If You Must Shop Black Friday, Make a Difference

If You Must Shop Black Friday, Make a Difference. One of the most powerful ways we can vote is with our wallet. We make a choice with every purchase. I might also add that like voting in an election, there is voter suppression. Due to circumstances beyond their control (living in poverty , the accessibility of options, etc.) people are denied their right to vote with their wallet. This makes it even more vital that those who shop Black Friday, choose to make a difference while doing it. If by the end of this post you are inspired, try to opt out of Black Friday. Alternatively you can support local business on Saturday and help build your community. #SmallBusinessSaturday #ShopSmall

Here are some ways you can vote with your wallet:

Buycott

Buycott is a free app to vote with your wallet. Use UPC Lookup or barcode scans to boycott bad products and find sustainable alternatives. It can help you avoid products that support Nestle, the Koch Brothers, Trump, Palm Oil Production, Child Labor, etc.

Think About the Clothing You Buy

From The Little Black Book Blog, A rag factory in Panipat, India.  Photo courtesy of Meghna Gupta and Soul Rebel Films.

Clothing should not be designed to be disposable or be made in bad labor conditions. If you buy a $4.99 black v-neck shirt at H&M or Forever 21 and it last you a year or two before it is too shabby to wear, it is not a good deal on a shirt. We need to start looking at the life cycle of the clothing we buy. Where does the material come from, who is making it, in what conditions, is it long lasting quality, where will it go when I am done with it. Do I really need a new shirt? The answer may be no.

So where should we by our clothing. Thrift stores are a good alternative, but they do not help to create demand on more responsible clothing. You might still end up with a black v-neck shirt from H&M or Forever 21 that will wear out quickly and it's next stop will be the trash. I think it is better for those who can, to spend a bit more money buying fewer clothes that are ethical and will last. That being said, I am not on the wealthy side, but I save up to buy these articles of clothing. This also insures I am only getting what I need. Here are some companies I like to buy from when I need a new piece of clothing:

Everlane - Good Quality and transparent in sourcing.

PACT - Organic Apparel and Fair Trade

Darn Tough - Lifetime guarantee on socks. “nobody ever outsourced anything for quality.”-Darn Tough

Patagonia - Last long and you can send items in to be mended (On Black Friday they are donating 100% of sales to grassroots environmental groups.)

HP Boycott

The International Boycott HP Network and the Palestinian BDS National Committee are calling for an international week of action against HP over its role in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land. The week of action will take place November 25th - December 3rd, which will include the UN Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on November 29th.

Global BDS Week of Action Against HP

Boycott Trump

Join #GrabYourWallet to boycott Trump and Trump family products. Below is a guide and list to help you do so, but also make sure to ditch the hate talk when you do it. You do not overcome hate with hate.

#GrabYourWallet Action Guide

List of Companies that Do Business with and/or Back the Trump Family

Support Standing Rock

What you buy is important but so is the bank that helps you buy it. Food & Water Watch’s Hugh MacMillan's investigation has uncovered the banks that are backing the North Dakota Access Pipeline. If you look down at the image below and see your bank listed, it may be time to change banks. I understand that the people who work at your branch may be great people who really do care about you but they are not the ones that decide the large impact the bank has on the world. The people who do decide do not care about you or the people you love. There is no need to support them.

So where can you bank. My suggestion would be credit unions. Credit unions are cooperatives, owned and operated by members. I prefer having a say in what my money does once it is in my account. I prefer having a voice. I prefer banking with a non profit. I prefer that the benefits go to the members and the employees of the credit union and not the pocket of the 1%. Stand with Standing Rock. Make the switch. #HonorTheTreaties #NoBakken #SacredStoneCamp #STOPDAPL #MniWiconi #SacredWater #NoDAPL #RezpectOurWater #StandWithStandingRock

More Sustainability

I am back because there is still more sustainability to share. And I'm super excited!!!

New to ASustainableWay:

1. I will be posting a sustainability topic at least once a week.

2. I will have a Favorite Share Of the Week for things shared by friends and readers.

3. I will also have a Guest Blog for fellow sustainability obsessers.

ecotastic: A Sustainable Idea

Rewarding Sustainable Behavior...a brilliant idea!

Today I would like to spot light my Friend Fabian Lindenberg and his team who have come up with a brilliant Green application, ecotastic. ecotastic targets 11m smartphone users in Germany (and many more in Europe/globally) that already think green but need the extra push to act accordingly. It is a reward system that gives individuals an incentive to act sustainably by offering them a selection of gift vouchers from its various partner companies. Users accumulate points for performing eco-friendly actions, such as forming carpools, reducing one’s energy consumption, or simply replacing the coffee-to-go paper cup with a reusable mug.

Coming up with innovated solutions is necessary to a sustainable future. Ideas like ecotastic light the way.

And here's where you can help. Please visit http://nextberlin.eu/pitch/ecotastic/ and vote for ecotastic!

Sustainable Gift Wrapping: Used Paper

Sustainable Gift Wrapping

When it come to wrapping gifts most of us all ready reuse bags and tissue paper to save money. That is awesome don't stop. But it becomes more tricky when it comes to the use of wrapping paper. Though most of us have that one friend or family member that slowly, neatly unwraps the gift leaving the wrapping in mint condition (or maybe some of us are those people). Most people terr the wrapping apart...

 

and lets face it, its way more fun that way. But this means the next time a gift need to be wrapped, it will need to be in a new piece of wrapping paper. 

Ohhhhh the poor trees that get turned back into trees on wrapping paper during the Christmas season.

There are several ways to wrap gifts sustainably. 

1. Wrapping paper that was made from recycled paper. The down side to this is that some times it gets expensive and energy has to be used to reproduce it before it can be used again.
2. Used paper. For example News Paper which is my personal favorite. This is because there is so much you can do.

 The ways of News Paper wrapping

Comics

Fun Headline Pics

Painted Newspaper

I don't have paint to do this my self but check out this blog with instructions: http://www.erikajean.com/2008/12/green-wrapping-paper-diy.html

And Magazine Wrapping

If you have any ideas you would like to share please do!

Sustainable Gift Wrapping: Recycled Paper Bows

Sustainable Gift Wrapping: Recycled Paper Bows

Matrials Needed:

1. Glue or tape
2. Recycled Paper: news paper, used flyers, ect. (I used left over tabs from work)
3. Stapler
4. Scissors

Step One:

Cut Strips from your recycled paper.(the longer or thinker they are will determine the size of your bow)

Step Two:

Fold strip into the infinity symbol and attach with glue or very small piece of tape.

Step Three:

Begin to stack the pieces.

Step Four:

Staple the center of the bow and BAM awesome bow ready to be attached to a gift.

New Reusable Makeup Remover Kit Posted on My Etsy

New Reusable Makeup Remover Kit Posted on My Etsy

https://www.etsy.com/listing/117323563/reusable-makeup-remover-kit-in-lavender

25% off coupon code: zerowaste

The Energy Blues

Watch "Schoolhouse Rock!: "The Energy Blues"" on YouTube