While we at The Tare Shop think everyday is Earth Day, we thought it would be a great opportunity to share tips that you can use everyday to help you lessen your impact on the environment!
Earth Day started in 1970 in the United States, and the movement has grown worldwide with over 190 countries in the world participating each day. It’s a really important day to reflect on how our actions impact the world, and what we can do to lessen that impact.
While Earth Day is April 22, we love to celebrate Earth Week! Here are some ideas for you to celebrate Earth Week as well:
- organize a cleanup
- plant a tree
- participate in a local Earth Day Event
- donate or volunteer with a local environmental organization
- host a movie night and watch an Environmental Documentary
Tips:
Contact your favourite businesses.
It’s not just our local politicians we can reach out to asking for change or showing interest in issues. You can also reach out to your favourite restaurants or businesses asking sharing that you care about certain issues and asking them what they are doing for the issue, or ask them to make changes. For example, if your favourite restaurant still uses styrofoam take-out containers, maybe ask them to switch to a reusable or recyclable option when they run out! Replace as you run out.
As you start to run out of items in your household or pantry, bring in your containers to refill them! It can seem very intimidating to start out shopping package-free, but we are here to help you and LOVE seeing new customers. A great starting point is laundry or dish soap – bring in your bottles and refill them after you run out, and while you are here see what else you can refill. Heres a blog post with our tips for shopping package free!
Repair.
I think we can all attest that it seems like products these days aren’t made to last unfortunately. It can definitely be easier to just replace items as they break, but our challenge to you is to try and repair first! Take clothes to a tailor to repair them, or learn how to repair your own clothes.
Use active transportation, public transportation or carpool.
Cars are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing their use can significantly impact the environment. By using public transportation, biking, or walking, we can reduce our carbon footprint and help to keep our air clean. Alternatively, carpooling with friends or coworkers can also help to reduce emissions.
Eat less meat
A plant-based diet can help to reduce our carbon footprint by minimizing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the meat industry. If going fully vegan or vegetarian isn’t for you, even picking one day a week where you avoid meat can will cut down on your meat consumption – it doesn’t have to be all or nothing!
We recently shared this blog post with 5 easy meal ideas that happen to all be plant-based!
The 5 Rs: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and then recycle.
You’ve probably heard of the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle). The 5 Rs build on that concept to help us further reduce waste and minimize our environmental impact. Here's what each R entails:
- Refuse: Say no to items that we don't need or that are harmful to the environment. For example, refuse single-use plastics such as straws and bags, or at events refuse swag bags if you don’t need what they’re offering.
- Reduce: Cut back on the amount of stuff we consume. This can include buying fewer things or using less energy and water.
- Reuse: Find new uses for items that we already have. For example, use old jars to store food or use old clothing for cleaning rags.
- Repurpose: Give old items new life by using them for a different purpose. For example, turn an old t-shirt into a reusable shopping bag.
- Recycle: Properly dispose of items that can be recycled. This includes plastics, paper, and aluminum cans.
Shop second hand
Before buying new items, like clothes or household goods, see if you can source what you’re trying to find second-hand! There are so many places to buy secondhand items from, and this can save you money as well as lessen the impact on the environment.
Leave a comment