We love Earth Day!
We love Earth Day because it's a day where the focus is on the health of the Earth and everyone is just a little bit more inclined to reconsider their lifestyle choices in favour of the environment.
For us at Eco Shark, and for our customers, we know that Earth Day is every day. And truly, it should be for everyone. After all, the Earth is literally our home. Our health and wellbeing is so intrinsically connected to the heath and wellbeing of the Earth that as the Earth gets sicker, so does humanity.
Image credit: @Earth911
You are an Eco Influencer!
The number one reason why people adapt new habits, whether they be environmental, fashion, or personal, is because they see someone else doing it. It seems peer pressure is the most successful influencer. A well documented study examining why people decide to invest in solar panels showed that just seeing them around the neighbourhood encourage people to consider
The study, which analyzed five years of survey data collected between 2010 and 2014 in Australian communities, showed that for every additional 1,000 solar panels in a neighborhood, the share of neighbors that believe human action primarily causes climate change increased by seven percentage points.
This rings true to me as well. A friend in university took the plunge and got laser eye surgery. Immediately following her success, myself and another three people from our friend group went and did it, too. Once we saw that her procedure was successful and how happy she was without her glasses, the rest of us all of a sudden considered what our lives would be like without the hassle of glasses and the expense of contact lenses. I don't know if I ever would have had the motivation or confidence to get the procedure if she hadn't done it first.
Taking from these examples, every time you adopt an eco friendly habit, you become an influencer whether you mean to or not. Each time you bring your fun travel mug to the coffee shop, ride your bike to work, pick up a piece of litter while out on a walk, or tell your friend that your shirt is second hand when you're complimented on it - each green act is being observed by others and giving them an opportunity to consider it for themselves.
Embrace your Influencer Persona!
This Earth Day, we'd like to offer a few suggestions on ways to embrace your influencer status that will hopefully kick off a chain reaction with your friends, family, neighbours, and beyong:
Major Flex
1) Switch Banks
You don’t even have to leave your home for this one, but switching to a green bank can have a major impact (that you can then tell all your friends about). Banks are major contributors to the fossil fuel industry, but society is a major contributor to banks. Send your bank a message by leaving them to support another financial institution that better aligns with your values, but make sure you tell them why.
2) Change Your Diet
We're not suggesting that you go full hog (sorry, bad pun) and become vegan, but making a concerted effort to eat more vegetarian meals is a great place to start. I'd like to recommend the cookbook "Plenty" by Yotam Ottolenghi. His recipes are so incredible I promise you won't even miss the meat.
Medium Flex
1) Host a clothing swap
Textile waste is brutal. We don't see it here in North America but developing counties are being buried in our fast fashion addiction. Did you know that Canadians dump 500 million kgs of textiles waste every year??
Used clothes discarded in the Atacama Desert, in Alto Hospicio, Iquique, Chile. [Martin Bernetti/AFP]
Clothing swaps are a lot of fun! Collect a group of pals and have everyone bring some items they no longer use, whether it's clothing, accessories, home goods, or anything else really! It's easier to give things away when you know who it's going to, and it feels great to gift to friends.
2) Dust off your bike and skip the drive
Simple Flex
1) Ditch the plastics and chemicals in your cleaners
By switching to eco friendly home cleaners you can reduce your carbon footprint and make a healthier home for your family and pets - and it's so easy you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner!
Eco friendly cleaners are made with natural, renewable, and biodegradable ingredients, unlike common big box brands that typically contain chemicals that can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, and respiratory problems. When those chemicals are washed down the drain, they pollute waterways and damage ecosystems.
We LOVE our Myni brand of cleaners. Made in Quebec Canada, they're all natural, biodegradable, cruelty free, and have a 95% less carbon footprint compared to typical cleaners.
2) Go for a walk and pick up litter as you explore
Make a lasting impression this Earth Day by taking a hike and making a point to leave the park in a better condition than you found it.
You never know, you might even stumble upon a hidden treasure (or at the very least, a five dollar bill). So, grab a trash bag and get to work - Mother Nature will thank you, and I guarantee you'll leave an impression on every person who notices your efforts.
