The holidays are the most magical (waste filled) time of the year! From plastic packaging, and unwanted gifts, to food waste and extra carbon emissions from travel, there are SO many opportunities to throw sustainable habits out the window for the sake of ‘good cheer’. I hope this post can encourage you to show as much kindness to the planet as you do those around you this holiday season!

As Zero waste is becoming a more prevalent discussion and more companies are focusing on sustainability, there is more and more technology in development. The news coverage of the current climate crisis is also waking a lot more people up to the urgency of solutions. It is wonderful to see more people interested in learning about these innovations. The technology in this domain is leading to a huge shift in consumer thinking and expectations.

Last week celebrities and influencers flooded the red carpets of the Met Gala, New York Fashion Week, and the MTV Music Awards. Whether or not you follow the culture, the coverage was hard to avoid. There were tons of media outlets covering all the attendees looks from head to toe and what made them great or a miss. Whether or not you like it, the pedestal placed on this fashion and the attention on trends impacts the entire industry of fashion.

You now might be asking, but, how does this affect me personally? Which might seem insensitive but is totally fair because on the surface, it doesn’t. We are a part of the 20% — with resources available at our disposal. We have running water, a healthcare system, medicine, safe living conditions, the true impact of this problem doesn’t quite reach you yet. Though 80% of humanity is without those things.

Purchasing a gift as or for a sustainable person should be more normalized in the same way we finally start to realize the impact our purchasing habits have on our planet. There is no need to spend time, money, and energy picking out the perfect gift that might fall short of the person’s values or true needs. That being said, here are a few zero-waste and environmentally friendly gift ideas for women in your life

While they do have a lot in common, and the zero waste lifestyle IS a sustainable way to live — it is by no means the only way to be sustainable. All zero waste activities are sustainable, but not all sustainable behaviour is zero waste. Still not super clear on the difference? Check out this post to learn more.

This post is meant to help you start off your week feeling inspired by explaining 10 simple ways you can help give back to the Earth. But before I get into the list, I want to share a bit about the importance of developing a relationship with our Earth and how it can help shift your perspective to a more compassionate, proactive mindset.

There is a misconception that the zero waste lifestyle is fancy and expensive, but the truth is it isn’t fancy and it doesn’t have to be expensive. It is not fancy because the main idea to reuse as much as you can — so the jars you reuse might not all look the same. It doesn’t need to be expensive because you do not have to buy everything at once and once bought, you will not need to buy them again…

Social justice happens when human rights are respected; on the contrary, social injustice occurs in situations where equals are treated unequally — trampling on the rights of select groups based on arbitrary biases. Not only is this cruel and hateful, these ridged attitudes towards others impact our society’s ability for flexible thinking and the evolution of more inclusive practices. Which as we have all witnessed in politics over the last few years, can be detrimental to helping climate change.

…some cute graphics that you can download right now for free. The goal is to inspire somebody with them. The images are sized for Instagram but I guess you could share them on Facebook as well, although they are not perfectly sized for it.