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Materials & ingredients

Here are the posts I’ve written about materials and ingredients, including my Plastics Series:

  • Plastics: Types #1-7 (health and environmental impacts)
  • Plastics: BPA (and its alternatives)
  • Plastics: What are resin codes and why do they matter?
  • Plastics: Other recycling-related symbols
  • Plastics: How to treat plastics
  • Plastics: Tips for reusing plastic
  • Aluminum
  • Silicone

 

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About

HeadshotI’m Leah, a writer, editor, and mom trying to live an eco-friendly life. I aim to share thoughts on sustainability in a way that inspires.

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Double tap if you choose to REPAIR rather than REPLACE! This is my husband’s work bag. 💼 It was purchased several years ago as a graduation present, and a few months back it started to show some wear. (My husband is pretty rough on his clothes and things, which means we do a lot of repairing, unfortunately.) So I took it to a specialty shop and had the corners fixed and the zipper redone. Compared to rebuying, it’s extremely cost effective, and it’s a good investment if you want a piece to last. Other things we've had repaired: the zipper on my favourite hoodie, the buckles and heels on my rain boots, the heels on my mom’s shoes from the 80’s (which I wore to my high school prom, and on my wedding day!), and my husband’s work pants. Here are my top tips for repairing: 🧡Befriend your local professionals: research tailors, shoe/bag repair places, and even small appliance repair places near you. Not only can they repair things when broken, but they can even advise which brands are the best quality to invest in if you have a purchasing decision to make in the future. 🧡Research repair policies and warranties on the items you buy (some places are great and will repair it.) 🧡Learn some basic mending skills. I am not great at this but am learning! (PS: Check out @sustainable.suburbs's “visible mending” story highlight!) 🧡For small appliances and electronics, it’s tough because of planned obsolescence. Still, there are very cool people doing very cool things! Look up repair cafes near you. Some libraries host repair sessions too! What about you? Do you try to repair your things? What have you repaired lately? 😊 . . . . . . . #wastefreeliving #zerowaste #wasteless #repairdontreplace #reducereuserecycle #lowwaste #lowwasteliving #circulareconomy #visiblemending #zerowastehome #zerowastejourney #zerowasteirl #reducewaste #plasticfreeliving #choosetoreuse #ecoconscious #lesswaste #zerowastelife #recycle #sustainable #sustainability #sustainableliving #consciousconsumer #ethicalliving #ecoadvocate #zerowastevancouver #eco #ecofriendly #wastefreeplanet
Can you save money going low-waste? Yes! Please don’t be fooled into thinking that you need to buy a lot of fancy new products to live in a low-waste way. That’s greenwashing. No thanks. 🙅🏻‍♀️ So here, I've put together a few ways in which going low-waste can save money. Swipe to read them! For me, one huge area of savings was reusables. No more paper towel. No more tissues. And every time I get my period, I love knowing that I don’t have to buy any new products. Hooray! 🙌🏻 Another expense for me used to be fancy skincare and cosmetics. I was always on the hunt for the perfect product. Guess what? Since switching to simple products and DIYs, my skin looks (wait for it) identical. 💁🏻‍♀️ A few caveats here, as always: not all of these tips will work for every person, and some of these tips require extra time. Some also require a bit of an upfront investment (I’m looking at you, Zero Waste period products). These tips are far from new or novel: people in other cultures and time periods have been using them for ages. It's modern Western society that has decided we need so many disposable things in our daily lives. 🙃 And of course, drinking tap water means having access to clean drinking water, which not everyone has (speaking of which, please contact your local politicians to tell them the importance of cleaning drinking water for everyone, if you haven’t already). 💧Nevertheless, I’m hoping that in general, these are helpful. What are your favourite eco-friendly money-saving tips? Have I forgotten anything? Let me know! 🧡 . . . . . . #lesswaste #reducewaste #zerowastetips #zerowasteblogger #lesswastelifestyle #lowwasteliving #plasticpollution #plasticpollutes #plasticfreeshopping #zerowastejourney #choosetoreuse #earthfriendly #plasticfree #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreetips #reducereuserecycle #lowimpact #endplasticpollution #goingzerowaste #discoverunder10k #noplanetb #ecoadvocate #nontoxic #ecolife #wastefreeliving #wasteless #refillrevolution #zerowasteirl #ditchthedisposables #saynotosingleuse
Here’s a fun little low-waste tip for all the parents/caregivers out there: pack a "Zero Waste restaurant kit" for your little ones! 🖍 When we go out to eat, I try to plan in advance, because I know that many places offer crayons in plastic packaging. Well, we have crayons at home too, so I just bring those with me! No need for the extra plastic. I pack them up in a little cloth bag, and then my son can colour his heart out. I also bring a couple small toys he can play with—nothing noisy or disruptive for other guests, but little wooden spinning tops and a train are perfect! 🚂 The last place we went to didn’t have a children’s menu or colouring sheet, so these little toys (plus some “I spy” and “finger play” rhymes I learned in my library program) did the trick. The server actually loved the spinning tops and insisted on trying them out herself! Finally, I bring my son's water bottle and straw, because some restaurants give kids single-use cups/straws. 🥤 Do you bring an “restaurant kit” for your little ones? How do you keep your kids entertained in public places? Brands shown (not sponsored) @nestpics (spinning tops) @colibricanada (bag) @ilovehape (train) . . . . . . . #lesswaste #reducewaste #zerowastetips #zerowasteblogger #lesswastelifestyle #lowwasteliving #plasticpollution #plasticpollutes #plasticfreeshopping #zerowastejourney #vancouverblogger #zerowastehome #plasticfree #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreetips #reducereuserecycle #lowimpact #endplasticpollution #zerowaste #discoverunder10k #noplanetb #ecoadvocate #nontoxic #ecolife #ecomama #wasteless #refillrevolution #zerowasteirl #ditchthedisposables #saynotosingleuse
Oh happy day when I have a new article in @alivehealth magazine to share with you. ☺️ For January, I wrote a piece on going Zero Waste step by step—in 31 days! 🙌🏻That’s because there are 31 days in January, but of course you can start any time and it can take as long as you need (it definitely takes a long time to use up old products!). I had so much fun writing this article and I hope you enjoy reading it! You can find the link in my bio or on the alive website—or pick up a physical copy for yourself! 💛 . . . . . . . #lesswaste #reducewaste #zerowastetips #zerowasteblogger #lesswastelifestyle #lowwasteliving #plastic pollution #plasticpollutes #plasticfreeshopping #zerowastejourney #vancouverblogger #zerowastehome #plasticfree #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreetips #reducereuserecycle #lowimpact #endplasticpollution #zerowaste #discoverunder10k #noplanetb #ecoadvocate #nontoxic #ecolife #plasticfreejuly #wasteless #refillrevolution #zerowasteirl #ditchthedisposables #saynotosingleuse
Let’s take a minute to talk about some of the waste that we DON’T see. Because as much as we love glass jars and bulk shopping (hey, I love it too!), there’s way more going on behind the scenes than we may realize. Like corporate waste, for example. 📦Did you know that many returns end up shipped to landfills? Companies find it cheaper to trash returned items, so they throw them “away". Just like that. (@adriavasil and @cbc covered this recently.) According to the CBC article, "in Canada alone, we are returning $46 billion worth of goods every year." 📦Many companies burn, trash, or damage unsold stock—even if there’s nothing wrong with it! The clothing brands Burberry and H&M have been found guilty of this in the past (it's common among fashion brands). 📦If a store receives a product slightly damaged (such as the box being broken but the product is fine) it’s often trashed. These products could be donated or used for wonderful causes, but instead, they’ll sit in landfills, essentially forever. So what do we do? 1️⃣Consume less in general. 2️⃣Buy secondhand. 3️⃣Save returns for when you need to: don’t buy things with the intention of returning them. (Try things on in person if you can.) 4️⃣Ask companies how they process returns, and what happens to returned stock. (Not every company has horrible practices—once I had to return a bra that wasn’t right, and the company asked me to donate it to someone!) 5️⃣Learn more. (@thetrashwalker is a very insightful page) 6️⃣Spread the word! . . . . . . . . #lesswaste #reducewaste #zerowastetips #zerowasteblogger #lesswastelifestyle #lowwasteliving #plasticpollution #plasticpollutes #plasticfreeshopping #zerowastejourney #vancouverblogger #zerowastehome #plasticfree #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreetips #reducereuserecycle #lowimpact #endplasticpollution #plasticfreeproduce #discoverunder10k #noplanetb #ecoadvocate #nontoxic #ecolife #plasticfreejuly #wasteless #refillrevolution #zerowasteirl #ditchthedisposables #saynotosingleuse
Did you know that you can donate used mascara wands to wildlife rescue centres? Before tossing yours, look up groups near you. Many rescue organization use them to clean small animals. Some examples include: ✨Project Wild Wands Canada (CAN) ✨Appalachian Wildlife Refuge Wands for Wildlife (US) ✨Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (CAN) (Please always double check with these organizations first to ensure they’re currently accepting wands, and clean the wands first!) I recently put a call out to my friends and family, and also in my local neighbourhood. I’ll collect them and send them off. Mascara is a tricky one when it comes to waste. To the best of my knowledge, no true zero waste mascara wand exists. (I know some people DIY but I haven’t tried that.) I did recently switch to @elatecosmetics, which is a wonderful local company that does makeup in low-waste, refillable packaging. (Not sponsored!) Have you tried this? Do you know any other organizations to add to my list? Or, what are your favourite ethical + low waste cosmetics companies? 💛 . . . . . #lesswaste #reducewaste #zerowastetips #zerowasteblogger #lesswastelifestyle #lowwasteliving #plasticpollution #plasticpollutes #plasticfreeshopping #zerowastejourney #vancouverblogger #zerowastehome #plasticfree #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreetips #reducereuserecycle #lowimpact #endplasticpollution #plasticfreeproduce #discoverunder10k #noplanetb #ecoadvocate #nontoxic #ecolife #plasticfreejuly #wasteless #refillrevolution #zerowasteirl #ditchthedisposables #saynotosingleuse
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