. $46,000,000,000 spent globally.
We pitch 38 billion water bottles a year into landfills.
Plastic is the most common type of marine litter world-wide.
Every piece of (petroleum-based) plastic ever manufactured still exists.
That last one alone is killer. If that doesn’t make you think about the plastic you use on an everyday basis in a whole new light nothing will. Hopefully it does make us all consider stopping the regular use of plastics as much as possible.
6. Stop buying items that are over-packaged. You know, the products at Costco for instance, that are layered in that hard non-recyclable packaging that is impossible to get into. Why? Don’t buy into it.
7. Stop driving everywhere and walk or ride your bike. For example: I am a total fashionista and I still managed to go green and look good… I rode my cruiser bike to BC Fashion Week last year on Granville Island from my pad in East Van wearing a cute skirt. Just before I walked into the fashion show I put my heels on, grabbed my purse from my bike basket and rocked on into the show. If you walk so much the better. You’ll get fit, have a healthy glow when you get to the event and have bragging rights when the topic of the environment comes up in conversation which we know… it always does…
8. Unplug your cell phone and laptop chargers when not in use. Every day we already use a ton of “vampire energy” when leaving on TV’s, microwaves, and alarm clocks. Unplugging our chargers is the least we can do.
9. Turn off all your lights at night and when you leave the house!!! It’s so easy to turn them back on. Flick. Just like that your back in action.
10. Use less water. Turn off running water faster. Take shorter showers. How easy is that?
There are so many ways for fashionista’s to go green. Do it today. Make a difference for life. If you have one you’d like to suggest please drop us a comment.
Hello fashionista’s… don’t you know the new black is green? Ha ha.
Respect.
