Buy Less to Help Save the Planet
Earth Day 2020
Earth Day is April 22nd every year and this April marks 50 years of Earth Day!
This is a critical environmental movement to drive transformative change for all people and our planet.
As an individual, you can contribute positively to reducing climate change by changing your consumption of single use goods. Practices such as bringing your own reusable bags to the grocery store and not using plastic straws are becoming more and more commonplace.
But we don't always talk about our intense desire to buy new goods and accumulate more and more belongings that we don't actually need.
Pulling raw materials out of the ground, using them once or twice and then burying them in a landfill is just not sustainable. It makes no sense and is damaging the world we rely on for our food, clean air and safe drinking water.
We can each do our part to reduce climate change and help save the planet by simply buying less.
Be Content
Do you really need the latest and greatest iPhone? Globally we buy approximately 1.5 billion new smartphones a year.....WOW!
Electronics make up about 70% of the toxic waste in our landfills so unless your phone is broken, you don't really need to replace it.
How many pairs of jeans or t-shirts do you have in your closet? The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters on the planet. We have tripled our consumption of garments since the 1960's.
Most of these clothes we don't wear for long and they end up in the trash. "Fast fashion" contributes to serious pollution in landfills as the dye's in clothes leach chemicals into the ground.
Our appetite for merchandise is trying to fill a space inside of ourselves that only relationships, love and gratitude can truly satisfy.
Be content with what you have and only buy what you need.
How Can You Help Save the Planet?
- Buy less stuff.
- So "no" to disposable, single use items.
- Purchase quality, not quantity.
- Purchase items that are made from natural, sustainable or recycled materials.
- Try living a minimalistic lifestyle.
- Shop second hand.
- Downsize your home.
- Try a "no spend" day, weekend or month.
More resources to help
If you are interested, we have another blog on how buying less means less clutter in your home. Check out the post "Buying Less Means Less Clutter" here.
You can also go to our DIY resource page for more great ideas and resources on where you can take your gently used and no longer wanted goods instead of sending them to the landfill.
Let us know how we can help you reduce, reuse and recycle by commenting below.
We want to help you find more freedom to live your best life and help save the planet by buying less!
Find your freedom.
Live your life.
Noreen