Make the Swap! Sustainable Choices & Environmental Debt

When did you get your first credit card? It was probably pretty exciting at first. How did you do with it? If you were new to credit, you may have had a hard time. At first, you may have had fun buying things you wanted or needed without a second thought, but if you didn’t start paying things back on time things could get out of hand. Maybe you had to pay back your debt with large amounts of interest, or worse, you went over your limit. That’s definitely bad news, and if something isn’t done quickly the effects on your life could be felt for years to come.

A lot of people in debt feel desperate. They wonder, “How will I ever pay it all back? Is it too late? Should I just give up and ignore the problem?”

How would you answer those questions?

For a long time, humanity has been in debt. We’ve been treating the earth like a credit card, borrowing against our future, and the well-being of the other species we share this planet with.

Now we’re feeling the effects of these decisions in the form of climate change and if we don’t do something soon, the effects will be felt for years to come.

What should we do? Is it too late? Should we just give up and ignore the problem?

Likely your answer is the same as before. While debt, financial or otherwise, may seem insurmountable, the best thing to do is take action to reduce the damage and change our behavior going forward. How?

A Two-Pronged Approach: Sustainability & Damage Control

Sustainability is a word that gets thrown into the climate change conversation a lot, but what does it really mean? There’s no getting around that, as a society, we have a lot of needs, but to power those needs, there’s a cost. Sustainability is about finding that balance between those needs and the impact they have on our environment, ultimately benefiting everyone regardless of socioeconomic standing.

That’s how we move forward, however what about the damage that’s already been done?

Some studies show that, if left alone, the environment can actually do a lot for its own recovery. For example, in this study, “The analysis found that on average forest ecosystems can recover in 42 years, while it takes only about 10 years for the ocean bottom to recover.” [1]

That being said, if we’ve curtailed our practices going forward, then we can definitely help the earth along with its healing. More ideas on that to come!

Let’s take a look at 3 areas to consider as we look to make our lives more sustainable and how we can help the recovery efforts along.

The Covid Conundrum

If you’re starting to feel like you’re constantly juggling crises, you’re not alone. The Covid-19 Pandemic has forced a lot of us to put things on hold, make a lot of difficult decisions, and add some new routines to our lives. Even the quickest run to the store needs a mask and sometimes you might see people shopping with vinyl gloves on. It’s great that people are doing their best to make themselves and others feel as safe as possible. However, what’s not so great is when those gloves and masks end up on the floor outside and not in the trash.

Not only is it pretty gross (and ridiculously lazy) but it has also caused a new threat to the environment. Animals are ingesting these items or getting hopelessly tangled up in them. Frequently these discards are ending up in our oceans as well. I don’t know about you folks, but I like both of those things!

To give you an idea of the reach of this problem, Gary Stokes [pictured here] of Hong Kong-based OceansAsia, said, “On a beach about 100 meters long, we found about 70. One week later, another 30 masks had washed up. And that’s on an uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere [the Soko Islands].” [2,3]

Without a pandemic, there’s already over 7 billion tons of debris that get dumped into the ocean annually. [4] Studies have found that if left unchecked, by 2050 there could be more plastic in the sea than there are fish in the ocean and nearly all seabirds will have plastic in their stomachs. [5,6]

30 years really isn’t a lot of time at all for something so dramatic to occur so, adding discarded PPE can’t be helping.

While we need to take precautions for our health during this pandemic, we can’t lose focus of our ongoing fight for the planet. So just like you cut the plastic rings of a six pack of soda, cut the strings of your disposable mask before your toss it in the trash with those gloves. Better yet, consider buying reusable masks from one of the many small businesses that are also affected by the pandemic. It’s a win, win.

Reduce, Reuse, Reevaluate

When there’s not a pandemic, we still produce a lot of waste.

Companies are the big culprit here, in fact, “Just 100 companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988.” [7,8]

That may seem sort of discouraging. That doesn’t mean we can’t try. If we all do our part, that really adds up. Time to make some changes!

Look for companies that use Terracyle (an organization that works with companies to take hard-to-recycle materials and turn them into new products). It’s also good to check if a company is B-Corp Certified, like Arbonne.

“Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.”

It’s a difficult certification to get, so you can feel confident in these companies commitment to these issues when you see that badge.

Another great resource for sustainable products is Grove Collaborative, a company “built around the idea that safer, environmentally-friendly products should be easily available, for everyone.” Between bamboo paper products, better-for-you ingredients, to that blood orange hand sanitizer and rainwater scented Meyer's soap you all love so much, Grove Collaborative has so many smart choices for you to swap in to your life.

One swap to give some serious consideration is plastic water bottles. Sure, they’re great in a pinch, but let’s be real, with a little planning you won’t need to constantly buy them.

Getting a reusable water bottle is not only great for the environment, you’ll feel the impact on your wallet too! The average person should consume about 11.5 - 15.5 oz of water a day.

If only quenched that thirst by getting individual bottles of water on the go at $1 a bottle, you'd be spending at least $2,520 on water a year. Compare that to this $35 bottle you can buy once at Target.

Don’t like the taste of tap? This water bottle has a filter.

Used to grabbing a bottle even around the house? How about this filtering water dispenser?

Grab that mug you got from your favorite local vendor and fill’er up.

Not sure what filter’s best for you? There’s actually a really neat guide on tap water and water filtration options at FoodandWaterWatch.org.

When you really analyze your circumstances, you may be surprised how even minor changes can significantly reduce how much plastic and other non-biodegradable products we use.

Get Involved

Making personal changes is important, but sometimes we have to roll up our sleeves and get down to business. Use your dollar to support businesses that are putting sustainable practices in place and try to remove those who are still ignoring their carbon footprint. Hold officials and organizations accountable if they make claims of change and don’t follow through. Stay up to date on environmental issues effecting your area with sites like, Cleanwateraction.org.

Search and volunteer for organizations in your area that do beach clean up or habitat restoration projects like planting trees or other native plants. Can’t find the time to volunteer? Donate! Your financial support is a great way to make sure those who have the time and energy have what they need to get the job done.

An organization trying to make this kind of change happen on the Jersey Shore is The Local Fix Foundation. Local Fix does event planning for a cause. I’m so glad to have been a part of their first Sweep the Shore, a one-day beach clean at Sea Bright Public beach. Due to Covid they reached their max of volunteers but you can still support their ongoing mission here!

Can’t make it in person? Donate to a great causes like The Local Fix Foundation.

We’ve got a lot of work to do, but one thing’s for sure, we’re not going to get anywhere by ignoring the problem. It’s a big problem that might seem overwhelming but you don’t have to do all of these things at once. Try adding just one small change a day or maybe set a bigger goal for the month. Soon you’ll realize you’re making some big strides to help our environment. What changes will you make to build a better tomorrow for all of us?

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