How excited I was to know that I would be collaborating with iHerb again! This time, we are working together to spread the word of environmentalism and how we can show our support for Earth Day by doing simple acts of green. And it all starts by making conscious decisions of your actions such as your eating and shopping habits.
One of the reasons for rebranding my blog to fit the eco-conscious theme was my growing interest in the environment and how it is impacting us people. It all started when I was on the quest to lose weight and to start eating healthy again. Through my research on vegan and vegetarian diets, I got to understand that there’s a bigger meaning behind all of these recent health trends. What we eat or use has an impact on the environment and people. It’s not just about being compassionate towards the animals but it’s about being kind to the Earth because when our earth suffers, we suffer as result of our own doings. This could only come by empathising with the world and understanding that we need to make a decision which is best for ourselves and the Earth. I guess many didn’t know about the cold hard truths when we indirectly support industries which are more concerned with money than the environment and your welfare. Thus, being aware of all these truths is important so that when you are committing yourself to protect the earth, you are doing so because you want a better future for yourself and the rest of the world and not out of obligation.
It’s not difficult to get yourself involved in creating a greener future. It starts with these simple green acts which I will be sharing with you. It’s more than just marching down the streets with signs that read ‘peace’ or ‘save the Earth’ on Earth Day which is happening this year on 22 April 2017. These are practical ways which can actually stir up a green movement. As you act upon it, others will start to see the good of it and follow.
Acts of Green
1) Eat less meat
There have been a lot of shocking news about the meat industry circulating on the internet. You would want to reduce meat consumption because it doesn’t just help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but it also helps to stop cruel industries from force-feeding animals and injecting them with artificial growth hormones. Do we need to consume so much meat, anyway? Chomp on more fruits and veggies instead!
2) Reduce the use of plastic
I would bring a recyclable shopping bag with me whenever I go and I use it to contain all my groceries or my wet umbrella on rainy days. You will not only save ten cents at NTUC supermarkets when you bring your own bag but you will also minimise plastic waste. Yes, plastic is super convenient for us but our landfills at Pulau Semakau are filling up faster than before.
Instead of using plastic bottles, use glass bottles and recycle them. I like to keep glass bottles and use them to store my DIY beauty products I’ve made at home. Glass can withstand heat and thus it’s my preferred choice of material over plastic.
3) Walk To Discover
I don’t drive. Perhaps it’s a blessing that I failed my driving test and thus couldn’t drive and have to rely on public transport and walking. Walking is one of the ways to reduce your carbon footprints and in case you didn’t know, it’s one of the best forms of exercise. Yes, just by walking! You can take a walk in your nearby parks, gardens or nature reserves. For me, I enjoy taking long walks in nature reserves or forests as I get to spot interesting animals living in the wild.
Many have this misconception that walking doesn’t burn fat since it is a rather slow form of exercise. Our ancestors explored this earth on foot not by running but by walking long distances. They don’t sit in the office chairs all day but they tread for miles.
Walk while you can!
4) Embark on DIY projects
DIY projects include preparing your own meals, creating your own beauty products and sewing your own fashion pieces. Getting your hands dirty and busy with DIY projects creates more opportunities for you to recycle or reuse items found at home. I enjoy doing such projects because it really gets your creative juices going and you tend to learn a lot more when you create something for scratch. Who knows that you could actually create your own body butter using pure shea butter, coconut oil and some essential oil? Or making Aquafaba (or icing) from Chickpea water? It amazes me each time I embarked on a DIY project and I believe you would feel the same way too.
Check out my DIY body butter recipe here!
5) Support eco-friendly industries
Give your support to eco-conscious companies who make the effort to practise sustainability in their products or other trade processes. Because these are the companies who cares for you and the world by large. They could be using biodegradable or recycled packaging for their products or purchase ingredients from ethical sources through the fairtrade system. iHerb is a great online marketplace where you can select earth-friendly products from their massive list of products. They sell over 35,000 products and they could be shipped over to 160 countries! They also provide customer support in ten languages.
I’ve been using this online platform to get all my clean food sources and natural beauty products for several years already. As there aren’t many dedicated green stores around in Singapore yet, I’ve been doing my green and natural products haul on iHerb. And over the years, I noticed that they have also been introducing some eco-friendly initiatives such as going paperless and minimising unnecessary packaging. iHerb also recycles all boxes, plastic bags, bubble wrap and Styrofoam received from their manufacturers. They also use UPS carbon neutral shipments to help reduce carbon footprints.
This time, I did a special iHerb haul which consists of a variety of earth-friendly products which you could also check them out on iHerb. Read on to find out which are my favourite earth-friendly products on iHerb!
If you search for ‘eco-friendly’ products on iHerb, you will find a variety of items ranging from makeup brushes, skincare and bath products, food items to home cleaning agents. Since I already own a set of Ecotools makeup brushes, I decided to try out the food and beauty items. Being a minimalist, I try to buy what I need, and not what I want.
Food
I’ve tried this brand of chocolate before and their chocolates are quite popular on iHerb because of the exotic flavours they offer. This is a Fair Trade certified product which uses organically grown cocoa near the Ecuadorian coast. These fine chocolate are for any chocolate lovers. I am going to use this to create a baking treat. Watch this space!
This makes a great bedtime tea because it’s very calming and fragrant. This tea company uses natural biodegradable filter-paper tea bags which makes great compost. The box itself is made of 85% post-consumer waste and printed with soy-based inks.
Hampstead Tea, Organic Fairtrade Rosehip Hibiscus, 20 Sachets, 1.06 oz (30 g)
Get your daily vitamin C dosage with this Rosehips hibiscus tea because it provides essential vitamin C and antioxidants to help revive a sluggish immune system. Their unique tea bags are biodegradable, non-chlorine bleached and staple free.
St. Dalfour, Organic Tea Variety Pack, 25 Tea Bags, 1.75 oz (50 g)
St. Dalfour Mango Green tea has been a hit with many iHerb shoppers. I’ve yet to try other types of tea by St. Dalfour so I got this tea variety pack. It’s one of the most affordable organic teas on iHerb. Like Hampstead tea, their tea bags, made with eco-friendly paper, are staple-free.
MRM, Raw Matcha Green Tea Powder, 6 oz (170 g)
This is one of the best buys because this certified organic Matcha powder is of high quality. The Matcha flavour is strong and it has a brilliant green colour, unlike the cheaper matcha powder which I bought in Japan for a few bucks. The cheaper matcha powder has been subjected to oxidation so it appears slightly darker in colour. This high-grade of matcha works great as a baking ingredient. It is packed using eco-friendly packaging.
Beauty
This sheet mask is made out of natural fibre – silky soft, non-woven, pure cellulose fibre from responsibly managed forests. It is eco-friendly, USDA certified bio-preferred verified non-GMO, biodegradable, and compostable. Like the tea bags, you can chunk this sheet mask in the soil after use.
Secret Key, Gold Racoony Hydro Gel Eye & Spot Patch, 90 Pieces
This Korean-made product is highly interesting because this gel eye patch could be fully disintegrated into essence when you soak it in hot water. Less waste is produced this way and the plastic tub could be reused. There aren’t many Asian skincare products out there that are eco-friendly.
This eye patch gives that lifting effect around my eye area and it also helps brighten up my eye area. Loving this!
Heritage Products, RoseWater, Rose Petals, 4 fl oz (120 ml)
I use this as a toner which really helps to soothe the skin after cleansing. I wish it was stored in a glass bottle though so that I could reuse it to store other beauty products. It’s cruelty-free and it consists of Vor-mag water and rose flower oil. It is eco-friendly as it is certified by periodic laboratory tests to be free of pesticide residues.
Auromere, Ayurvedic Soap, with Organic Neem, Himalayan Rose, 2.75 oz (78 g)
The soap bar is definitely the way to go especially if you want to go zero-waste. I’ve been using soap bars ever since and it not only results in less waste but it also saves space. Cost-wise, soap bars are definitely cheap and they work relatively well. This Ayurvedic soap is wrapped with biodegradable packaging and it is cruelty-free.
This is a hidden gem! This moisturiser is great for acne-prone skin because it is light-weight – very similar to any water-based gel moisturiser. This works great for my skin as my skin gets clogged very easily. This cream is vegan-friendly and is stored in eco-friendly packaging.
The cream is lightweight and absorbs readily into the skin.
Avalon Organics, Thickening Shampoo, Biotin B-Complex Therapy, 14 fl oz (414 ml)
This is another best seller on iHerb and it contains a rich blend of plant oils which help to nourish the hair and scalp. It is vegan-friendly and biodegradable.
Other Products
Method, Dish Soap, Ginger Yuzu, 18 fl oz (532 ml)
This is another good buy because it’s affordable and smells so refreshing. One of the most damaging products to the environment is detergents. Cheap detergents contain chemicals which can pollute the waters and ground when they are discharged into the environment. So if you decide to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle, you should start ditching the current cleaning agents you have and opt for green cleaning agents.
ECOBAGS, Market Collection, String Bag, Tote Handle 10 in, Washed Blue, 1 Bag
This is another favourite purchase of mine! I’m glad that I chose to buy this shopping bag by ECOBAGS which is made of 100% natural cotton and dyed with azo-free dyes.
Leading this green lifestyle has freed up time for me to focus on the more important things in life. Really, do we need that many branded leather shoes, bags and clothes? Are you indirectly supporting brands which only introduces more waste chemicals into the environment? Let’s go green today – one step at a time.
For all new iHerb Customers, click here to get $5 off your first iHerb order!
Love,
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