Today is April 22nd, World Earth Day. What does this mean? Earth Day is an international annual event to highlight the importance of environmental protection. This year’s theme is “Restore Our Earth” which already tells us that things are not looking too good … when you have to restore something it means it is already out of balance. And the world’s population, unfortunately, desperately needs a wake-up call to come together, change their behavior and stop the earth’s exploitation and pollution.
You might ask yourself: So what can one single person change? Well, in the end all the small actions add up, and starting with a small change is better than not starting at all, right?
So here you have some simple ideas how to get involved:
Reduce Food Waste
- Eat more plant-based food – This is not only better for your health but also helps to make more efficient use of the earth’s resources. Find more info here. If you’d like to discover some plant-based recipes, here is a good starting point.
- Reduce food waste – Don’t cook or buy more food than you need
- Plant your own food or herbs – In your garden, your balcony or even in a pot in your kitchen – It’s fun and healthy
- “Rescue food” and save money via the App Too Good To Go
- Calculate your “foodprint” with one of these Foodprint Calculators
- Check out my post about more sustainable grocery shopping
Reduce the use of harmful materials and single-use products
- Stop using aluminium foil and plastic wrap. Use bee wrap or silicone lids instead.
- Stop buying single-use products like straws, plastic cutlery, cotton pads, slip liners, tampons etc, there are plenty of sustainable alternatives. find some of them here.
- Less is more. Do you really need to buy all those new clothes and shoes? Next time, think before buying the 5th pair of black trousers and – if possible – choose organic ones.
- Switch to natural cosmetics (my favorite brand is RINGANA). This is good for your health and your environment. Or would you consciously put mineral oil on you face? Check out this post what to look out for when buying cosmetics.
Educate your children and yourself
- Talk to your children about the importance of keeping the earth clean.
- Ensure your children learn to respect nature.
- Teach your kids how to recycle.
- Make conscious decisions when shopping and keep learning about sustainability and your environmental impact in all parts of your life.
...and more
- Participate in existing clean up actions or organize your own. Pick up waste from the beach, the forest, the park.
- Donate to plant a tree (e.g. through THE CANOPY PROJECT™), you don’t have to spend a fortune, every EUR counts.
- Use Ecosia as default search engine. This Germany-based company is giving over 80% of its revenues to NGOs working on reforestation, plus it claims to be CO2-negative and privacy-friendly.
- Looking for a sustainable alternative for your smartphone? What about buying a Fairphone?
Think you know it all? I assure you, you don’t. Sustainability is a topic in every corner of our lives, so take your time to go through the different products in your household to see which you could replace with a more sustainable alternative when their lifecycle comes to an end. Have any great suggestions? I’d love to hear about them!
