From their ‘About’ page; “TerraCycle offers a range of national, easy-to-use recycling platforms allowing everyone to #RecycleEverything” (via TerraCycle)
(via TerraCycle)
Hi everyone! I’d like to quickly highlight this amazing resource. Terracycle coordinates national recycling programs, either with free shipping labels to the correct recycling facilities or purchasing a designated recycling box. They also partner with physical locations for drop-off recycling.
There is a wide array of recycling programs covering various items from e-waste, batteries, and water filters, to specific brands of make-up and personal care product packaging. Most programs use the free shipping label option, in which you use any old cardboard box to package your items for recycling.
During this politically charged time—on #blackoutday2020—I want to highlight the topic of how supporting the Black Lives Matter movement through shopping at BIPOC-owned businesses is also intrinsically tied to sustainability and environmental justice, and more specifically in regards to slow fashion.
The issue with fast fashion is that we constantly buy brand-new, cheap clothes & accessories, which have such low prices bc the companies who sell them profits off of paying their workers below living wages and cheap materials. These very same clothes will be quickly dumped into landfills–yes, even after you’ve donated them–because they are deliberately made to be of low quality and NOT made to last. Strategic marketing also pursuades people to keep buying new clothes each season in order to keep up with the latest trends…
I was so excited to find large metal straws at Little Sweet on 9th Avenue (San Francisco)!!
San Francisco is establishing one of the widest plastic straw bans in 2020, prohibiting even compostable plastic straws (PLA) because they act like conventional plastic in our environment if littered. This means that single-use straws sold in San Francisco must be now biodegradable, which is fantastic by all means! Establishments all over the city are getting an early start, such as many boba places switching out plastic for bamboo fiber straws and also selling metal options.
The bamboo fiber straw is not to be mistaken for a bamboo straw. While both are biodegradable, these babies are much more flexible and only meant for one-time use (via the Boba Guys)
Those who want to reduce this waste one step further should think about owning their own straw—one that can be washed and reused multiple times. I only own two types: bamboo and metal. Here are some thoughts on these two popular straw options…
Have you been curious about thrifting, or you’re already hooked and wanna convince your loved ones to shop secondhand? Here are 3 reasons why buying recycled fashion and other secondhand goods is super beneficial, with a few suggestions that may help you get started.
Shameless plug here for Pick of the Litter in Burlingame—100% of sales benefit the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA. They also have an online eBay store and 100% of proceeds to support our local shelter animals. (via Yelp)
So, the 3 reasons why you should shop secondhand are…
The environment will thank you!
(via classic-play.com)
By extending the life of used goods, you do these 3 key things:
Saving perfectly usable things from the landfill
Reducing your carbon footprint
Opposing chemical pollution & water overuse
New things are constantly manufactured for ever-changing fashion, cultural, design and technological trends. Most things (mass-produced goods) require raw, unprocessed material. This overproduction for material is what makes buying new things problematic.
It’s time to talk about sustainable menstruation! Here’s why a menstrual cup is the best option… and reasons why it may not work for you. I’ll also go over environmental impacts of regular tampons, 100% organic cotton tampons, and a list of other eco-friendly period products at the very end. I won’t go into detail about any cups that I’ve tried out because I’d like to dedicate smaller pieces for reviewing them specifically.
(via lacopamenstrual.es)
Menstrual cups are not only a more affordable alternative to plastic tampons, but they’re also much friendlier to our planet. While it’s nice saving money from not buying tampons regularly, my main reason for using a menstrual cup is so I may live more sustainably. I started using a cup in August 2018… and noticed plenty of other perks besides environmental ones, and I don’t plan on using tampons again unless it’s an emergency situation. Before we get into menstrual cups, let’s talk about why the average tampon is so harmful.
The family cat, Chewy Nougat, wanted in on this photo op. She likes the Pela case, too!
We ‘Believe in Better’… ♻️🌾 My first step in leading an environmentally conscious lifestyle began with reusable bags and water bottles, now this 📲🌎Pela is a Canada-based company that produces eco-friendly phone cases. They utilize plant material 🌿 and bioplastic instead of traditional plastic and can biodegrade within your home composting environment. What exactly is their bioplastic? Quoted from Pela directly:
Flaxstic®, which is comprised of GDH-B1 compostable bioplastic elastomer and flax straw materials. Our material has been tested to be safe and free of phthalates, BPA, cadmium and lead… it meets U.S. (ASTM D6400-04) and E.U. (EN 13432) standards for composting in an industrial composting facility and has a lower carbon footprint and lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditional plastic.
[The] overall biobased content by weight to 45%. The remaining 55% of our current Flaxstic® formulation is comprised of non renewable resources. Our ultimate goal is to continue to work with the best bioplastic companies to advance the bioplastic and biopolymer science to get to 100% biobased content. We are not there yet, but we will keep trying and we believe 45% biobased is better than none.
So while it’s not made with 100% biobased content, it is still more friendly to our oceans than the traditional plastic cases. The the best part of it all: the closed loop system means that once you’re done with the case, you can toss it in the compost without worry of polluting the planet—or ship it back to Pela for them to recycle it into more Pela products!
The Evergreen Guide 