Every Day Should Be Earth Day

When I was 8 there was a terrible storm, one of the strong oak trees in my neighbor’s front yard fell on their house. When I found out the tree had to be cut down I was staunchly against it. So I wrote a petition to not cut down the tree. As a stubborn 8 year old I was out to save the trees with this tree being my first. I remember going around the neighborhood and trying to convince my neighbors not to cut down the tree and to sign my petition. Although in retrospect I understand that this tree was probably a liability and could have endangered my neighbor's family (hindsight is 20/20). Unsurprisingly only a teenager signed my petition and probably my mom.

I chuckle now about how environmentally conscious I was as a child, and how not much has changed. I still want to join Captain Planet and the Planateers and save the planet from ecological disasters. Nevertheless, Earth Day means different things to different people. For me Earth day is every day and I try to be grateful and conscious. Don't forget this is a gradual process, every small effort makes a difference. I feel like there is this notion that becoming more environmentally conscious has to be quick and rapid and I want to tell you it doesn't have to be. I want to also admit that I am pervious to consuming and am not always as conscious as I should be. I don't bring recyclable cups to Starbucks even though I should, I'm not even close to a zero waste life, plus a number of things I'm sure. However, I have made a lot of strides with consuming clothing/things in a more sustainable way and I have so much more room to grow in other areas. I want to encourage you to start small and that all the small things truly make an impact.

Being that its Earth Day I figured it was the perfect time to share my thoughts on how sustainable fashion can happen, some of my favorite resale looks, and since its 2017- 17 tips on how you can get on board to protect our Earth.

1. Shop resale! My mantra is resale is rad. I’ve learned that often the best clothes are not the ones you find in stores. They are waiting for you in other peoples closet looking for another home. Over the past year I have been getting rid of old, too trendy pieces that aren’t very me. I’ve been adding pieces that I think I can wear until I turn 30 (and hopefully after). Some of my favorite resale retailers are eBay, Poshmark, Vinted, Vestiare Collective, the Real Real, ThredUp, and Schoola. I also just bought a J. Crew dress from a Facebook Group, so there's that...

2. Shop at your locals farmer's market. Find a farmers' market near you at localharvest.org.
3. Wash your clothes cold, and in full loads like a dishwasher. Cold water uses 90% less energy than hot water!
4. Hang dry some of your laundry. Personally I always hang dry jeans!
5. Buy a concentrated plant based laundry detergent, with third party labels, leaping bunny certified, and without a scent.
6. Carry your lunch in polypropylene #5 containers (#6 and #7 have toxic chemicals). Glass is also a great option and stainless steel as well.
7. Consider how you take your coffee. I have a Nespresso Vertuoline coffee/espresso maker and my favorite part is that the pods are recyclable. Nespresso even sends you their own recyclable bags to ship your pods to their recycling plant with a prepaid label!
8. Recycle your clothes with ThredUp or donate them to a cause via Schoola. I donate gently used clothes to Schoola supporting the Malala Fund. You can also donate gently used kids and women's clothing to a school in need or your own school!
9. Stop buying bottled water from the grocery store and use a different container! I have a weakness to Sparkling Ice's so I hope to get a Soda Stream eventually. Regularly I use this Starbucks You Are Here glass water bottle.
10. Recycle clothes to H&M's donation bins, read more here (you get a 20% off discount). I know, I know H&M is notorious for creating waste alongside a list of social issues but they really are making pledges and strides in addition to being transparent about their brand. If I need basics like plain t-shirts I go ahead and pick up a shirt from the Conscious Collection. Aside from that collection I don't really shop at H&M.
11. Buy earth friendly and girl power supporting brands like Alba Botanica. They sell literally everything beauty face, hair, body, and sun. Their products are vegetarian, have no harsh sulfates, no parabens, no artificial colors, and no animal testing. I love their shampoo and conditioner (everything is wonderful though).
12. Sign environmental, human rights, and sustainable food petitions on Change.org!
13. Save the bees! Support Cheerios #BringBacktheBees and Burt's Bees campaigns!
14. Add An Inconvenient Truth and the Lorax to your watch list. We have to protect the Earth!
15. Shut off lights when you aren't using them, there is nothing chic about wasting electricity (I wish my roommates would listen).
16. Use recyclable bags when shopping!
17. Use freecycle or Craigslist or Goodwill to get rid of old furniture and unwanted things. Since I'm moving this summer I have so much furniture I need to get rid of. I am mainly using Craigslist and am cleaning out my apartment at good speed!

There you go folks, 17 of my tips on how you can get on board and save our Earth. I hope today we all can cherish the Earth a little bit more and work together to support our Planet. What are some tips you have to protect the Earth? Happy Earth Day!