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At TO THE MARKET, we believe that even small differences can lead to a big impact. Living sustainably is not about leading a perfectly zero waste lifestyle, but more about the progress each of us can make to contribute to a cleaner planet.
So, to celebrate Earth Day this year, our team committed to 7 sustainable initiatives to complete throughout the week. We brainstormed some activities our team could fit into a work day and compiled the results below - take a look!
Plastic bags start out as fossil fuels and ultimately end up as waste in landfills, as it's not an easily biodegradable material. Single-use plastic generates more than8 million tons of waste in the ocean every year. So, remembering to bring a reusable shopping bag when we run errands is possibly one of the simplest sustainablehabits to adopt!
“I love shopping with this tote bag manufactured by TTM! The message really speaks tothe core of what we stand for and I like that I don’t need to waste plastic bags while I shop.”
“I reused my Palace of Versailles sustainable organic bag all over Paris!”
“Grocery shopping is so much easier with reusable bags! I used to have a pile of plastic bags I would save under my sink, but didn’t have a use for them. The reusable ones are so much more durable for heavy items…plus, I don’t need to waste plastic bags anymore!”
Did you know that the average Americanthrows away about 81 lbs of textiles each year? Or that the equivalent ofone garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second? If we took even a small percentage of those clothes and were able to repair them to elongate their lifespan, it would have a huge impact. This week, we grabbed a needle and thread to mend some of the current clothing we had in our drawers to do our part!
“This is a vintage dress that I repaired a hole because I'm obsessed with it and would hate to see it become unwearable as it's been around since the 60s! It's seen so much already, so I can't have a little hole be what ends it. I hope after I'm done with it someone else enjoys it too and that it stays in circulation.”
“Here's one of my favorite cardigans! A button fell off and I reattached it a few days ago. It's so cozy and has elbow pads and if I have anything to say about it I'll be wearing it FOREVER.”
“I had torn this pair of ripped jeans just a bit too much after a few years of wear and tear. This was my first time sewing, but I grabbed some white thread I had laying around and actually fixed the tear! It isn’t perfect, but that’s okay - just glad I can get some more wear out of them!”
At the core of TO THE MARKET’s values is the idea of voting with your dollar. We believe in harnessing your purchasing power for good, which is why this week, we set out to buy responsibly-made gifts, whether it be for a birthday, wedding, holiday or another special occasion.
Pictured: TO THE MARKET’s jewelry collab with Madewell still has a few pieces left! (These would make for a cute Mother’s Day gift!)
You may not have thought about it, but using traditional wrapping paper to wrap gifts comes with environmental consequences. While some can be recycled, wrapping paper is essentially adding additional packaging to the product that will eventually end up in landfills. Luckily, there's a solution that's not only better environmentally, but aesthetically too! Furoshikis are a traditional Japanese gift wrapping cloth that your friends are sure to be impressed with! Our team tried them out this week:
Pictured: TO THE MARKET’s collab with Alltrue to create Reusable Wrapping Cloths!
"I used a reusable gift wrapping cloth (Furoshiki) to wrap a present for a friend's birthday. She was blown away by the idea & how beautiful it was!"
The TTM team likes to stay active! So, this week, we joined the worldwide movement ofPlogging - a combination of jogging and picking up litter!
"I try to clean up trash whenever I'm walking/jogging around trails around my neighborhood. I can get exercise while making the earth a little cleaner, so it's a win-win!"
Nowadays, there are tons of reusable product alternatives on the market that reduce the need for plastic, or non-reusable products. Here’s a couple of examples of what we mean from the team:
“My family LOVES cheese - who doesn’t? Instead of putting them in plastic baggies to store in the fridge, we use these reusable food huggers to save waste and keep our food fresh!”
“An alternative to plastic baggies that we use are beeswax storage wraps - it really keeps everything fresh - produce, veggies, fruit - you name it! Plus, they’re easy to wash and reuse again and again!”
Growing your own fruits and vegetables can be a great project to start living more sustainably - not to mention, you get to enjoy yummy rewards!
“I’ve been growing my own vegetable garden - the lettuce is delicious!”
“Green onions are one of my favorite veggies and they’re quick to go bad in the fridge. So I’ve been putting the onion roots in water for essentially an endless supply! You can just keep trimming the tops when you want them.”
While we were excited to present our 7 Earth Week initiatives, we don't limit our sustainable actions to one week out of the year. As a team on a mission to create products that are better for the planet, we live our values year-round.
