We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.
Anne Marie Bonneau
I love this quote because this has been Ad Vitam’s philosophy right from the start. Doing little things here and there to live more sustainably and consume more consciously is better than doing nothing. Imagine if millions of people would put a little bit more effort into a more sustainable lifestyle, and what a difference it would make!
Since being on my sustainability journey I have become really passionate about plastic pollution because it’s so detrimental to our environment, oceans and to our health. Environmental pollution always circles back to us because everything we depend on such as food, water, air and shelter comes from the natural environment. You have probably seen disturbing pictures of marine wildlife ingesting, suffocating and being entangled with plastics. Seabirds, whales, fish and turtles, mistake plastic waste for prey, and most die of starvation as their stomachs are filled with plastic. It’s absolutely devastating! Further it breaks down into microplastics that end up in our seafood, and it spreads even to the depths of the ocean floor.
The UN estimates that only around 9% of plastic is actually recycled. The rest is found everywhere around the planet. There is a floating island of trash in the Pacific Ocean with 1.8 billion pieces of plastic, and it just keeps growing. Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose.
The good news is we have more control over the plastic we use than we have over other environmental problems like deforestation, the contamination of toxic chemicals in our drinking water and food or air pollution. Even though it’s impossible to avoid plastic all together, it’s possible to cut down your personal use significantly. So many brands are stepping up and offer great plastic-free solutions or use post-consumer plastics. You might have to look for it and put in a little work to find such products but you will be surprised how much stuff is out there and making its way into mainstream market chains, such as Ride-Aid, Target, Whole Foods, just to name a few. The easiest way to find out is to read what’s listed and if there are certification labels on the packaging.
I have written numerous blog posts and how to reduce plastic but today I want to focus on one thing, laundry plastic jugs. Over 700,000,000 plastic jugs end up in landfills and oceans each year! Luckily some innovative brands have created a better, more sustainable and green solution, a liquid-less laundry detergent in pre-measured strips in biodegradable packaging. Earthbreeze is one of them.
Who is Earthbreeze?
Earthbreeze is a small business run by people who care about our planet. Their products are designed in Los Angeles, CA, and shipped out of Medford Oregon or their UK warehouse. They have manufacturing partners in the USA & Asia. They are carbon neutral, the shipments will be carbon offset and they are also a member of 1% (For The Planet 1% of annual gross sales is contributed to environmental non profits).
How Does it Work?
Earthbreeze detergent comes in easy to use, pre-measured strips that are phosphate and paraben free, vegan, free of chlorine dyes, and bleaches. Replacing plastic jugs, the strips are wrapped in zero waste packaging, which is 100% compostable made from recycled materials. Once your packaging is empty, you can tear it in smaller pieces and bury them in the ground as compost. You can use Earthbreeze for manual hand washing, too, you just soak the eco-sheets in water first. In terms of pricing, you can make a one-time purchase or sign up for a subscription, which is more economical.
More Impact
They have a buy 1 give 10 program, which means every sale donates 10 loads to those in need and you can choose where your donation goes. Earthbreeze is also dedicated to regenerate our planet through ocean clean-ups, native tree-plantings, and offsetting their carbon emission through partners such as We are Neutral and 1% for the Planet.
Take Away
I am very happy with Earthbreeze and I hope you give it a try, see for yourself, pat your eco-conscious self on the back and tell all your friends about it. To get yours click here.
It’s crucial to support eco brands because, if there is demand, others will follow. As consumers we have so much power to influence industries by being mindful of where we put our money.