By: Lei Anna Craig

What is Eco-Friendly? Eco-friendly is being friendly to the environment and doing everything in your power to contribute to the planet in healthy ways while cutting out any harmful actions. This can be done by the way you eat, dress, how you commute around the city, wash your clothes, and much more.

We only have one planet to live on, so we must take care of it to the best of our ability. It is our duty to make every action count and to make a change on the planet for the better, so to celebrate Earth Day and give back to Mother Nature, here are some of our best tips for staying eco-friendly.

Recycle

The saying, “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” has been around for some time, and this isn’t for no reason! Recycling is one of the easiest and most effective

ways to help the planet, reuse materials instead of buying new ones whenever you can! It saves energy and reduces the size of landfills just by the simple action of reusing a bottle for water or a container for lunch.

Biodegradable Garbage Bags

Plastic is the biggest “No” when trying to remain eco-friendly, so when running into the problem of garbage bags and things of the like, biodegradable bags are the perfect solution! These bags are 100% compostable and will not pollute the environment.

Reusable Containers 

Trends aren’t always a bad thing, so get your Stanley Cups ready because reusable cups like these are exactly what you need to protect the environment. The same goes for lunch boxes and reusable coffee cups, it may seem like a lot to carry around, but Mother Nature will give you a big thanks afterward!

Donate

Don’t throw away the things that you don’t need, give them to someone who could make use of them instead! This has the same concept as recycling, letting someone else reuse your items will save the planet energy even if it is by a little, every bit counts.

Wash your Clothes in Cold Water

It’s important to try and conserve energy in any way that we can, and it has been studied that washing your clothes in hot water uses up about 90% more energy than any other setting. That number is far too high and can be saved for something else entirely so instead, it is advised to wash them in cold water; it is also argued for clothes to have a longer lifespan when washed in cold water more often, so it’s a win-win!

Beginning on the journey of eco-friendliness won’t be an easy task, but effort and consistency are all that it takes. Take it one step at a time, and the planet will thank you for it in the long run. We hope these tips on being eco-friendly can help and it’s easy to apply, to celebrate Earth Day, we encourage you to try to implement at least one of these tips into your lifestyle for the week!