I’m excited to share my newest beauty article in alive magazine: Vegan Beauty! For alive‘s vegan-themed February issue, I was asked to write about choosing natural and cruelty-free skin care and cosmetics.
Did you know that the glitter on greeting cards is plastic? ✨ With a few rare exceptions, the vast majority of glitter (on cards, holiday decorations, crafts, etc) is microplastic. And like everyone who has ever tried to clean up glitter knows, it’s impossible to get rid of it!
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Glitter ends up contaminating the environment in one way or another. In waterways, microplastic is consumed by tiny organisms, and it eventually makes its way up the food chain, including, of course, to us. Don’t eat seafood? It’s still in drinking water (tap and bottled). Some reports tell us that we consume the equivalent of 5 grams of microplastic every week!
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We don’t know the full health effects of humans consuming microplastic yet, although common sense tells us that it certainly can't be positive! Current research show that microplastic is negatively affecting water-dwelling creatures. Microplastic also has a tendency to absorb toxins over time, such as persistent organic pollutants.
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So back to our very merry holiday cards. Here are some tips for choosing better options:
❄️ Opt for no cards altogether! (Because low-waste isn’t just about plastic, it’s about *all* resources.)
❄️ Find secondhand cards, reuse cards, or make your own out of materials you already have.
❄️ If buying new, try to choose ones made with recycled paper, nontoxic dyes, and no glitter or plastic packaging.
❄️ If you buy many cards at one time, buy directly from a local artisan, and request them without plastic sleeves (which are so ubiquitous these days!)
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I realize this post got a bit away from me, since there are so many things to discuss! But I’m curious: do you try to avoid glitter? What do you do for holiday cards?
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#lesswaste #reducewaste #zerowastetips #zerowasteblogger #lesswastelifestyle #lowwasteliving #plasticpollution #plasticpollutes #goingzerowaste #zerowastejourney #vancouverblogger #zerowastehome #plasticfree #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreetips #reducereuserecycle #lowimpact #endplasticpollution #vancouverinfluencer #discoverunder10k #microplastic #noplanetb #ecoadvocate #natural #nontoxic #ecolife #refill #wasteless #ecochristmas
G I V E A W A Y + promo code ! 🕯✨ I have a few more giveaways before the holidays come to a close, and I couldn’t be happier to share with you today’s: @malathebrand, a handcrafted candle company from Vancouver.
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Melody is the founder of Mala and the one-woman show behind the brand. She creates the candles with vegan (non-GMO) soy wax, essential oil blends, and FSC certified wooden wicks, in small batches by hand. Plus, the tins and all packaging are fully recyclable. The candles are absolutely gorgeous, and they smell divine too. You know I love small local businesses, so it was a natural fit to do a giveaway! 💗 These candles would be perfect for a low-waste holiday gift or even as a housewarming gift.
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Interested in trying them out yourself? Use the promo code LEAH15 on the @malathebrand website for 15% off! 🙌🏻
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The giveaway prize is 2 Mala candles, and it’s open to residents of Canada and the United States!
To enter:
1️⃣Like this post. ️
2️⃣Follow @leahstellapayne & @malathebrand
3️⃣Comment and tag a friend who’d love to win. Each comment is an entry.
4️⃣ Bonus entry: share in your stories!
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The contest is in no way affiliated with Instagram. Contest closes on Dec 11 at 12:00 noon, PST. The winner will be chosen at random and will be contacted by Direct Message. If no reply in 24 hours, I’ll move on to a new winner.
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#MALACANDLES #lesswaste #reducewaste #zerowastetips #zerowasteblogger #lesswastelifestyle #lowwasteliving #plasticpollution #plasticpollutes #goingzerowaste #zerowastejourney #vancouverblogger #zerowastehome #plasticfree #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreetips #reducereuserecycle #lowimpact #endplasticpollution #vancouverinfluencer #discoverunder10k #ecochic #noplanetb #ecoadvocate #natural #nontoxic #ecolife #refill #ecoluxe 📷 First 3 photos courtesy of @malathebrand
It's World Soil Day! What does this mean, and why should we care about soil health? It's a lot more important that you might think! Here, I'm delighted to share with you an interview with @hollyrose.eco. She's an environmentalist, a writer, and a regenerative agriculture advocate from whom I have learned so much since first following her blog and Instagram. If you haven't heard of her or regenerative agriculture before, you're in for a treat! It holds so much promise in the fight against climate change and building resilience.
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To read the interview, please check out the link in my bio. I sincerely hope you enjoy this interview, and I highly recommend following Holly online to learn much, much more.
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I'd love to know: have you heard of regenerative agriculture before? Perhaps you've watched the documentary @thebiggestlittlefarm, know about @kisstheground, or already follow @hollyrose.eco? Do you grow some of your own food or compost your food scraps? 🌿
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📷 courtesy of Holly Rose
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#organic #zerowaste #lesswaste #reducewaste #sustainablefuture #waronwaste #greenhouseemissions #protectourplanet #climateaction #climatechange #environmentalprotection #greenearth #greenplanet #plasticfreeliving #wastefree #noplanetb #ecowarriors #foodsystems #foodwaste #seedbank #noplanetb #vancouverblogger #vancouverinfluencer #discoverunder10k #foodsecurity #foodinsecurity #regenerativeagriculture #regenerativeliving #environmentalist #worldsoilday #soilhealth
How do you get others on board with low-waste gifting? Welcome to the third post of my four-week series supporting Metro Vancouver’s “Create memories, not garbage” holiday campaign! This one is about a tricky problem.
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I get a lot of questions about one particular conundrum when it comes to minimal and low-waste gift giving: what about well-meaning loved ones who just don’t get it? It’s so hard if you have a relative who showers your child with gifts that you just don’t have any space for, especially when you’re concerned with the environmental implications of material gifts. At the same time, you’re grateful for the gesture. What do you do?
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In my blog post (link in bio) I’m sharing my best advice for how to troubleshoot this concern, without hurting anyone’s feelings. I’m also including an email template I often use with family members. ✍🏻 I’d love to hear from you: have you had this experience? How did you handle it, and how did it go over? 💚
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#zerowaste
#zerowastechristmas
#zerowasteholidays
#zerowastefamily
#lowwaste
#lowwastehome
#greenmama
#zerowastefamily
#ecomom
#reducereuserecycle
#noplanetb
#zerowastejourney
#familytraditions
#lowastedecor
#lesswaste
#vancouvermom
#metrovancouver
#creatememoriesnotgarbage
#sustainableliving
#theartofslowliving
#reducewaste
#lesswastelifestyle
#ecofriendlygifts
#wastefree
#wasteless
#ecofriendly
#ecofriendlyliving
#greenchristmas
#zerowasteirl
#lowimpact sponsored
Sitting with my thoughts about the new UN report published last week about climate change. This report is called the Emissions Gap. It measures the gap between what we need to do to tackle climate change and what countries are actually doing. Spoiler alert: the results are big and bad, to no one’s surprise, I’m sure.
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Here are some key points:
🌲Our planet is poised to warm by 3.2 C by 2100 unless climate acton efforts are tripled. Tripled! Basically, we’re not doing anything close to enough. 2100 may seem like it’s far off, but our children may very well see these effects in their lifetimes.
🌲Canada, like most countries, isn’t doing enough. “With current policies in place, Canada will be at least 15 per cent above target.”
🌲Don’t be fooled into thinking that 3.2 C is minor: this will have severe consequences, including extreme poverty, drought, floods, forced mass migration, extinction of many animal and plant species, increased risk of disease, and unimaginable conflict.
🌲It is possible to still close the gap with immediate, concentrated action. According to a CBC news article, "The good news, the authors say, is that technology already exists that could help change our trajectory from 3.2 C. … With that, however, comes a hefty price tag: roughly $1.6 to $3.8 trillion annually over the next decade.” Of course, it’s our only option, and one that we’d better act on now.
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My thoughts on the issue, as always, are strong, and complicated. The low-waste movement is a great place to start but a crappy place to stop (I don’t remember who first said that but if you know, please tell me!). Individual swaps are lovely but we need much, MUCH more at a collective, systemic level. 🚮🗣
[continued in comments]
Toiletries! ✨ Does anyone else here love seeing what’s in others’ bathroom drawers? I’ve seen a few people posting photos like this, and for some reason I find them so fun. So I thought I’d join right in!
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We have a small space so the three of us share a bathroom. Therefore some of these products are shared between my husband, son, and I (like the floss and toothpaste) and some are just mine.
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Here’s what I’m using lately! Not sponsored, just a few things I’m liking lately. + regular, plain old washcloths
+ facial serum from in a cardboard tube from @siglarr_viking_naturals_
+ @routinecream deodorant (and you can find this Canadian deodorant company at a lot of refill stores too, so save your old container, yay!)
+ cotton facial “rounds” for removing makeup
+ @burtsbees toothpaste (it’s plastic but I haven’t been able to find Zero Waste fluoride toothpaste)
+ wooden brushes and combs, including my son’s nail brush from @nestpics
+ @kmhtouches flosspot compostable silk floss (I buy the refills for this glass jar)
+ cotton swabs (we haven’t managed to avoid them entirely but we buy the plastic-free ones)
+ @meowmeowtweet lip balm in a cardboard tube
+ jojoba oil in a glass bottle (when it runs out I’m going to refill it from @thesoapdispensary)
What toiletries are you using and loving these days? Which toiletry low-waste swaps have you find easiest, or hardest? 💗
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#lesswaste #reducewaste #zerowastetips #zerowasteblogger #lesswastelifestyle #lowwasteliving #plasticpollution #plasticpollutes #goingzerowaste #zerowastejourney #vancouverblogger #zerowastehome #plasticfree #plasticfreeliving #plasticfreetips #reducereuserecycle #lowimpact #endplasticpollution #vancouverinfluencer #discoverunder10k #zerowasteirl #noplanetb #ecoadvocate #natural #nontoxic #ecolife #refill #zerowastebathroom
