Forget Fast Fashion

Fast fashion creates fast paced damage to so many aspects of society. Quickly made and distributed clothing has lead to the expansion of four seasons of fashion to an average of 52 "micro-seasons" in the industry. Designers and companies like Forever 21 push out new collections as quickly as possible at extremely low prices. As a result masses of consumers cycle through the cheap clothing quickly and ditch their old apparel for the newest styles. So, is the quick turn over worth the rippling effects it causes? No, not really. Here's why.
The most immediate reason that will affect the consumer themselves, is the low prices, at an even lower quality. As a result of the rushed production there is a significantly less intensive look over for quality control of the products. Merchandise is sent out that are missing buttons, don't tie correctly, or tear after one wear.
Outside of the consumer's personal experience, there is the person who is making the products life to consider. The manufacturing process is a  modern example of a blatant human rights violation. Long hours and harmful exposure to chemicals, paired with a lack of quality pay all add up to a low quality of life for workers creating various garments.
The common factor between consumer and manufacturer is simple: Earth. We all live on it, and all of us partaking in the consumption of fast fashion are participants in speeding up the Earth's death as fast as fashion is made. Since so much of the clothing purchased through fast fashion suppliers is cheaply made and goes out of style so quickly, the majority of it is thrown away. In fact, in the U.S. alone throws away 11 million pounds of clothing a year. Clothing that is made up out of countless toxic chemicals which are released into the environment as they break down. The fast fashion industry alone accounts for 10% of all of humanity's carbon emissions, along with the fact that it is the world's second-largest water supply consumer. The damage that is caused is extensive and vast, yet most don't see beyond the "cute" trends that turn over every week.
There is hope for the clothing industry though, as a move toward slow fashion is progressing. As more people become aware of the fast fashion epidemic, consumers are beginning to follow a "Quality, not quantity" mindset. Slow fashion encompasses a focus on mindful manufacturing, fair labor, and natural, lasting materials. Items like pineapple leather purses and jackets to recycled plastic threads are all better and sustainable options for those looking to avoid the fast fashion industry.
All in all, sustainability is soon to be the newest and longest lasting trend.

Dr. Toew's Wart Ointment Wholesale

Plastic bags float through every part of the world, in every person's life. They float into streets, beaches, and oceans. Recently, one plastic bag was even found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The deepest accessible part of the world, closest to the Earth's core, was afflicted by a man-made plastic bag that will not biodegrade for at least 500 years, if not significantly longer. The damage that plastic bags bring to the environment as a whole is extensive, and unfortunately, many people still choose to carry 15 plastic bags of groceries into the house rather than 1 large reusable bag to replace all 15 of the plastic ones.
Unlike the United States, many countries around the world are making an effort to change this though. Canada is one of those countries, and the owner of the East West Market has taken an...interesting approach to discouraging the use of plastic bags in his store. To start, any customer who would like to use plastic bags instead of reusable bags is charged $0.05 per bag, an increasingly common practice around the world. This was not enough though. A more creative approach to the deterrence of plastic bag use was necessary. Something that would simultaneously spark a conversation would be even better.
Ah ha!

Dr. Toews' Wart Ointment Wholesale

Into the Weird Adult Video Emporium

The Colon Care Co-Op

Yes, that'll surely get the job done. 

The owner of the Vancouver Market decided to print these slogans on their plastic bags in an effort to slightly embarrass their customers into using reusable bags, or at the very least not a plastic bag for fear of walking down the street with a produce filled bag emblazoned "Into the Weird Adult Video Emporium". That may turn a few more heads than expected. As silly as the slogans are, they do serve a real purpose. In a smaller font underneath the slogan are the words "Avoid the shame. Bring a reusable bag." Unfortunately, the cheeky idea backfired, and people began to come in just to purchase the bags for their funny slogans. Although the original plan may not have worked out, the conversation was still started and the owner plans to print the same slogans on reusable bags to encourage their use just as much.  

This creative approach has the ability to make a big splash, especially as Canada has announced their goal to ban single-use plastics by 2021. At the very least, these bags are a great proponent of the conversation as they are not nearly as easily forgotten plastic is thrown out. 

Are the Red Cups Really Green?

Coffee is easily the most popular beverage on Earth; over 400 billion cups are consumed per year around the world. As someone who contributes to that massive number just about everyday, I'm very aware of how many plastic Starbucks lids are thrown into the landfill as a result of this. Starbucks alone sells 4 billion cups of coffee (not including tea and other drinks) annually. A large portion of these sales are a result of the holiday drinks and kick off of the famous red cups. November 7th marks the start of the holiday drink season, and with the purchase of any holiday drink you also receive a free reusable holiday cup. I myself succumbed to the marketing and convincing argument of my coffee-addicted friend and hurried to Starbucks on the 7th to make it before the last of the reusable cups were gone. While waiting in line I watched the cashier hand each customer an empty reusable cup with each purchase, and thought how ironic it was to give a reusable cup yet put the actual drinks in a single use cup to be thrown away later.
This lead me to the question: is the incentive of the free reusable cup in hopes it is used at the next purchase (for $0.50 off) worth all of the extra cups and plastic that will be sold in the same day? Historically, the only debate over the Starbucks holiday design cups is over whether they are deemed to Christmas-y or if the patterns are stylish enough. However, more attention should be given to the fact that the simple designs on the cup causes a dramatic increase in the number of drinks purchased, leading to the increase in plastic deposited into landfills. In my opinion, the debates should take more of a focus on whether the reusable red cups are worth the extra paper cup purchases.
All things being considered, Starbucks has set goals to become significantly more eco-friendly through reduce, recycle, and reuse-ability by 2022 and has had a focus on sustainability since the beginning of the company according to their website. The famous cups were the first in the United States food sector to be made of 10% post consumer recycled fiber, and have additionally made efforts toward a more recyclable plastic lid. Straws are planning to be completely phased out and replaced with a recyclable plastic lid by 2020, but the benefit of that versus the straw is still disputed.
So the question remains, is the one-day offer of a free reusable cup worth the extra sales and waste produced in exchange? There are countless factors to consider when deciding the answer to this, but regardless there is a significant need to find better methods of reducing material waste, and reusable cups are the best solution to this.

Keep the Planet Clean While You Clean Yourself

Every year 300 million tons of plastic is created. 10% of that plastic is recycled, while the rest is left in landfills, streets, oceans, and nature to biodegrade on its own over the course of the next 500 years. I'm sure you can picture the warning of Wall-E becoming reality as 300 million tons of plastic are created, and it takes 500 years for just one to biodegrade completely.
Unfortunately, plastic has become an unavoidable part of life. Or has it? Well, Jonna Breitenhuber is challenging this concept. Breitenhuber, based out of Berlin, has designed a line of shower and soap products that are entirely plastic free. She began the design process in 2017, and has ultimately succeeded in creating the most innovative soap I have seen. This product is even more plastic free than Lush's product line, as every product is plastic free where Lush's are not. The bottle itself is made of a slow dissolving soap, and the inside is filled with the gel or shampoo which can be poured out and recovered after use.
Each product has a hole in the center so it can be hung if so desired, so the lack of stabilizing plastic is  not a problem. The products are completely made out of natural ingredients so they are 100% biodegradable. On top of that, the entirety of the product is usable, even the small leftover slivers or the whole bottle can be used as hand soap so nothing is wasted. The Soapbottles have a variety of smells and appearances to choose from as well! One of the most interesting aspects of the Soapbottles is that their appearance changes as you continue to use the soap. To top it all off, each bottle also comes in different sizes.
You may be thinking, "That's great, but I don't actually use that much plastic in my toiletries". In reality, the average person uses about 11 bottles of shower gel and 10 bottles of shampoo a year. And that's just one person! Imagine how many additional bottles are used by the hair salon in every strip mall. So, the bottle problem is much larger than you may imagine. Any small step that we can make a big difference to the Earth; this one, only a small difference to your life. As far as I can tell, the Green Product Award winning Soapbottle is not yet available for worldwide purchase, but innovative ideas like these are what pave the way for a cleaner future.