Planning to build new habits in 2023?
Here are some planet friendly ones that you can include
With every passing day, we have one less day to stabilize our planet🌍
If you’re planning to build new habits in 2023, try including one for the planet too.
Here are a few you could try-
A more plant-based diet
Being car-free
Buying more ugly produce (produce that doesn’t look good but is edible)
Investing in sustainable assets
Bringing up climate change in your network
This might seem small and inconsequential but with millions of people doing this, it could be a game changer.
Moving onto this week’s content. So today, we have-
A startup that’s creating a plastic-free handwashing system
Another startup that’s ranking restaurants on a sustainability scale
Some good news
Stat of the week- how does our food travel?
🧼 This startup is creating a plastic-free handwashing system
The system is broken…The majority of hand soaps come in single-use plastics. Even if you dutifully put the bottle in the recycling bin after every use, the chances of it getting recycled are slim- less than 10% of the plastic is recycled.
Sustainability and style…US-based Eddi is on a mission to create a plastic-free handwashing system. But the brand does not want to sacrifice aesthetics for sustainability. So they partnered up with the design firm that was responsible for designing products like Away luggage and Caraway cookware.
Their soap dispensers are made of stainless steel and zinc alloys- no plastic.
The refill packs come in recyclable aluminum containers- aluminum is infinitely recyclable and is recycled more than plastic(~35%).
Their all-natural hand soaps are vegan and cruelty-free.
A Zinc pump, that’s interesting…I have been researching sustainable products and brands for a while now and have always seen plastic pumps being used by brands. Their argument- there’s no available alternative in the market. Now I know where to redirect them.
📏 This startup is ranking restaurants on a sustainability scale
Anthropocene…is where we have entered. It’s a geological epoch where humans influence every aspect of the planet. Food manufacturing is one of the 5 highest greenhouse gas emitters in the world. Agricultural lands cover 35% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface. On the other hand, 33% of all the food produced is simply wasted.
Do these places deserve my money?… Australia-based Fair Food Forager ranks cafes, restaurants, grocers, and suppliers on different aspects of sustainability. Consumers can see how their favorite restaurant or grocer is managing different aspects like food waste, and plastic waste and if they are more focused on sourcing locally. It started with 15 listings in 2015 and has since grown to more than 6000 listings in around 20 countries.
The venues are mostly listed by sustainability ambassadors around the world- people who understand the impact of our actions on the planet.
Consumers can filter food choices from 16 different options.
They can choose what they are most concerned about- cruelty-free, plastic-free, ethical sourcing, or others.
Should the cucumber be wrapped in plastic?… Or should these tomatoes have rather been grown locally versus importing them from halfway across the world? We are always faced with these questions while shopping and most of the time, we don’t have the time and patience to find the answers. It’s great to see technology being used to answer these questions.
😹 Some Good News
☀️ Renewables set to overtake coal
🧪 3M sets 2025 deadline to stop making ‘forever chemicals’
🚅 France bans short-haul domestic flights in favor of train travel
Have you come across any positive climate change news that I can share in the upcoming edition?
Or just reply to this email 😊
🍲How does our food travel?
Most of our food travels by water, which is good for the planet as air transportation causes 50 times more GHG emissions as compared to water transportation.
It is often hard for consumers to identify foods that have travelled by air, since they’re rarely labeled as such. This makes them hard to avoid. A general rule is to avoid foods that have a very short shelf-life and have traveled a long way (many labels have the country of ‘origin’ which helps with this).
Thanks for reading today’s edition. If you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to write to me by replying to this email.
Have a great holiday weekend and see you next year😊