Fashionista Sista

Its Earth Day today so I felt compelled to write more about our beautiful but incredibly hurting planet.  Its probably the most talked about topic on the planet at the moment or we can at least hope everyone is tuned into this one.

Every Eco System is strained and will be for generations unless we take action everyday.  The time is now to make ‘greener’ changes in our lives because we are truly living amongst an Ecological crisis.

The Eleventh Hour Documentary (2007) – Leonardo DiCaprio was my inspiration this time.  I’ve been tuned into my ‘green’ since I was a young teen. When I was 19 years old on a road trip in Montreal, I was the girl that ran down the street after a black garbage bag that was blowing in the wind to grab it and put it in the garbage can.  My friends all laughed at me, but I didn’t care cause I was doing something to make a difference in any way I could… right in front of my eyes.

All it takes is being aware of your immediate surroundings to see that the earth is hurting and that the main reason it’s hurting is because of our mass consumption every single day.  Critical Mass and the constant barrag of gas, plastic & general crap that makes garbage & pollution.  

Its not about stopping all forms of shopping, but more about cutting down how much shopping we do on a weekly basis.  Buy smart.  Buy local.  Buy less often from mass manufactured companies and stop shopping from unethical companies!!  This means from companies that are sweat shop free but also companies that package their goods in non-biodegradable plastic or have harmful chemicals in their products.  

Remember this if nothing else and chant it to yourself as much as possible. “The more things you have the more time you have to spend working.”  Slow down and breathe already.  The flowers do smell marvelous.  For real.

We have to build a new ‘green’ economy that is centered around healthy fuels, green options, and making it easier for the average human to shop and buy ‘greener’ things.  Everyday you vote by paying for everything that you buy.  It says yes I approve of this product and the way it is made, what it is made out of and what it does.  That is one of the most powerful votes you have.  Make the right choices and think about that bottle of water that you bought yet again and where that plastic is going once your done with it.  Recycling isn’t solely the answer it’s a small part of the solution.  Reduce.

The government needs to be a bigger part in the ‘green’ movement for the masses and should lower income taxes in my opinion and increase fossil fuel taxes.  This way we’re not having to pay more, but instead it will even out financially and become easier over time to decrease our addiction to harmful fossil fuels.  The sun has enough energy alone to power every building, power plant, business and home if captured by solar power.  We’ve almost exhausted so many resources already, but the sun keeps shining on all of us so…  Im just saying.. Think about it.

Bailouts aren’t the answer if that business that receives it is doing biz the old fashionioned way.  In my opinion its Gods way of saying “what you were doing is not right so fix it or you won’t have a biz.”  We need a wise use of our planets resources, because we don’t have 20-30 years.  We have to make the changes now!!

On the bright side what a great time to be alive because this generation gets to be the ones that completely redefine and change the way we have been doing things for century’s. This generation is the one to make the changes really happen, because most of us are ready to make the leap to the ‘greener’ side.

11thhouraction.com

Some more suggestions in how to live a greener life everyday:

1.     Walk – So obvious, but always so worth saying.

2.     Ride your bike.  Work out for you and Green to!!!  

3.     Move closer to where you work or vice versa.

4.     Pick up a piece of litter a day.  You know that piece of garbage that you stepped over to walk past.. go back, pick it up and throw it in the next garbage you see.  Do this everyday or at least regularly.

5.     Stop buying anything plastic that you possibly can, most importantly things that are “one use wonders” like plastic drink containers or non recyclable plastics.

6.     Write diaper companies like Huggies and Pampers and demand that they come up with a biodegradable diaper!!!  Shame on you Huggies and Pampers!  You are leaders in your field and you are a joke.  You look as selfish as you possibly can through your neglect in this area.  Make it easier for all the families out there that simply have to buy into your brand because there are no other options for them.  Get a conscience.

7.     Fill up your tires on your car so you get the best performance on gas.

8.     Stop smoking already!  3 strikes butt out!!  It harms you, it harms everyone else and its terrible for the environment.  Plus you probably litter butts everywhere every single day.  The tobacco companies call you a sucker and straight up… so do I. 

9.      Buy from local Designers, Artisans, and Farms.  Keep the money local on so many levels.

10.   Shut off the taps faster and recognize the precious gift every drop of “Blue Gold” is.  Do you know that above all water is the most precious resource of all?  Without it we are a desert and nothing grows there.  Think.

11.   Stop being the devil’s advocate by telling your friends and the people you chat with on a daily basis that Global Warming isn’t true or whatever rubbish you may have heard second hand.  If you can’t tell that the earth is hurting badly and in deadly serious shape than you are part of the problem so zip it man and do something ‘green’ to counteract what you’ve done.  Going green certainly can’t hurt so do it already!

12.   Reduce, reuse, recycle.  Reduce is the first so stop buying so much plastic in fact cut it out ruthlessly.  There are other options most of the time!  Once it’s broken it goes in a landfill.  Set up a recycling program in your office or somewhere that needs one. The fact that some people still don’t recycle is unfathomable.  Make it happen today!

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 am 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 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 every Starbucks that I go to to offer a recycing bin for each piece. For such an giant o a company they should be leading the eco way. What about all those Frapacino 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 the most everyone’s minds these days.  You can make a difference. Use your voice!!

 For instance: “You guys usually have almost everything I’m looking for, however I do think you guys need to carry a “green” alternative in every product you sell as much as possible 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 http://www.bringyourownbag.ca They carry a whole range of fabric carry all bags with cool quotes and prints on display. 

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 was going to be super tough.  As an example 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 seems like the end of it… Its not.

As the article says “water bottles arent’ the only culprit, they are just one of the most popular.  For me all single use plastic is in the same catagory.  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 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…

There are so many ways for fashionista’s to go green.  Do it today.  Make a difference for life.