Shop Less Live More

A lot of people want to be more sustainable with their consumption habits but don’t know where to start. It is especially difficult when buying clothing, because it is hard to trace a clothing product all the way back to its raw materials. In other words, it is difficult to know how a clothing product was sourced and manufactured, or to know the working environment in its facilities.

The message I want to share with you is that it is not necessarily which brand you buy, or which products, but rather how you shape your lifestyle around your shopping. Greenpeace offers some good advice for people who want to make less of a negative impact with their clothing purchases. To me, the most practical advice that requires the least commitment from the consumer is to “buy classics”, “focus on quality” and “fix things up”. Buying classics means buying products that are not likely to go out of style, and therefore they can be worn for years to come. Focusing on quality means buying products that are durable and likely to last, and will not need replacements. Fixing things up means being willing to make small repairs such as mending buttons or zippers, rather than throwing away your clothes.

The reason why I shared these three pieces of advice is that they do not require you to go online and spend hours researching the social responsibility of different brands and manufacturers. Quite simply, make a commitment to your clothes, and don’t buy clothes to get a shopping rush. If you buy products that you truly love, and that are high quality, you can wear them hundreds of times, and you do not need to run to the mall to get a shopping fix. If you can change your mind set to treat clothes as a necessity rather than a commodity, it will go a long way in making your shopping habits more sustainable.

Learn more @ Green Peace on Sustainable Shopping

How Does Your City Stack Up in Energy Use and Sustainability?

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      A report from Citibank explains that population density in cities is growing to higher levels each year. Each year, a higher percentage of the world’s population lives in cities. In 2012, 50% of the world’s population lived in cities, but the figure is expected to rise to 70% in the coming decades.  For this reason, it is so important to be able to find sustainable practices in urban environments. However, in developing countries, the fact remains that people in urban environments are hungrier for electricity and consumer goods.  In developed countries such as the United States, the reverse is true, wherein the urban regions use more energy than rural.  The statistics from New York, Tokyo, London, Shanghai, Beijing, or Bangkok are presented above. Take a look and see how each city is consuming energy. Here in the United States, with New York City as our example of an urban environment, buildings use more energy than industry and transport. However, in the less developed region, Bangkok, the opposite is true. 

  The difference between New York City and Bangkok show that the United States has made improvements in the energy efficiency of industry and transportation. Higher efficiency vehicles and industries have reduced their need for tons of energy.

                                                                    Households, however, tell a very different story. We are guilty in the United States of using far more energy per household than the other five cities on the list. Using New York City as the example, the city’s energy use per household is double Bankok’s and about four times Beijing and Shanghai’s.  American individuals and households should take this into account when assessing their environmental footprint. Even if our transportation and our industries are becoming more efficient, the responsibility still lies within households to act sustainably. 

LA Buses Go Electric!

Electric Bus: LosAngeles

                I’m proud to say that my city is taking important steps to reduce the environmental footprint of its public transport program. A company called Foothill Transit is now using all-electric buses for public transport in 21 of Los Angeles County’s local cities. The technology that is behind the use of these buses are fast-charging stations, which can completely charge a bus in ten minutes. After each 20 minute route, it returns to the transit center and is recharged.  If this technology is passed to other settings, it can be used to power a wide variety of transportation, construction, and farming equipment.

                The city government is different from other entities in the private sector because it is funded by and operated for the community.  It therefore can serve as a very powerful role model to its citizens. When public buses switch to all-electric, it makes a powerful statement to the citizens of the city. It shows that the city cares about sustainability, and makes the people feel that they are a part of a positive process.  It also shows people that new technologies are not “fads”, but rather the important steps to transforming society toward sustainability. Finally, these steps show that using sustainable technology can benefit the environment while being cost effective. 

Foothill Transit in Pomona- Electric Bus

Click the Links Below to Learn More About Los Angeles’s Electric Buses

Cost Effectiveness

Foothill Transit

Sustainability and Fashion Finding Common Ground

                There is a growing movement based on sustainable fashion. Large companies such as H&M have committed to releasing lines that use entirely sustainable materials such as recycled polyester chiffon and organic cotton. At the University of the Arts London Research Centre, they have created a separate set of projects under the name “Centre for Sustainable Fashion”. An article in “The Guardian” states that small brands are currently leading the way for sustainable fashion. The key to getting larger brands to pick up these practices is for consumers to demand high quality, sustainable materials and production.  I wanted to look further into this movement and see what people are doing in Los Angeles under the practices of sustainable fashion. What I found was Susanna Schick, who works under the name “Sustainable Fashion LA”. I spent some time looking over her website, which explains her practices.

                Sustainability Fashion LA works as a consultant to designers to help them improve the triple bottom line- environmental and social responsibility, along with financial success. Schick furthermore assists companies with their marketing to help establish the brands and build awareness. Her previous experience was working with top fashion designers in New York and Los Angeles.  She received her MBA, with a focus on sustainability. For her clients, she uses tools such as marketing and writing campaigns, Argyle social media tracking software, Facebook and Twitter.

                Click on the links below to learn more about the topics discussed in this post.

H&M Fashion

Centre for Sustainable Fashion

Sustainable Fashion LA

The Guardian

An Unexpected Sustainability Role Model: US Bank Stadium

When I think of stadiums, I picture mounds of trash, staggering energy use, and polluting construction efforts. That’s why I was happily surprised to learn that the construction of U.S. Bank Stadium, finished this year in Minneapolis, was highly motivated by sustainability concerns. The demolition of the previous stadium, as well as the construction of the new one, reflected the beliefs of Minnesotans regarding sustainability. Some highlights of the construction project are highlighted below.

•             90% of the materials from the demolishing of the previous stadium have been diverted from landfills and into recycling and composting.2.       The heating system, important in the cold state of Minnesota, used innovative design to reduce its energy consumption.

•              A three layer thermal system improves insulation and maintenance of temperature

•           The structure of the stadium used strong and light weight material to reduce the tons of        steel needed for construction.

•               A focus on natural light reduces the need for overhead lighting

•           LED lighting was used, which is more energy efficient than traditional lighting

•        Toilets and sinks are low flow to conserve water usage

LED Lighting Saves Energy for the Stadium

The example set by U.S. Bank Stadium shows that large scale projects can be equally or more focused on sustainability than small scale projects. Sustainability is not only something for grass roots activists and social entrepreneurs. The concept can be successfully integrated into billion dollar projects such as the U.S. Bank. When such large projects focus on sustainability, the net benefits to the environment can be very significant when compared to traditional building practices.

Turn Your Trash Into Treasure: Upcycled Art

An Upcycled Arizona Iced Tea Can

If you love being artistic and working on craft projects, I have good news for you. No longer do you need to go to the supplies stores to gather all of your materials. Many artists today are using the internet to show off their upcycled craft projects. Upcycling is any reuse of an item in such a way to create a product of higher quality than the original. Using items that would otherwise be thrown away is a great way to inspire creativity, create unique pieces, and reduce your environmental footprint. If you are interested in the sustainability movement, you can even use such pieces to reflect your commitment to living sustainably. This message can be spread to consumers and viewers of the pieces, who may be influenced by the artist’s motivation. 

 Some have even used this idea of upcycled art as a way to sell their pieces, and to engage with the community of like minded artists. A search for “upcycled art” on Etsy.com yields 66,936 results. There is even an Etsy shop called “UpCycledArt”, which has 17 items currently for sale. In Lexington, UK, an artist opened a shop dedicated solely to upcycled art. The shop features works from nine artists, and targets local and tourist consumers. 

One of the keys to moving the world toward a more sustainable path is to be innovative. When some think of sustainability innovation, they immediately imagine complicated gadgets, scientific breakthroughs.  These upcycling artists are showing that innovation for sustainability can transcend into artwork. While upcycling art may have a relatively small impact in the grand scheme, it represents a commitment to a sustainable lifestyle, one which should encompass several important aspects of daily life. 

Nervous About the Drought? Learn About Desalination Here

      

Rivers are drying out in drought-affected areas throughout the world

      Bloomberg Businessweek’s article, “Fix This”, addresses several current issues related to water shortages around the world. The article interviews several prominent executives in water-related organizations. One of the subjects that are addressed is the future of desalination. Desalination is something I have heard about in the past, but I did not know much about it. Given that water shortages may seriously lead to a growth of desalination, I found some important information about this issue.

            One important lesson is that people can build their own desalination tools quite easily. This could become a norm for people who prefer to maintain their own water resources. The simple solution requires creating a “solar still”, where saltwater is heat up by the sun, and the steam that comes up is collected on the walls, where it condenses as freshwater and trips into a separate trough. However, for people who are used to using high levels of water each day, such natural solutions will not be able provide enough fresh water. 

            I also learned which areas of the world rely most on desalination today. These include the Middle East, which uses about 70% of desalinized water, and North Africa, which uses about 6%. In the United States, desalination is most common in California and Florida.

Desalination Plant in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

             Given that desalination technology already exists, it is entirely possible that it could be a solution to water shortages in the future. The question remains as to how large of scale desalination can and will become. An additional question is whether the growth of desalination will be at the hands of governments or the private sector.