10 Steps to Take a Stand Against Our Plastic Problem

MINDSET

1. Make a list of the plastic that you see around you

   Familiarize yourself with what you can easily give up, and what you might struggle more with, in your bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, etc. First and foremost, this will help give you a stronger sense of consciousness about your consumption.

2. Learn about different waste systems.

   Currently, the majority of the waste we create is in a linear system, where we dispose in landfills with no opportunity for regeneration. A circular economy strives to create a closed loop system, where the waste we create contributes to the production of new materials + goods.

3. Follow a few people who have dedicated themselves to going plastic-free.

Even if this is not a goal for you, these influencers have the best tips on ways to reduce waste. Some favorites include @plasticfreemermaid @sedonachristina @trashisfortossers @wastefreemarie

PURCHASES

1. Check out Package Free Shop and Zero Waste Store

   Both of these stores offer great zero waste swaps for many plastic products! Browsing the stores will give you ideas for how to take action in a way that best suits your lifestyle.

2. Shop for products made with Econyl

   Some of the most harmful clothing are synthetics that are often found in activewear and swimwear. The fabric Econyl is used by tons of brands that are looking to create sustainable alternatives that you can shop from (ex. Adidas, Girlfriend Collective, and Vitamin A Swim). Econyl is made of recycled materials including plastics found in the ocean!

3. Microfiber Filter

   Here are a few links to microfiber balls, bags, & filters, which help prevent harmful microplastics in our clothing from running off during laundry and contaminating oceans:

   Cora Ball

   Guppy Friend Bag

   Girlfriend Collective Microfiber Filter

ACTIONS

1. Properly recycle

   Look into your recycling system! Systems vary from place to place, and ensuring proper recycling is important in reducing waste + contamination, especially in regards to plastics. Learn some basics on plastic recycling in episode 2 of environmentenlist.

2. Beach Clean Up

   Enough said—head to the beach to protect our oceans. While disposing plastic waste in the trash still isn’t ideal (because it’s unlikely to ever fully break down and return to the Earth), it prevents the destruction of marine life and ensures that as the plastic does deteriorate, it won’t find its way into our seafood + drinking water, causing serious health issues.

3. Sign Petitions

   WWF Plastic Pollution

   Demand Supermarkets Reduce Plastic Packaging

   Tell Nestle, Unilever, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo., Colgate, Danone, Johnson & Johnson, and Mars to Stop Creating Single Use Plastic

4. Take the Plastic Free July Challenge

   This challenge has a way for everyone to get involved! Give up plastic for a day, week, the full month, in any way you can fully commit to. More than anything, take the opportunity to learn more about plastic pollution this month alongside 250 million global participants!

Quick Ways to Identify Sustainable Clothing Brands

While consignment stores, thrift shops, and buying clothes secondhand online are all great options, navigating new sustainable fashion can be confusing. For many brands, full information surrounding labor standards, textiles, and supply chains can be hard to find. While it’s definitely helpful (& really interesting!) to fully understand the life cycle of clothing, we’ll save that for a podcast. In the meantime, here are some easy, telltale ways to understand if a brand meets the mark on sustainability.

IF YOU HAVE 5 MINUTES

Use Good on You

This app and website is a game changer and does a great job of breaking down a brand’s impact on the planet, on people, and on animals in an easy, dynamic way. It’s the most convenient eco-friendly encyclopedia that you can use on the go.

Become an Eco-Age Member and access Recommended Brands

Eco-Age is a great way to stay up to date with sustainability focused news, lifestyle hacks, and fashion trends. Beyond standard news articles, you can also become a member for free and have access to the Recommended Brands directory. You can easily filter products by cause or category to find clothing, hotels, jewelry, beauty products, swimwear, and more.

Look into Re/make

Re/make is a 501(c)3 non-profit that believes fashion can be a force for good. Check out their list of sustainable brands here.

Work Backwards

Many times, it’s helpful to understand new, innovative sustainable fabrics and look at the webpage for that company to see which brands they partner with. For example: Econyl has a list of apparel brands they have worked with, so you can go to any of those brands and purchase products made with the fabric.

IF YOU HAVE 10-15 MINUTES

Email your favorite brands or read brand reports

Email your favorite brands! Ask them the questions you actually want answers to, and if they don’t answer, let that speak for itself. Many brands also share public reports detailing long-term plans to transition to more sustainable fabrics, production methods, and packaging. Reading through these reports is a great way to learn what a brand currently does and is looking to do in the future. It allows a brand’s values to really shine, however…

Remember that transparency is not the same as sustainability

While transparency is great, keep in mind that what a brand intends to do is completely different from what it is currently doing. If you finish a report and feel like you learned nothing or that there might be hints of greenwashing, the best thing to do is to take a look at the fabrics being used in a garment and also do a few searches into the brand’s production standards.

Fabrics that are (generally) better for the environment: Tencel, Hemp, Linen, GOTS certified organic cotton, Econyl, rPET, Lyocell

Stay tuned for a full breakdown on fast-fashion and how businesses are adapting (or not adapting) for the growing demand for cleaner fashion.