Final Post

Looking back at my work throughout the course of the semester, I hope my publication has been worth the read. I set out to do an eco-friendly/ sustainable blog for this class with only a few ideas on what to write about and now I have a whole collection of posts on this topic. I didn’t intend on it being mostly sustainable brands but I think it worked out well. I also learned a lot more about some of the brands I wrote about. I may never be the perfect sustainable person and may make some mistakes but its the effort to be more eco-friendly that counts, it at least has a better impact than if I were to carry on using plastic products.

I hope the eco-friendly brand aspect brought something interesting to the table and people enjoyed reading my blog. This blog was inspired by Lemonstripes, a blog written by a mom in CT that is eco-conscious but also has a variety of different topics she talks about including gift guides around the holidays.

Planet-friendly parkas

I liked how this article mentions “because being warm shouldn’t cost the earth.” I am frequently cold once the weather starts to cool down and transition from summer to fall. I also liked how they included options in different price ranges and buying vintage/ second hand. Not everyone can afford the same price as a lot of bloggers out there so it was nice to see there were a range of price options.

by Hannah Rochell

Because keeping warm shouldn’t cost the Earth

It’s officially not summer anymore! Which makes it well and truly coat weather, and as such I’ve had a lot of messages on Instagram asking me where to buy responsible winter warmers.

I’ll be honest, this is not an easy one to answer. I’ve spent the last few months since I gave up shopping educating myself on the non-fast fashion ethical and sustainable brands that will be my go-tos once I allow myself the odd new items of clothing here and there in the future. But many of them stop short of producing anything REALLY warm, and I imagine this is because it often means the use of down (and feathers are often not collected in a cruelty-free manner), and/or waterproof polyester. Plus they are an expensive thing to produce.

I doubt I will be buying a new winter coat for about a…

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Global warming is no joke

As I write this it is currently 70 degrees and its almost NOVEMBER.

Global warming is one of the weirdest controversies because you can see it happening right before your eyes and there are some people who still choose to deny it.

The weather is staying warmer longer in the year and temperatures have spiked over the warmest months of the year leading to heatwaves. Heatwaves are no fun when your house doesn’t have AC throughout. We use window AC’s in our bedrooms but the rest of the house doesn’t have those type of windows..

The areas of the world where there usually lots of snow and ice is melting. This is especially a problem for animals that rely on the ice to travel from place to place. More importantly, they need the ice so they don’t drown. Food for these animals also starts to become in short supply if they are stuck in one area.

Yet some how global warming “isn’t real.”

It had been reported a couple years ago that all the written data about global warming had been wiped from severs. Whether that has changed now, I’m unsure. Either way it isn’t right to wipe data and just magically think its not a problem anymore.

Due to “non believers” this is a timely controversy. If something isn’t done to change this, its the end.

NASA

Madewell: They turn old jeans into WHAT?!

For those of you who haven’t heard of this, the clothing store Madewell, has a jean recycling program to make them into insulation for houses for communities in need. They do this through a program called Blue Jeans Go Green.

Here’s how it works: you bring in any pair of jeans to a Madewell store and in exchange for your jeans, you get $20 (per pair you bring in) towards a new pair of jeans. They accept any brand or style, it doesn’t have to be from Madewell.

Madewell is the sister company of J.Crew who also does the recycling program.

I should note these two stores aren’t the most affordable. While you get a $20 credit, you may not want to spend their prices. However, even if you decide to buy your jeans elsewhere, you still were able to donate those jeans to be made into housing insulation instead of them ending up in a landfill.

I personally have never bought Madewell jeans but I have bought a couple other things at the store. I just love the idea to do good with something such as jeans that you no longer wear.

10 Cents… Not Today

I’m sure pretty much everyone has heard about how some businesses (especially in Connecticut) have started to due away with plastic bags and charge 10 cents for paper ones. I often joke around about being a part time CT resident since I’m there so often but don’t actually live there. That being said I’m used the bag rule and I’m not about to pay 10 cents* so I try to remember bags.

There’s a few common things I’ve heard or seen

⁃ *panic look* “oh no we don’t have any bags!! How are we gonna carry all this without a bag!!” “Relax your in Massachusetts”

⁃ *at check out* nervously says “uhhh we don’t need a bag for those”

⁃ “Let’s see how much stuff we can fit in our arms without needing to have to use a bag”

⁃ “Wait a second.. if they still have produce bags.. they can’t charge us for those”

⁃ *empties out draw string backpack* “ah ha we can use this”

And just for fun (unrelated to bags)

– “aw they have paper straws…. it’s just gonna disintegrate by the time I finish this….”

*10 cents may sound like nothing but think about how many bags you get when you grocery shop for the week then take into account the amount of grocery trips you take in a year. Or you could get a reusable bag starting at under a dollar for the same as it would cost for roughly a couple trips to the grocery store using the bags they charge for everytime.

Guilt, Shame and Sustainability

This is a great blog about sustainable living. This post mentions how zero waste lifestyle isn’t “one size fits all.” Which I think is a great way to put it.

Imperfections

Part of the plastic problem is everyone thinks, it’s just one plastic straw or cup or whatever item you used. Now imagine everyone having this mentality and that’s how we ended up where we are.

I’ll admit I’m not perfect when it comes to reusable items. I’m pretty good with using reusable bags, I’m great with using a reusable water bottle but when it comes to straws that’s where it becomes a challenge.

At home, I only use reusable straws. I hate metal straws so I found some silicone straws that do the trick. While I’m great at using reusable straws at home, I forget to bring a straw with everywhere, especially since I don’t like metal straws (the only ones that have a collapsible to-go option).

I always need a straw for my drink at restaurants otherwise I spill it all over myself… Yes I know that sounds like a toddler… but that’s what happens all to often.

Also, Starbucks offers a discount off your drink if you bring a reusable cup. Something I forget.. every. single. time… Will I one day remember? Who knows, but one can hope.

Comparing Secondhand Clothing Websites | My Four Favorites

A pretty good article comparing several ways on online consignment.

My Unique Nest

The variety of items you can find secondhand is endless, but today I will be narrowing in on four of my favorite secondhand clothing websites. In a world where we are becoming more conscious of sustainability, thrifting has become a common way of life. Some of you may also shop secondhand because you love a good deal. So regardless of which category of shopper you are, let’s get into it!

Can you believe that you can secondhand shop from your couch? It’s probably the easiest way to bargain shop, but it does tend to cost more (compared to shopping in your local thrift/consignment shops) since the site has to get their cut of the money and pay the consigner for the clothing. You can still find some AMAZING deals on name brand clothing through these sites. If you’re interested in shopping any of these sites, click on the sites logo…

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Consignment: Helping Reduce the Tons of Clothes in Landfills

“Globally, 80% of discarded textiles are doomed for the landfill or incineration. Only 20% are actually reused or recycled.”

-Remake

Consignment shopping (and selling) helps reduce this problem. When clothes are consigned, you make money off of the clothes you otherwise wouldn’t have while the life of the clothing is extended by the new owner.

Remake also mentions “the US alone sends about 21 BILLION pounds of textile waste to landfills every year.”

These billions of pounds of clothing that end up in landfills take 200 or more years to decompose, emitting greenhouse gases in the process. Of course not all clothing can be resold, some things are worn beyond repair while others aren’t sanitary to re-sell. Aside from these items that’s where the problem lies. People often buy inexpensive items because of the price instead of spending a little bit more for something that lasts.

My local consignment shop is such a friendly place to shop. While it’s sometimes hit or miss, I end up leaving with something from there more often than not. While I have been to the store many times, I don’t go frequently. Recently I made $80 from consigning things I no longer wore. I’m able to spend a fraction of what the item would originally cost if it were new.

Whether you buy or consign from one of these stores you’re helping reduce the amount of clothing that ends up in landfills each year.

Lush: The Beauty Brand Doing Their Part to Help the Environment

I’m sure most people have heard of this company whether they’ve bought products from there or not. This company is most famous for its bath bombs but has a variety of products, all of which are sustainably made.

Most of their products are package free. However, the ones that need packaging such as shampoo and cleansers are sold in little black pots. These little black pots are made from recycled plastic. The store offers a program where you can return 5 black pots to the store and they will give you a face mask in return. The pots are sent back to their Vancouver supplier.

Lush Promises their products are ethically and sustainably made. Their paper bags for purchases are 100% recycled and also compostable. To reduce waste, they have come up with products like solid shampoo bars to help save water in production. According to their website, they have saved 118,800 gallons of water each year.

If more companies thought about their “footprint” on the environment, that would make a huge difference on the environment. Will it be enough is the question.