By Geraldine Carton
22nd Jan 2018
22nd Jan 2018
If you’re horrified by the sight of a piece of plastic cutlery floating along in an otherwise pristine ocean, a seahorse with a used cotton bud in its grasp, or a mountain of landfill waste overflowing into a rural town, then let it be known that an alternative reality is possible.
Image via National Geographic
Every day more and more companies and organisations that are making it easier for us to change our current habits. From reusable food wrap, to keep cups, sustainable fashion, and chemical-free beauty products, we’re being presented with an endless amount of opportunities to guide our world away from impending doom.
Here’s how you can get on board these forward-thinking brands and get yourself on the right side of history. If not for yourself, then for that seahorse with the cotton earbud…
To Go Wear
Plastic cutlery makes up a considerable bulk of landfill contents these days, and worse still, they’re littering the world’s waters like it’s nobody’s business. In 2016 France addressed this issue by passing a law which bans all plastic cutlery once and for all. It doesn’t come into effect until 2020 though, so in the meantime, how about getting ahead of the game investing in a set of discreet travel cutlery? They’re all the rage in California.
Image via Barbara Walton/EPA
S’well Bottles/ Chilly’s bottles
Drinks bottles are one the most common types of plastic waste. About 480 billion plastic bottles were sold globally in 2016 – that’s a million bottles per minute. To add to the turmoil, less than 7% of these are made into new bottles. Plastic bottle tops are currently not recyclable, and they (along with plastic bags and cutlery) are finding their way into the stomachs of water creatures who mistake them for food.
And if that’s not bad enough, plastic bottles contain Bisphenol A (BPA), the chemical used to make the plastic hard and clear. This was declared a toxic substance by Canada in 2010, and was banned from baby bottles by the EU in 2011, so it’s really not something you’d want to be ingesting.
Investing in a reusable, durable BPA-free bottle, on the other hand, will make a really positive impact on both the environment and your health. Chilly’s and S’well bottles have a gorgeous range of colours and designs.
Chilly’s bottles (Image via chillysbottles.com) STOCK Design store, Dublin
STOCK design store is undoubtedly a purveyor of kitchen class and household style, and it has a whole host of eco-friendly items to choose from. The next time you’re in the nation’s capital, make a STOCK stop and pick yourself up a stainless steel lunch box, a DPA-free Bobble bottle, or a light and bright lunch bag.
The Little Green Shop
One of the coolest items we’ve spotted on this website is the reusable beeswax food wrap. Tin foil and cling film seems like something from the 1950’s in comparison to these beauts, so if you want to be as eco-savvy as you are stylish, consider investing in some pretty beeswax-treated cotton for your BYO lunch. You’ll be amazed by how significantly a set or two will reduce your waste levels.
Trilogy
A skincare brand that uses only 100% natural, eco-friendly products? Just shut up and take my money. Trilogy takes it commitment to ethical, environmental and social responsibility very seriously. Their rosehip oil is also a particular favourite of Kate Middleton, who used it during her pregnancy with Princess Charlotte. Need we say more?
Edun
A really impressive brand that recently caught our eye, New York-based creative collective EDUN is making ready-to-wear clothing and accessory collections by with artisans, manufacturers and community-based initiatives throughout the African continent. Their aim is to develop high-end designer products that champion ethical and sustainable fashion and use a range of organic, recycled, and upcycled fabric. In short, EDUN is creating clothes in a way that represents the future of fashion, one that we can be proud of.
Image via sweetgreenstudios.com
Main Image via edun.com
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