Imagine a shopping platform that directs consumers to products that are actually sustainable as they shop — Home Goods did just that with their new website called Shades of Green. 

According to Business Wire, Shades of Green uses a proprietary five-point evaluation system to screen products, only showcasing products that meet a minimum sustainability standard on their site. Each product is subject to evaluation based on sourcing, manufacturing, shipping, use and performance, and lifecycle. 

All change starts small and has the potential to ripple into a much larger movement. While large issues like climate change and plastic pollution require large solutions, starting small and locally can inspire the big waves needed to save the planet. This is precisely what happened with a group of five middle schoolers in 2015. 

You may have noticed that quarantine-cuisine and to-go coffee orders come with a lot of plastic utensils, single-use straws, and styrofoam containers. What were once sustainability sins are now quarantine commonplace as we navigate the realities of COVID-19. 

Efforts to reduce plastic consumption do not need to go out the window. There are still plenty of things you can do to reduce your own plastic intake and spread the socially-distant word to your friends and family. Here are a few ideas to get you started. 

Amongst the mountains and the deep green forests of central Africa lives the stoic mountain gorilla. Standing between 4 and 6 feet tall, weighing between 300 and 500 pounds, and covered in hair from head to toe, these gentle mammals form bands or troops for community living. Each troop covers an area of .75 to 16 square miles, and an adult gorilla can eat up to 39-44 pounds of vegetation in a day. These gentle giants spend most of their day eating while occasionally playing with their babies.

Climate change has brought a magnifying glass to the global problem of air pollution. As we build, create, and manufacture, our machines release toxic chemicals into the air that cause smog and other forms of pollution.

Air Pollution

Fossil fuels emit harmful chemicals that can cause serious problems for the environment and people’s health. Greenhouse gas emissions come from the use of fuels such as natural gas, coal, wood, and petroleum.

Learning to dispose of bioplastics appropriately is crucial to optimizing all of the benefits of using bioplastics opposed to using regular plastic items. Bioplastics are meant to be better for the environment while still retaining the reliability and durability of plastic because they are able to decompose faster and better than regular plastic. However, bioplastics still only dispose well under the right conditions.  

To cut down on carbon emissions, it’s crucial to understand what makes up a carbon footprint and the daily steps that can be taken to reduce it. As individuals who live on this planet and participate in communities, we have a specific responsibility to care for our environment. Just as we spend a few minutes or hours cleaning our homes every week, we should be intentional with how we care for our larger habitat.

Businesses that focus on green initiatives for their workspace, employees, and products prioritize the health of the planet and environment. More and more, society is recognizing that a healthy planet means a sustainable life for future generations. In fact, more than 1.2 billion jobs depend on the earth’s ecosystems.

Slicing through the oceanic depths, sharks are graceful creatures with a row full of teeth that have haunted nightmares and received a dedicated viewership during Shark Week. From tail tip to nose, the shark skeleton is all cartilage, and its jaw is unattached at the skull, meaning that the jaw can enlarge to swallow large prey. While some similarities are drawn between fish and sharks, sharks also navigate the oceanic environment with the aid of a sophisticated electroreceptive system that allows them to detect slight electrical fields.

Everyone knows that trees are essential for combatting climate change and maintaining the earth’s air quality. As society begins to take notice of the effects of climate change, there is a desperate need for solutions. That’s where reforestation comes in. Reforestation offers a natural climate solution, promising to potentially provide 37% of the greenhouse gas mitigation and stabilize global heating. Research reveals that trees benefit the climate and human health.