You know how the story goes – you’ve put two peppers down on your shopping list, but now that you’re standing in the veggie aisle at the store… why not buy a few extra, just in case?
Or maybe, your story goes more like this: After two days of eating the same tomato pasta, it just doesn’t look that appetizing anymore… so you make something else, and the next time you see those leftovers? They’ve grown fur. Yikes.
Food waste is nothing new – we’ve all heard of it, and honestly, we’ve all done it. But according to a recent report by the UN, 931 million tonnes of food goes to waste every year – that’s 17% of all food produced globally. The figure is even higher in the US, with an estimated 30-40% going straight into the bin.
Imagine being able to buy an item you frequently buy just once. When you get it, it doesn’t come in a giant package that takes up half of your storage space. It’s also not 400 rolls or 1,000 items. It doesn’t require a trip to a giant department store on a busy Sunday. Imagine once a year, you bought something… like a plastic snack or sandwich bag and then didn’t think about buying bags again until the next year.
Now, imagine it’s not plastic.
You jot down a long list of climate-conscious goals while you’re feeling motivated and optimistic. This time you’re really going to do it. You arm yourself with a reusable bag and a habit tracker and dive right in.
But after only a couple of weeks, you start getting worn out. Eventually, you find yourself going back to your old habits.
Does this sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. Most New Year’s Resolutions last an average of 36 days. However, this doesn’t mean you should give up on your plans! Working to make sustainable changes in your life is a critical goal — and it’s completely doable.
Making Your Goals More Sustainable
When you’re passionate about a cause, it’s easy to put too much pressure on yourself. That’s why we have some psychology-based tips to help you reach your goals.
When you work on sustainable living gradually, it’s easier to make your new habits stick. To help you get started, we have 19 simple, sustainable ideas for the New Year. Add one or two to your routine and let us know how it goes!
As December draws near, so do the holidays in all their sparkling glory. And with pitch-dark evenings and dropping temperatures, it’s no wonder the end-of-year festivities are hard to resist – the twinkling lights and sparklingHoliday cards really do brighten the winter months.
But all that glitter isn’t just magically whipped out of thin air. Each year, tons of manufactured sparkly plastic pours out of factories across the world, slowly making their way into our ecosystems.
The holidays are an opportunity to make people feel loved and seen. We celebrate our most cherished relationships by exchanging gifts. Sometimes we also have to find a gift for someone we may not know well.
