Happy Holidays!

Fast fashion is designed to last only a short period of time, so that new trends can be brought in and old trends can be thrown away. It’s estimated that the average person throws away over 70 lbs of clothes per year. That’s insane. Thrifting extends the lifespan of an article of clothing for an average of 2.5 years. If you don’t want to say goodbye to buying new clothes or trendy clothes, alternatives like Etsy, ThredUp, Poshmark, and Depop can help you find pieces that are still brand new for a fraction of the price.

Mending and sewing your clothes increases their lifespan and keeps fast fashion out of landfills.

When buying new, or when buying items that cannot be reused, consider buying eco-friendly alternatives. For trash bags, doggie-poop bags, disposable plates and utensils, avoid plastic or Styrofoam and opt for biodegradable or pre-cycled alternatives. For new clothes, avoid polyster and synthetic fabrics and opt instead for natural fibers like cotton and linen. For toiletries, avoid plastic and opt instead for bamboo. A great resource for these biodegradable products, as well as alternative soaps, toiletries, and cleaning products (which are mentioned in depth later on this list) is Package Free.

Shopping at farmer's markets, flea markets, and locally owned shops not only helps reduce the distance the products need to travel, but also supports local farmers and businesses.

This is a pretty common switch. In CT, single-use bags already cost 10 cents. Using reusable bags reduces plastic and saves you money.

Use a reusable pump for soap, or bars of soap on your bathroom sink. Consider purchasing dish soap in bulk and then using a reusable bottle or pump in the kitchen. Use a reusable razor. Try out unpaper towels.

For the lazy among us, this probably sounds obvious, but the larger your load of wash, the less water, detergent, and energy you are wasting overall. You may also want to wear clothes more than once between washes, so long as they aren't too soiled. (Unless you’ve got delicates, of course. Treat your clothes with care!)

This tip can also apply to loading up the dishwasher, if you use one!

Ordering takeout inevitably causes CO2 emissions through transportation and packaging alone. If you do order takeout, consider opting for no utensils. Even apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats make opting out easy.

If it can't be reduced and it can't be reused, it might just be recycled—but Just because something has a triangle on it doesn’t mean its recyclable. Be aware of what can and cannot be recycled in your area and make sure you are always washing out containers before recycling them—especially if you have a single-stream recycling service in your area. For information about CT, click here.

Like composing, gardening can be a very easy and fun way to reduce carbon emissions and even save money. Starting with each fruits/vegetables like tomatoes and herbs is a great way to do some windowsill gardening, or kick-off something bigger.

Reducing screen time, turning off appliances and devices instead of putting them into sleep mode, unpluging chargers and turning the surge off on power strips when not in use are just a few quick things most people don’t think often about that can drastically reduce a household's energy expenditure. (Unless you’re in full responsible adult mode. Then you do you and keep being awesome.)

While not every single appliance needs to be unplugged before leaving the house, unplugging things like old VCR or DVD players, or other appliances that aren't used everyday, can make also make an impact over time (USA Today).

Turn the screen brightness down on your electronic devices. Not only does this extend the life of your devices, it also decreases the number of times you need to charge your phone on a daily/weekly basis by saving battery life. (To take this a step further, turn on dark mode on your device/on commonly used apps like Instagram and Youtube.)

Bike, walk, carpool, or use public transportation when possible.

Put together a zero-waste kit, and keep it in your car or on your person. A basic kit can include things like unpaper towels for napkins, a Tupperware container (for leftovers from restaurants, etc.), utensils, a reusable straw (if you’re into those), and hand sanitizer or eco-friendly hand wipes.

The meat industry is one of the largest contributors of fossil fuels. 5.8% of our CO2 emissions come directly from the animals, in addition to 7.6% coming from agriculture, the large majority of which is used to feed this livestock. Factoring in the emissions from powering farms, transporting animals for slaughter, and storing meat, global meat production produces more emissions than travel by planes, boats, and cars combined (Kurzgesagt).

Donate when and where you can, even if it seems miniscule. Apps like RoundUp App and ChangeUp make micro-donating easy, rounding up credit and debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and donating the difference for you. Knowing where to donate is also essential—reputable non-profits related to the zero-waste movement and/or aim to help protect animals and the environment that I can recommend are WWF, Mercy for Animals, Sunrise Movement, Climate Emergency Fund, Rainforest Foundation US, Clean Air Taskforce, and the Sierra Club Foundation, albeit many of these may not be available on apps like Acorns. Vox compiled their own list of lesser known organizations here.