We all have an opportunity to affect the production of products that are not healthy for us or the environment. You can support environmental change with your pocketbook. Do you have to buy it new? Could a used one be just as nice, and save you money? Check thrift shops for clothing and housewares. Check Facebook Marketplace or Craig’s List, or a Habitat for Humanity Restore for gently used items. Look for gifts that are made with natural materials and/or created in a sustainable way. Support companies that care about the environment. Buy local and support your community, rather than in big box stores or online.
There are many sustainable companies, who are making business decisions to protect the environment, reduce their waste stream, reduce toxic chemicals, and supply environmentally friendly items. Google search for these criteria about those companies from which you might purchase products.
Here is a list of notable companies who care about reducing their carbon footprint:
Patagonia.com clothing company recognizes that “everything they make has an impact on the environment.” 100% of their energy needs are met with renewable energy. 98% of their products are made with recycled materials, and their products are guaranteed to last.
Adidas has recently partnered with a Finnish company Spinova, which has created a wood cellulose cotton-like fiber which uses 99% less water than conventional cotton and without harmful chemicals, which are in most clothing, even non-organic cotton, at news.adidas.com
zuvilife.com has created a new hair dryer without the blast of heat utilizing infrared-light technology that uses 60% less energy than a traditional hairdryer.
balsamroseaoap.com is a local soap company in Spafford, NY that uses only natural products in their soap and has a mission of reducing their carbon footprint.
TwinBrook-Farm.com in Camillus produces chemically-free food sustained by living, natural healthy soil by managing the land with respect to God’s laws and the environment according to His creation. Buy grass fed beef, poultry, eggs, and lamb from them.
Avoid toys made with plastic. Consider buying from local company Haba.usa where “We make all our products with an eye toward the conservation of natural resources, environmental protection, energy efficiency and occupational safety.”
Or perhaps you want to truly recycle all that plastic waste, much of which does not get recycled in our routine recycling programs. Go to terracycle.com and order their recycling boxes, that you fill with any kind of plastic and then ship it postage free to their recycling plant where all of it gets repurposed into new products.
taigamotors.com have created clean energy electric battery powered watercraft and snowmobiles.
Plus body wash products at cleanwith.plus have less water, less weight, and zero single-use plastic. PLUS Body Wash sachets are dissolvable, and disappear down your drain in under 30 seconds, so no micro plastics are entering our waste stream.
And remember, if you plan to spend a lot of money, consider getting a better credit card (from a company that does not invest in fossil fuels) at greenamerica.org/take-charge-