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holiday

How To Tackle The Holiday Season Sustainably To Help Protect The Planet 

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The holiday season is busy for all of us, and in the US, it’s expected that spending will hit a record high this year. According to the National Retail Federation, 2025 is set to be the first time America collectively spends over $1 trillion on gifts during the last month of the year. 

One thing that often gets overlooked during the chaos of the holidays is how much waste and planet-warming gases are emitted into our atmosphere due to increased manufacturing, traveling, one-time material use, and more. 

There are many easy ways, however, that we all can help make the holidays greener to help give our planet the gift of environmental protection. 

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Going homemade can not only become a fun holiday activity and tradition, but it helps reduce waste. Sandra Goldmark, associate dean of Columbia Climate School’s Office of Engagement and Impact, told AP that one of her favorite gift-giving options is providing an act of service for a loved one. She gave the example of how one year, her husband took the time to organize all of her passwords for her, something that may seem mundane to some, but is so personal and helpful it became one of her favorite gifts. 

“It was not something easy to wrap and put under the tree, but believe me, it was meaningful and really helped me more than any additional object cluttering up my home could have,” she told the publication.

Something more general that everyone enjoys is the gift of good food. A trend that has been taking over the holiday season in recent years is buying ingredients in bulk and packing them in Mason jars. Cookie mix, soup mix, spices, bread starters, and more can be easily packaged in cute jars which can then be adjourned with ribbon, stickers, and cute recipe labels. 

Goldmark also emphasized that by simply buying less stuff, we work towards a greater sustainability goal. “The advice starts out simple: Buy less stuff. The best way to give gifts more sustainably is to buy fewer new things.” 

Additionally, gifting experiences rather than a physical gift has become more and more popular in recent years. Concerts, local festivals, spa days, museums, zoos, etc. all are great options and it’s been shown that having experiences together work to strengthen relationships even further than material gifts. 

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“There is so much that you could do by just saying, ‘I would prefer if you just made me a nice meal or took me out for some sort of adventure,’” said Atar Herziger, environmental psychologist.

Sustainable living educator Sarah Robertson-Barnes recommends looking into secondhand gifts as they involve less manufacturing, packaging, and shipping. 

“I bet somebody has the thing that you’re looking for and they would love to get rid of it. We do have a weird cultural thing where new is better and used is gross. I suggest reframing used gifts as vintage,” she said.

Herziger said “secondhand options might be received better when they’re items that can’t be bought new, such as a family heirloom or a collectible that isn’t produced anymore.”

“Focus on items that are high-quality, long-lasting, repairable and really needed. That ensures that it’s worth investing in and reduces the chance that it gets returned. Look to buy locally, rather than ordering online, to reduce how far it travels,” Goldmark stated. 

Finally, every year millions of pounds of wrapping paper end up in landfills, and a lot of it can’t be recycled due to the fact that many pf them are made with non-recyclable materials. There are, however, plenty of recyclable wrapping paper options out there, just make sure to check labels when you buy them in store or specifically search for it if you’re ordering online. 

Gift bags have also long been reused, especially ones that are intricately designed, so when it can call for it, opt for a bag over paper to wrap up your gifts. 

Getting creative with your wrapping paper is also a great option. Newspaper and brown paper offer a unique aesthetic to your gifts while making it easy for the recipient to recycle them afterwards.

la

Los Angeles Planning To Host The Most Sustainable Olympics Yet For 2028 Summer Games

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Los Angeles, California will be hosting the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. In the most recent Summer Games, hosted in Paris, there were major strides made in sustainability and protecting the environment while holding the world’s most anticipated athletic competition. 

Throughout the Paris Olympics, the total CO2 emissions equated to 1.59 million tons, which is less than half of the average emissions at both the London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games, according to reports from Forbes Magazine. 

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Becky Dale, the Vice President of Sustainability for Los Angeles 2028 said that they’re ready and willing to try to become even more green than the Paris Games, which have become the new standard for sustainability. 

“It’s the great thing about the sports industry: everyone wants to win, including sustainability. Every time you host, you want to up the ante.”

Dale cited the 2028 Game’s Impact and Sustainability Plan, which outlines how the city is committed to reducing waste, utilizing materials that can be put back into the community. 

Nurit Katz, UCLA’s Chief Sustainability Officer, collaborated with Dale to give a presentation on how they plan on making the Games greener than ever. The two presented the plan at the Energy Innovation Conference at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. 

LA 2028 also released an Impact and Sustainability Plan, “a structured document laying out how organizers plan to maximize the Olympic’s sustainability potential,” Blythe Lawrence for Forbes wrote.

One of the biggest aspects of this plan is that LA is not planning to build any new venues for hosting the event. This is major because the last time the Olympics took place without any new construction being built beforehand was London in 1948. 

The sustainability plan wrote: “[LA was] built for large, live-scale events, from the Grammys and the Academy Awards to the FIFA World Cup and the Super Bowl. With the region’s abundance of existing world-class stadiums and arenas ready to host the Games today, athletes at the 2028 Games will have access to exceptional fields of play and fans will enjoy unbeatable spectating.” 

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This automatically sets LA up for being much greener than previous Olympic Games. Not only will there be a reduction of carbon emissions from the lack of construction, but it entails that every competition venue will take place within a 35-mile radius of downtown LA, so transport around from the Olympic village to each venue won’t take as much energy/emissions. 

Dale went on to explain that almost all of the materials used for the Games will be reused in some way after the Olympics are over. 

“The target is to have 90% of materials used for temporary infrastructure reused or recycled. LA will rely on a combination of rentals, buybacks, and donations to ensure reuse of as much material as possible,” she stated. 

The plan also noted that the electricity used to power venues will be fully renewable by using the grid to reduce the Games’s carbon emissions. 

Dale stated that the organizers will be enhancing public transit to motivate fans to to take it from one venue to another. 

“Our big challenge is how do we make public transportation the most attractive option for people coming to the Games? Ultimately people are creatures of free will, but there are ways to create incentives and smooth the path so we can make it a more desirable option,” she said. 

Katz also discussed at the conference that the Olympics going green doesn’t necessarily mean that the planning and implementation of the new sustainable measures will be more expensive than the average cost of putting on the Games. 

“There’s very much a myth that going green or being sustainable always has to cost more. Some of our initiatives, especially around energy efficiency or around reducing waste, really have operational savings.”

online shopping

Making Sustainable And Climate-Friendly Choices When Online Shopping 

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The internet is a vast resource that has created easy ways for us to purchase essentials. Clothing, furniture, electronics, groceries, and more are all available with the click of a button. The growth of technology and the conversation surrounding climate change has occurred simultaneously. With so many ways to shop online, the number of products labeled as “sustainable” has also increased. 

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However, it can become difficult to distinguish how sustainable certain online shopping habits actually are. The term “sustainability” is so vast that it’s hard to determine if our actions are actually helping the environment. So what can we look out for to make the best choices before clicking purchase?

Third-party nonprofit organizations, study manufacturers, and government programs such as the Agriculture Department’s organic certification and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star efficiency standard all offer easy ways to find sustainable digital shopping options. 

Elwyn Grainger-Jones, who leads a nonprofit that certifies product sustainability, told the Associated Press that “there also isn’t a single clearinghouse that tracks which third-party certifications are the most credible.”

“Therein lies an issue and a challenge. What we haven’t seen so far is a third-third party step in and be the information portal on what a good certification is,”  said Grainger-Jones, CEO of Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.

According to a study recently published in Environmental Science and Technology, there are cases where a person shopping online may emit less emissions than they would if they went to the store. Of course, this depends on which site they’re on, the shipping speed they choose, and how close they live to a brick-and-mortar alternative. 

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Third-party certification generally is meant to show that an independent group studied sustainability factors. Some focus on certain specific issues while others look at a more general holistic picture. 

Certification labels are also widely varied. Some retailers place them directly on the product and others have them listed on the manufacturer’s website. Larger retail bodies typically list them in their product descriptions. 

“Ideally you want to look for some certifying bodies because they’ve removed some of that up-front labor that as a consumer you otherwise might have to do,” said Clementina Consens who works for B-Lab, which certifies companies that meet environmental and social standards.

Grainger-Jones said “some companies create their own self-certifications that look convincing but don’t mean much. You can go and buy a self-declared certificate for a couple of thousand dollars.”

Consens stated that companies that are serious about sustainability need to not only have their manufacturing and shipping practices properly assessed, but need to make that information easily accessible to their customers. This builds a foundation of trust between the company and consumer.

Specifically, Consens looks to see if a given company has completed an environmental impact assessment, if they make that information public, and whether or not they have data on the company’s greenhouse gas emissions, water, or energy use.

New Zealand

New Zealand To Begin Charging Foreign Tourists To Visit Famous Sites 

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New Zealand announced its plans to start charging international tourists fees in order to visit some of their countries most famous natural sites. With these transactions, New Zealand is hoping to make it easier for local businesses to operate on conservation land and allow room for ecological, cultural, and economic growth. 

Reports indicate the government is planning to charge visiting tourists NZ$20-40 ($12-24) per person in order to gain access to their famous sites. These sites will include spots such as Cathedral Cove/Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Track and Aoraki Mount Cook.

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According to the plans, the fees will likely be implemented in 2027. 

Tama Potaka, the conservation minister, estimated that the new fees could generate up to NZ$62 million annually, “so we can keep investing in the sites that underpin so much of our tourism sector.” 

The implementation of these new fees is a part of a larger-scale plan to shift the nation’s conservation law regarding selling or exchanging conservation land so more activities can occur in these places without needing a permit. 

“In the spirit of saying yes to more jobs, more growth and higher wages, the government would unleash a fresh wave of concessions including in tourism, agriculture and infrastructure at some locations,” prime minister Christopher Luxon said on Saturday, according to the Guardian. 

Conservation land makes up one third of New Zealand territory and it is protected and publicly owned. It’s known for its biodiversity, historic, and cultural value. 

“Some businesses such as ski fields and grazing already operated on conservation land but many other businesses struggled to gain the same permission,” Luxon said. This is just one of many newer policies in New Zealand that is seeking to loosen regulation on natural sites in the name of economic growth. 

Last year, the government passed a law that will potentially allow for contentious mining and infrastructure projects to be fast-tracked for approval. There have also been proposed law changes to make it easier for companies to kill protected wildlife for infrastructure projects. 

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Conservation and climate initiatives are also experiencing budget cuts. 

Critics are speaking out against these new policies, stating its irresponsible to risk harming not only the environment but vulnerable and protected species. New Zealand is known for their biodiversity, but like the rest of the world, many species are threatened by endangerment and on the brink of extinction. 

Green party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said “Luxon was putting profit above the protection of nature,” according to the Guardian. 

“That tells us everything we need to know about who he thinks he works for. It’s not regular people, future generations or a healthy environment,” she said in a statement to the Guardian.

“[The latest reforms] represent the most significant weakening of conservation law in a generation and would increase pressure on vulnerable species,” said Nicola Toki, the chief executive of New Zealand’s largest conservation organisation, Forest & Bird.

“They shift the focus from protection to exploitation, dismantling the very purpose of our national parks and conservation lands.”

copper

Scientists In London Creating A Greener Way To Mine Copper From The Planet

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Copper is a key component to civilization’s infrastructure, however, unrestricted extraction has led to environmental devastation, and it will only continue to get worse in the future. Scientists in London are trying to combat this outcome by creating a greener method to extract the vital metal for humanity’s benefit.

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This Company Is Using New Technology With Nature To Combat Excessive AC Use

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The heat waves in the US have become more and more common as climate change has worsened in recent years. SkyCool Systems is a relatively new company attempting to combat the harmful greenhouse gases emitted from excessive air conditioning use throughout the country through new technology. 

“Our planet naturally cools itself by sending heat out in the form of infrared light or radiation. We’re using that effect to essentially radiate heat out during the day and at night, even under direct sunlight.” 

Eli Goldstein is SkyCool’s co-founder and CEO who explained that this process is known as radiative cooling. SkyCool uses rooftop panels made using nanotechnology and optical film that radiates infrared light and cools itself in the process. 

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According to the company these panels work in the opposite way that traditional solar panels do by reflecting about 97% of the sunlight that hits them, and cooling the surface below. 

The SkyCool model involves an embedded network of pipes that are below the panels. These pipes are filled with water that’s kept cool by the panels and then can flow into a refrigeration or air conditioning system. The goal is to take pressure off the AC or fridge cooling systems which can use a lot of energy. 

The panels also cool themselves naturally and don’t require any external power to function, which helps the entire house use less electricity during times of extreme heat. 

Jesus Valenzuela is the store manager at a grocery outlet store in Stockton, California which recently adopted the SkyCool system technology. 

“After we had our SkyCool system installed, our electricity company increased their rates on us. We actually didn’t see our bill go up at all. In fact, we saw it go just a little bit down. I estimate that the panels have saved the store roughly $3,000 a month.”

Goldstein’s co-founder and UCLA professor Aaswath Raman is one of many scientists who have been researching the benefits of radiative cooling for years now. Raman is an expert in the field who claims that while several similar solutions have appeared in recent years, there have also been challenges, like how well the technology works without sunlight. 

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“Our technology works best in hot, dry climates where the sky is clear, so when you have clouds, that blocks that radiative cooling window. In the same way that [carbon dioxide] blocks light and sort of has that heat trapping effect, water vapor also will block infrared light.”

“The biggest obstacle to making the technology ubiquitous is its relatively high cost. Most radiative cooling solutions suffer from a high manufacturing cost and large-scale production limits,” researchers at China’s Fudan University wrote in a paper published in the journal Nature.

Goldstein claims that SkyCool’s panels do cost more than solar panels, but didn’t disclose the actual cost. 

“New technologies like radiative cooling are often more expensive. People are very sensitive to first cost, and so that is another barrier to getting new things out there.”

“Much of that is because of low production volumes. Scaling up production could help bring the cost down, particularly for developing countries in Asia and Africa where we hope to eventually expand. For now, we’re focused on commercial applications of the technology, though we hope to start installing panels on the roofs of individual homes.”

“We’re just excited to be able to use this new technology for good,” Goldstein said.

Cleaning Solutions That Are Good For The Environment

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Climate change is one of the biggest issues in our world currently. While it’s going to take true systemic change from our world leaders to make a genuine impact, there are things we can do in our own homes everyday to help make us feel better about our contribution to creating a greener Earth. 

One of the easiest things one can do to help save money and reduce waste is buying simple cooking ingredients that can be used among a multitude of recipes and meals in bulk. Nancy Birtwhistle recently spoke with the media about how she completely changed her lifestyle when she retired to better help the environment, and buying ingredients in bulk was one of the first steps she took. 

“I buy a lot of bicarbonate of soda, because that’s used a lot, a big bag of citric acid, a bottle of surgical spirit, sodium carbonate (known as washing soda, which can be a skin and eye irritant) and a bag of sodium percarbonate, known as oxygen or green bleach; it’s not as toxic as chlorine bleach, though you still have to be careful with it. And I bought myself a variety pack of essential oils, because I still like a little bit of perfume in fabric conditioner, or my ironing water.”

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She also discussed how she collects rain water to be used in things like her iron or for future watering needs in her garden. Birtwhistle will boil the rain water, fill up her iron and add in a drop or two of essential oil to add some nice scents to her clothing as well. 

Using water, white vinegar, and surgical spirit with essential oils for fragrance, one can easily make their own all-purpose cleaner. “I use it pretty much for anything. It’s non-streaky and quick-drying. It started off as a kitchen cleaner for worktops, the hob, cupboards, cutting through greasy marks on shelves and things like that. Then I moved it into the bathroom and everywhere else. It’s good for mirrors, glass, inside the car. It’s brilliant for tiles.”

For brightening whites and removing yellowing stains from things like pillows or blankets, Birtwhistle reccoments making a lemon juice or citric acid solution, as citrus in general is an amazing natural stain remover. 

“Place yellowing fabrics in a lemon juice or citric acid solution of 3tbsp added to 600ml hot water, with salt, and leave to soak. You need a sunny day. Peg them outside – don’t rinse or wring them – and the sun will bleach them.”

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Your vinegar, water, and spirit solution is also perfectly safe to use for cleaning your electronic devices screens. It can help remove fingerprints and harmful bacteria that clings to those surfaces. Birtwhistle recommends diluting the cleaner with more warm water for electronic devices. 

“Marks on glass screens come from a combination of soap scum and limescale. Make a spray of citric acid and water and it comes off in a jiffy. Make sure you rinse it off, because it dries sticky.”

Salt and vinegar solutions are also perfect for removing and preventing mold growth in the home. “Salt and vinegar will kill mold. I keep white vinegar in a spray bottle, so you can get it into awkward places like that. I squirt it, then dip an old toothbrush into ordinary table salt and rub away at it. Once you’ve done that, you could then use a spray of sodium percarbonate if there are any stained bits.”

There’s clearly a multitude of ways one can implement clean and natural solutions into the way they maintain their clean space, and beyond that the environment also benefits from the use of these ingredients.

Hockey Stadium

Amazon Renames Seattle NHL Stadium ‘Climate Pledge Arena’ In New Green Initiative

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Amazon has officially secured the naming rights for Seattle’s downtown arena that will be the home for the city’s new NHL team as well as the WNBA’s Storm team. Amazon made the announcement this week that they would be deciding the name of the arena, however, many were shocked to learn that the company wouldn’t include its name in the title; something that’s fairly typical when it comes to naming stadium-type establishments after the corporations that sponsor them (Staples Center, Citi Field, AT&T Stadium, etc.). 

Instead, the stadium will be named Climate Pledge Arena and will feature several new green initiatives to make the future of live sports entertainment more environmentally friendly. 

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“I think this is going to be a transformative moment in our industry. Amazon said, ‘We’ll act like a naming rights partner, but let’s do this the right way. We don’t need any more branding. What we need is to go save the planet.’ It was brilliant,” a spokesperson for the arena claimed. 

As mentioned Climate Pledge Arena is going to run with the intention of remaining completely green. In fact, Amazon is attempting to make it the first arena in the world to earn a net zero carbon certifications by the International Living Future Institute.  There are a multitude of features that will be implemented into the structure, games themselves, and clean up procedures for the stadium. 

All ice for hockey games will be created using recycled rainwater thanks to a massive tank that’s located underground and adjacent to the arena. This tank is specifically designed to collect runoff rainwater from the roof of the arena, but the arena’s team is also working on a way to easily allow fans at home to bring their own recycled rainwater to help aid the running of the stadium.

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All events will also be “zero waste,” a decision that according to the team was inspired by singer Billie Eilish, who before the coronavirus pandemic was embarking on a world tour for her most recent album. Eilish asked every venue that she was planning to play on her tour to eliminate as much single-waste plastic as possible, to which they all happily obliged to get one of the biggest artists of the year to play at their establishment. 

 “I was like, I can’t believe she got an entire syndication of arenas to come along and finally address this issue. I was so in awe that she made this part of the deal. When we were debating this, I said if she could do it for a night, couldn’t we do this for 365 nights?” said Tim Leiweke, CEO of the Oak View Group. 

75% of the arena’s food vendors will be sourced seasonally by local farmers and producers as a means of helping local small businesses. Unused food that’s still edible and viable will also be donated to various food charities in the area. The arena will also solely run on electricity, and carbon emissions and sustainability performance is set up to be closely monitored and will also be made public record to all American citizens so they can see for themselves how green the arena is. 

The cost of the building overall is set to be around $900 million and will be able to hold 18,000 sports fans. Its projected to host around 200 events each year, which will also include concerts. The building is currently still under construction, as production was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it’s expected to make its public debut with Seattle’s brand new NHL team in 2021-2022 (the dates are subject to change based on how the pandemic progresses). 

Arrow

Easy Ways To Live A Greener Life In 2020

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One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions to date is to live a healthier lifestyle. Whether that means a change in diet, an increase in exercise, or the purchasing of a gym membership, so often we always set a goal to live a life that is mindful and healthy. However, when it comes to living a healthier life, what about the planet that we’re living on? Climate change is moving faster than ever and causing atmospheric conditions to worsen, forests to burn, oceans to flood and fill with plastic, and lead more and more animals to a path towards extinction. If we want to live a life that’s healthy and thriving, shouldn’t we want the same for our planet? So this year, live your best healthy life by living a greener one!

Remember, no one is expecting you to save the planet all by yourself, and we all know in order for the environment to really bounce back, actual systematic change needs to come from the people in power, however, it never hurts to reduce your own carbon footprint and do the best you can at living a more sustainable life. At least at a community level you know you’re doing your best to make a difference. 

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Single-use plastic products are one of the biggest contributors to ocean and land pollution. While the use of reusable straws may have been all the rage this year, straws only make up about .02% of ocean pollution, so buy a reusable cup, utensils, dishware, etc. to go along with your straw to really up the ante. When you’re making food to put onto all of your reusable dishware, try to use ingredients/produce that’s locally grown, as opposed to mass distributed.  

“If you are buying lettuce or another type of produce or even meat that was produced states away, then it takes gas to ship that food to where you are, to your grocery store, to your home. And in addition, it takes time so if you are buying something is locally grown, then you are getting something that is fresher. So even if you are spending a couple of bucks more, you are actually doing something that is better for the environment, and it is going to last longer in your fridge,” said Jen Ashley, an editor with a local South Carolina daily newsletter.

Ashley also suggests trading out the light bulbs in your house for LED bulbs. These are typically more expensive upfront, however, in the long run they use much less energy than standard bulbs, which means a cheaper light bill for you monthly. Additionally, these bulbs are more sustainable, and will last way longer than a regular bulb. 

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An amazing thing that you can do that will not only help the planet, but contribute to your healthy lifestyle new years resolution, is to walk or take a bike ride as opposed to driving to places that are a short distance away. Reducing your personal carbon footprint is one of the best ways you can help the planet, besides recycling. So instead of driving a few blocks to Starbucks for your afternoon pick-me-up, go for a nice walk there instead. Since it is winter, the weather can sometimes make going for a walk or bike ride a lot less desirable, so instead ask around and try to carpool to where you need to go. While this isn’t nearly as sustainable as just walking, it’s better to have three people share a ride to the same place instead of taking three separate vehicles there.

“It’s all about baby steps, and so you don’t have to save the world today. You don’t have to put on a cape and think that you are going to reverse the effects of climate change or lower the sea levels, all you have to do are little things” said Ashley. 

When in doubt, look around your home and find all the plastic products that you own, and recycle anything that you deem as unnecessary and a waste to the environment. Replace the things that are most manageable. Buy a reusable water bottle, tote bags for shopping, and look into sustainable brands with recyclable or biodegradable packaging. Like Ashley said, no one is expecting you to save the planet by yourself, but doing your part will not only help the planet, but lead you into a healthier and more mindful life for the new year.

Fast Fashion

How Sustainability Is Killing The ‘Fast Fashion’ Industry

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When we typically think about sustainable ways of living, the first things that normally come to mind are reducing our plastic use, taking public transportation, using solar energy, recycling, and so on. However, we never think about how our fashion choices affect our carbon footprint. Sustainable fashion is a relatively new concept in relation to climate change, but thinking about the ways that we buy fashion and its environmental impact is actually very important in terms of fixing the damage that climate change has done. 

If you haven’t heard of “sustainable fashion,” you may have heard of its counterpart, fast fashion. Fast fashion refers to brands such as H&M, Fashion Nova, Forever 21, and basically any other big brand that carries mass-produced retail that embodies fresh runway looks that made it right onto the sale rack. Fast fashion has grown immensely in popularity, mainly because it allows consumers to by high-end looking garments that are fresh and trendy at an extremely reduced cost. The controversy lies within why the clothing is so cheap. There’s the obvious reasoning that these companies know cheaply made clothing is likely to wear down quicker, causing customers to have to repurchase items. Then there’s the greater concern over the ethics behind the clothing production in relation to its price point. How these companies source their labor overseas is a major concern, as most of these stores are constantly updating the items they carry to keep up with demand. So it’s assumed that there are extremely underpaid and overworked factory employees who are feeling the real effect of that demand through their long hours and low wages. 

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As more individuals become aware of the many dilemmas in the fast fashion industry, sustainable fashion is rising to take over. Sustainable fashion is all about selling well-made pieces of clothing that get restocked at a slower rate. While that may slow distribution in some aspects, depending on where the clothing is coming from, it’s more green. The main reason sustainability in fashion hasn’t blown up in the way that fast fashion brands have is cost. Sustainable fashion requires higher quality materials and fair labor costs, which tends to get pricey but ethically, is completely necessary. 

When labor, material production, and distribution is all done at a local level, it’s always going to be more expensive as opposed to getting all of it done overseas. However, the environmental benefits of not receiving constant shipments from overseas of items made by underpaid and overworked laborers and flown out by cargo planes that are constantly emitting greenhouse gases is quite remarkable. 

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Many individuals criticize the sustainable fashion movement because of the high price point, making it seem like it’s something only upper class individuals actually have access to, thus putting the blame for climate change on the lower class for buying fast fashion, just because it’s what’s affordable. However, sustainable fashion isn’t just about buying clothing from high-end, locally-produced boutiques that try to sell a dress for $400+. It’s about sustainability! In general, when it comes to how we make changes in our own lives to greater benefit the environment, there’s always multiple ways to go about it, and sustainable fashion is no different!

It’s always best to check out local brands for anything in your area and support that business. Local small businesses are the epitome of sustainability, as all their work and materials are typically accomplished at a regional level. As stated previously, however, this means that cost for goods can be more expensive, so what other options are out there? Thrift stores and second hand shopping in general is always an amazing way to contribute to sustainable fashion. Most thrift stores receive all of their second-hand items of clothing from local individuals, making the carbon footprint of that process close to nothing! In addition, thrifting is extremely cheap, especially compared to local boutiques. 

In the same light, donating and selling your clothes has the same impact as buying new ones from a local store/thrift shop. Instead, you’re just now contributing to someone else’s sustainable purchase. Additionally, always be self-aware of your retail buying habits and try to reduce excessive and needless shopping habits, as it all further contributes to climate change in regard to production, labor, shipment, and restocking. So the next time you need a new sweater for the Christmas party, check out your local Goodwill first.