How to Shop Sustainably for Earth Day

Earth day is on the 22nd of this month! We feel this is a great reminder each year to be more mindful of the products we use. I preach to my kids about leaving this planet a better place than we found it and there are so many ways we can do our part. These are things like the use of plastic bags, climate change, food waste, single-use plastics, greenhouse gas emissions as well as carbon emissions. It’s important to work towards a more sustainable future.

One small change can make a huge difference in the long run, never think you aren’t doing enough. Simply reducing the use of plastic water bottles is one of the most important sustainable practices. There are tons of water bottles on the market that are reusable and made of sustainable materials, even. In honor of Earth Day and being more environmentally conscious, here are some of my favorite sustainable products and eco-friendly brands I love to shop from. Everything helps make a positive impact on this planet.

Shop for the Home

Firstly, this is one of the easier categories to make better changes in. The good thing about the earth friendly materials is that they actually are safer for our families to be using. Free from chemicals and with an added earth-friendly benefit, it’s a win-win situation. In my home, we have made strides to eliminate old habits. Items like single-use plastic bottles, plastic straws and paper products as well as other plastic products have all been rid of. For instance, we use our dishes and just wash them rather than having one use throw away products.

Moreover, the environmental impact on not having all of that to throw away is maybe small worldwide, but large for us. Single use plastics are a bigger issue than we realize and a simple solution is products that can be reused and washed. Natural ingredients have been at the top of my list for cleaning supplies. Some of my favorite brands to shop from are Blueland, Branch Basics, Bee’s Wrap and Stasher Bags.

Fashion

Secondly, the fashion industry does a number to this planet. From the clothing creation process to all of the clothes that end up in landfills, local communities can actually do a lot to help out with this. A few major ways are to go to thrift shops or shop from brands that follow the global organic textile standard. Mother Earth has too many clothes from fast fashion that end up being thrown away. An old garment doesn’t really break down into the planet. I’m not a fan of the saying one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. But in terms of finding really cool thrifted or even vintage pieces, this is a great time to be trying that out.

Sustainable fashion is not only on trend at the moment, but the way we should be incorporating new clothing that makes a big impact on this planet into our closets. It’s going to take a lot to eliminate fast fashion primarily because of the price point. Having less waste, better sources and materials as well as work environments make the world of a difference. The best part is that the clothes last longer! Even thrifting helps to make a difference and eliminate the amount of clothes that are tossed. A few of my favorite sustainable brands that do great with social responsibility are Everlane, Quince, Girlfriend Collective, Sézane, Summersalt, Levi’s and Mate the Label.

Furthermore, my kids grow like weeds! I feel like we are constantly shopping and the climate pledge friendly badge is to shop for organic fabrics made with sustainable fibers.  Not only do I want my kids to be comfortable, but I enjoy donating the clothing they outgrow for other children to enjoy. We are not tough on our clothing to begin with, so we take care of our things and give them away in good condition. For children’s clothing brands, we love are Boden, One Quince, Pact and TenTree.

Energy

Finally, this is a very important category and something we can all take part in. For this, I want to call attention to something larger than environmentally friendly products- our actions. Promoting a smaller carbon footprint and using solar panels are just a few things we do as individual actions. I love that these add up to larger outcomes. We look at our utility company and work on using less energy.

Reducing the use of electricity is not for the price, but for the planet. Overall, clean energy is impactful and I love being a part of a small change to become a larger change for this planet. I’d love to leave it a better place for my grandchildren someday. Sustainable habits get easier each day and we form new habits that become daily routine. These small habits rack up to form large impacts for the better on our planet.

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