5 Simple Ways to Reduce Our Ecological Footprint
Thursday, November 12, 2020 13:38:40 PM America/Los_Angeles
In the modern world, it’s near impossible to avoid leaving an ecological footprint. A majority of the products we use drains Earth’s natural resources or otherwise negatively impacts the environment. We cause even more harm by continuing to manufacture more and more to respond to the ever increasing demand for goods.
So, what exactly is an ecological footprint you ask? It’s a method used to measure the human impact on the environment. This doesn’t just mean taking into account the materials used for manufacturing. It also takes into consideration emissions from freight transportation, greenhouse gasses from factories, and growing landfills overwhelmed by discarded products and food waste.
We know it’s easier said than done to take concrete steps toward making your life more eco-friendly. Even if you’re willing, you simply can’t avoid purchasing certain products. Here are five easy eco friendly changes you can make to ensure sustainability is a part of your everyday life!
Buy household and pet products from companies that are committed to sustainability: Not only are their products made with earth-friendly materials, they’re more likely to come from companies that practice corporate responsibility and are invested in finding sustainable solutions for their products.
Opt for products made from recycled, plant-based, or compostable materials: The good news is that many companies are starting to provide
alternatives that have been made with sustainable materials. Whether it’s plant-based meat, electronics made from recyclable materials, or compostable sandwich bags, these options make reducing ecological footprints an actionable reality.
Photo by Markus Spiske
Buy local: You might be wondering what buying local has to do with sustainability. Buying local reduces the travel required to get goods to you. Not only does it minimize the transportation necessary to get a product to you, chances are that the local farm or company manufactures more sustainably because it directly impacts their surrounding community.
Stop relying on single-use items: A reusable water bottle is probably the most widespread example and the one of the biggest easy eco friendly changes to make. But you can find sustainable alternatives in surprising places! One such necessary item might be an indoor pee pad for your dog. Traditional plastic-lined pee pads rapidly pile up in landfills and take centuries to decompose. Natural alternatives, such as Bark Potty, are made with eco-friendly materials and last longer, minimizing waste and reducing ecological footprints.
Learning how to fix and make stuff is one of many easy eco friendly changes. Whenever you toss something, you’re not just throwing away an item, you’re also dumping all the resources and effort that went into making it. We don’t mean just human labor, but the greenhouse gases emitted in its production.
We hope that these manageable tips for reducing ecological footprints make leading more earth-conscious lives a realistic goal. As a small independent business dedicated to making pet products more sustainable, we want to make it easier for each and every one of us to be stewards of the earth. If you’d like to find out more about our efforts in reducing ecological footprints, check out our Sustainability page!
Bark Potty partners with 1% for the Planet to donate 1% of our sales to One Tree Planted. 1% for the Planet is a network of businesses that have committed to taking responsibility for the environmental impacts of their various industries. 1% for the Planet encourages businesses to practice corporate responsibility by facilitating donations to grassroots environmental organizations such as One Tree Planted. Each Bark Potty purchase you make further supports our collective efforts in reducing ecological footprints that humans have left on the environment!