As Earth Month comes to a close, all of us at Slick Marketers look back and reflect on what it means to protect our planet.
Earth Month spans from April 1 – April 30, encompassing one of the most important days of the calendar year: Earth Day. Mother Earth has protected and helped us for generations, providing shelter, nourishment, and a warm embrace. The celebration of Earth Day is a chance for us as humans to give back to the Earth and encourage others to do the same. Designed to remind people of the importance of doing their part to protect the planet, Earth Day has engaged a lot of important people in meaningful conversations about the protection of our precious resources and beautiful planet.
It’s fair to say that being more environmentally friendly is something that all of us are working toward. With that, our team is truly passionate about learning ways to be more sustainable, and taking into consideration the importance of maintaining the health of our home.
As each of us learn and grow in our knowledge of protecting the planet, our team took on a sustainability challenge throughout the month of April. Here’s what happened:
REFLECTIONS
Nikki has made some big-impact changes in her day-to-day life.
“My family and I are composting, so we put all of our food waste into our compost bin instead of the landfill waste bin. We switched from snack-size chips to economy size, and now we pack the kids’ snacks in reusable containers.” -Nikki Ong
In addition to this, Nikki has been conserving the water she uses from cooking & cleaning, repurposing it to water her plants. Nikki also drives a plug-in hybrid, allowing her to conserve gas on her commute.
When you compost, you give the natural bacteria in your food a chance to properly break down. When food ends up at the landfill, it is deprived of the oxygen it needs to degrade, thus releasing methane and CO2 into the atmosphere. This leads to climate change and a warmer planet. More here.
Josh has made it a priority to reduce his single-use plastic consumption and use his reusable water bottle every day,
“For my sustainability challenge I made a concerted effort to reduce my plastic use by drinking water primarily from my ThermoFlask. I’m honestly shocked by how often my teammates, for example, still opt to bring plastic water bottles to practices and games in an increasingly environmentally conscious society. I may only be one person or one player in this specific instance, but I know that my decision to reduce my use of plastic water bottles still makes a difference!” -Josh Davis
Josh’s decision to stop using plastic water bottles in his daily life has a greater impact than you might think. Did you know that it takes 3 times the amount of water in a bottle of water to make it than it does to fill it?
Krystin challenged herself and her family to learn how to properly recycle and avoid all plastic water bottles.
“It was relatively easy to recycle after we learned the “empty + dry” method. We were surprised that some items we thought were recyclable were not, which was eye opening. We made sure to always be prepared and bring water with us in our reusable bottles whenever we left the house and are proud to not have purchased or used any bottled water!” -Krystin Rader
Properly recycling your containers, glass, and plastics is one of the most important steps in the recycling process! If not properly discarded, your perfectly good recyclable could wind up in the landfill.
According to the number etched inside of the recycling symbol, you will be able to determine how recyclable an item is, and the likelihood of it actually being recycled into something new. The empty and dry method reminds citizens to ensure the products they are recycling are both empty and dry, which increases the likelihood of that product getting recycled and other around it not being damaged in the transportation process.
Steven chose to reduce his water intake exponentially, particularly when brushing his teeth!
“Some people leave the water running, but I used my glass to use less water. I did this to use less water while brushing my teeth.” -Steven Jung
You may not be aware that the average American uses about 4 gallons of water every time they brush their teeth. By choosing this method of collecting a cup of water and using it for his whole routine, Steven is reducing that number exponentially. He is able to then use that water for other things, including rinsing the sink.
Kim has chosen to swap a lot of her current, unsustainable products for their eco-friendly counterparts. She has transitioned to reusable, stainless steel straws, saved and repurposed jars from food and other products, converted to bamboo toothbrushes, and actively recycled everything she could.
“This was a really rewarding experience! I had already tried to recycle but it was great to have Abby show us how to be more eco-friendly.” -Kim Sosa
Plastic straws and toothbrushes are two of the largest contributors to plastic pollution around the globe. It is estimated that up to 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute the world’s coastlines, and 7.5 million of those are on US soil. Plastic toothbrushes add 50 million pounds of waste to landfill every single year. By switching to reusable and biodegradable options, Kim is helping to divert that waste away from our natural resources.
Abby is the resident sustainability guru on the Slick Team. For over a year and a half, Abby has dedicated herself to finding sustainable solutions and alternatives to each and every thing she does. She is a vegetarian, she drives an electric car, and she has switched to skincare, hair care, and everyday products that help benefit the planet.
“It is so important to me that I find sustainable alternatives to everything I use and do. I am dedicated to helping the planet grow and prosper, and I recognize that every little action helps. I manage a sustainability Instagram account, where I discuss my sustainable swaps and actions to help my friends and family implement them into their own lifestyles. Earth day is everyday!” -Abby McCormick
The environmental impact of a meat-eater’s diet and a vegetarian diet is notably significant. Emissions from meat consumption are about 50% higher than that of a vegetarian or pescatarian diet. With that, Abby’s electric car also helps her to avoid emissions from gasoline.
Arin has chosen to purchase products from companies whose values he strongly aligns with, including LUSH Cosmetics and King Arthur Baking Company.
“This month I’ve switched to using Lush Cosmetics for most of my bath, body, skincare, and hair products. Lush is dedicated to fighting animal testing and they use 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles and pots and biodegradable bags.
I’ve also been buying from King Arthur Baking Company. KABC is a 100% employee-owned business and a founding B-Corp. As a Certified B Corporation, they are meeting high standards of performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials. I love that they offer every baking ingredient essential that you can think of, as well as bakeware and tools.” -Arin Priest
Arin’s decision to switch to sustainable options for his hair and skin products impacts the water supply downstream, where harmful chemicals often impact oceans and marine life. Arin loves that the companies he has chosen to purchase represent environmental ethicality, of which helped create a happier, healthier planet.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Earth Month has given the Slick Marketers Team a new outlook on sustainability and conservation. It has been inspiring to see the impact of our choices firsthand, and to develop a new understanding of what it means to care for and love our planet.
Inspired to make a sustainable change in your own life? Let us know your plans below.