Ways to Stay Green in the Kentlands

Young Environmentalists

It’s probably not news to you that we humans have a massive impact on the environment around us. From the way we eat, to the way we travel, to the clothes we wear; every choice we make has the potential to either harm or heal the planet each one of us calls home. (All 8.1 billion of us!) There are many ways we can make a conscious effort to help the environment. There are many amazing people and organizations working tirelessly to make a difference, as well as actions you can take!

There are many contributing factors that can harm our environment including deforestation, food waste, fast fashion, and many others. Deforestation is the human act of cutting down the trees from large areas for farming, mining, or building. A few ways to help deforestation are to: recycle paper products, go paperless, buy from local farmers who use more sustainable agricultural practices, or consider donating your time or money to organizations that work to prevent it.

Food waste is any food that is not eaten or put to use. This doesn’t just mean food that’s gone bad in your refrigerator going into the trash, food waste also happens during production, distribution, and sales. There are ways that you can prevent food waste in your own home, such as taking stock of what foods you have so you don’t overbuy at the store, eating more leftovers, buying “ugly” or misshaped fruits or vegetables that would normally be thrown away, and composting. Composting is when you take all of your food scraps and let them break down over time, creating an amazing fertilizer that you can use in your gardens or yards!

Fast fashion is a more recent phenomenon to have an effect on the environment. Avenues such as social media, television, and advertisements create the need for more rapid changes in clothing trends. Companies like Shein, Zara, and H&M are producing low-priced, stylish clothes that take little time to design and produce in order to keep up. While this might mean that you as the buyer can accumulate a large wardrobe, there are environmental consequences to consider. The fashion industry alone is responsible for 10% of all carbon emissions, with a staggering 92 million tons of textiles ending up in landfills each year. It also requires huge amounts of resources to create clothing; each kilogram of cotton takes 20,000 liters of water to make. (That’s over 66 bathtubs full of water!) The best ways to slow down the effects of fast fashion are: avoiding fast fashion companies when you can, buying more clothes secondhand or upcycling used clothing to fit your style, mending or donating clothing instead of throwing it away, and learning to love a more minimalist closet, resisting the urge to hop on every trend you see. Remember that you are beautiful and amazing no matter what you wear!

No matter how big or small, any changes we make in our daily lives to make the world a better place is nothing short of heroic. Whether you recycle, join a local environmental group to plant trees, start a composting bin in your backyard, or sign a petition to protect our oceans, each and every one of you has the power to be an environmentalist. Together we can make the world a cleaner, more habitable, more beautiful place for ourselves and future generations.

Here are some links to become more involved: