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Sustainability July 2, 2018
Environmental gurus should be more of a thing.
It can be overwhelming to start living a greener life. We’re all creatures of habit and used to our routines. When people talk about going zero-waste or vegan, it can sound like they’re overturning an entire system of living.
However, becoming environmentally friendly doesn’t have to be radical! There are plenty of small-scale, eco-friendly habits we can introduce into our daily life. Whether it’s refusing to use plastic straws or paying attention to what clothes we wear, we can all take steps towards becoming more environmentally aware.
Luckily, there are plenty of resources online that serve as guides for a greener life. Check out these seven influencers that inspire us to start our own eco-evolution.
Jennifer Nini is the founder of Eco Warrior Princess, a media brand with a mission to redefine green living. It aims to dismantle the stereotype that environmentalists are tie-dye hippies who worship Thoreau’s “Walden.” Instead of following Thoreau’s suggestion to reside in the woods, take a page from Eco Warrior Princess’s book and live sustainably without jeopardizing your health.
Eco Warrior Princess covers topics like conservation, sustainable fashion, conscious business, eco beauty, green technology and more. The site gives practical advice and intriguing tidbits on the eco-friendly world. For example: ever heard of imperfect vegans? The effect of social perception on sustainability? Now you have, and you can go over to Nini’s site for more!
Sarah UmmYusuf uses her blog Nature’s Nurture to help readers eliminate toxins from their homes. During her own pregnancy, Sarah started a quest to provide a safe environment for her baby. After discovering the chemicals in her surroundings, she decided to share her realizations with the online world, suggesting accessible and affordable changes to safer products.
So how does this help our planet?
For one, these toxic products are often held in plastic containers. Between five million and thirteen million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans each year, killing animals and infiltrating our seafood. Nature’s Nurture makes a point to avoid plastic in their suggestions, even directly advising ways to ditch plastic in this article.
For another, some of these chemicals can get into the air. A recent study suggests that household products may make a significant contribution to air pollution. By avoiding these chemicals in your home, you’re also reducing the chemicals in our atmosphere!
On the site, Sarah posts homemade remedies for household cleaning and bath materials. From face masks to carpet cleaner, Nature’s Nurture has your back, and our planet will thank you for your switch to a safer lifestyle!
Dominique Drakeford of MelaninASS is all about melanin and sustainable style. The mission of the platform is to celebrate communities of color in eco-friendly fashion and beauty groups.
Like most well-known spaces, the sustainability community is largely made up of white members. Drakeford wants to break that stereotype. As an environmental educator, creative director and community advocate, Drakeford aims to incite ecological and social change.
If you’re looking for a place to start, MelaninASS’s article about Brown Environmentalist (BE Media Collective) explains POC’s rich history with the environment and reclaims their leadership narrative. Through her own voice, Drakeford makes a space for other people of color to be heard in the world of environmentalism.
Danielle Messina of The Glamorganic Goddess is a breast cancer survivor. In her recovery journey, she found a purpose in going natural. Figure skating since the age of four, she suspects the toxic makeup from her early performances contributed to the appearance of breast cancer.
Now, she opts for products that are beautiful and non-carcinogenic.
By switching to beauty without harmful chemicals, she and her readers contribute to the market for green products. This can indirectly reduce the production of toxins, which eventually make their way back into our air, land and water.
Along with her fantastic blog posts, Messina also partners with various brands focusing on natural beauty or cancer treatments. With The Glamorganic Goddess, you can keep your fresh looks all while protecting your body and the planet.
Jessica Perkins of EnglishLassInLA is all about environmentally conscious fashion and lifestyle. She originally grew up in a small town in England, hence the title “English Lass.” Following in her grandfather’s footsteps, she went into the textile business.
However, after taking a job at TESCO, Jessica realized she had lost her way. Instead of promoting sustainable goods, her business utilized “dangerous working conditions, polluting the earth.”
Jessica used moving to LA as an opportunity to explore new ways of sustainable living. On her site, she shares green brands and her thoughts on staying environmentally ethical. Check out Jessica’s articles on sustainable Christmas gifts and swapping clothes, and make sure to follow her Instagram eco-friendly fashion in LA.
Shia is the author of the blog WastelandRebel. Like the name suggests, Shia rebels against landfills by acting as a zero-waster, or someone who very rarely throws anything away. In fact, like other zero-wasters, she and her husband Hanno can fit all of the trash they produced in a year into a glass jar.
Shia is also vegan and working on becoming palm oil and plastic-free. If you’re interested at making these sort of lifestyle changes, Shia advises swapping disposables for reusables, donating responsibly and buying things in bulk. For more tips, check out these articles on vegan food, starting a zero waste life and avoiding palm oil in shampoo.
Kathleen Elie of ConsciousNChic shows her followers that they don’t need to sacrifice style for socially conscious living. Her website revolves around ethical fashion, which emphasizes issues like “working conditions, exploitation, fair trade, sustainable production, the environment and animal welfare” according to the Victoria and Albert Museum. If you’re planning to do some online shopping anytime soon, check out her ethical recommendations.
Elie also has a Facebook group called the Girl Gang, which focuses on uplifting and supporting other women!
With the help of these seven environmentally conscious women, you too can take part in a more sustainable world.
