The seasons of Spring, Summer, and Fall of 2022 have been interesting. Even though the epidemic and other global events have left us feeling down, it is still crucial that we maintain emotional and mental equilibrium. The winter season is here, and with the holidays drawing near, it's time to focus on doing good for others. We should all pause this winter to appreciate the beauty of the leaves as they change and to celebrate our capacity to overcome challenges of any size, shape, or color. With our Sustainable and Ethical Winter Season Tips, we're highlighting the sustainable businesses that bring winter warmth into our homes while also making it easy to live a sustainable winter lifestyle.
While it's true that the holidays are meant to bring people together, happiness isn't necessarily long-lasting. Here are some ideas to help you have sustainability in winter.
Why Winter Waste?
There are several ways to celebrate the holiday season, from seasonal attire and home decor to the standard pumpkin spice taste. However, sustainability is year-round, unlike the ephemeral Pumpkin Spice Latte craze. The warming effect of methane is more than 20 times that of carbon dioxide, but did you know that "pumpkins that wind up in the landfill will decay and ultimately produce methane?" That is very eerie! Think of all the pumpkins you've seen around town this season.
The Thanksgiving through New Year's holiday period sees a 25% increase in garbage compared to any other time of the year in the United States, and the problem isn't limited to pumpkin trash. A total of 25,000,000 tons of trash, or around 1,000,000 tons weekly, has been generated as a result of the increase in rubbish production.
The Holiday Shopping Season Can Be Green
When the seasons change and the holidays roll around, not only do we produce more trash, but we also tend to buy more merchandise. We spend a lot of money on things we won't wear again for at least a month, such as warm sweaters, boots, Winter man fashion and seasonal decorations. We're aware that there are many cute options, but we should not sacrifice our freedom of choice in retail. This holiday season, we may engage in "ethical consumption" by buying from winter women's fashion firms that prioritize social responsibility or environmental protection.
Easy switches this winter in a sustainable way-
- Seal Up Insulation Gaps
One of the most common causes of energy waste is poor insulation. Check the area surrounding your doors and windows by looking at and touching the seals. Insulation products like weather stripping and caulk can be used as a stopgap measure to seal drafts and air leaks, but permanent upgrades should be considered for year-round comfort and cost savings.
- Give eco-friendly gifts
During the holiday season, trash production increases by 30 percent, with a lot of it winding up in landfills and oceans.
By purchasing holiday presents from environmentally conscious retailers, you may help cut down on trash created throughout the holiday season. You can gift sustainable products, Eco-friendly Decor, Earth-friendly and upcycled materials products and many more things!
Sustainable materials should be used for gift wrapping. Eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas from us are as follows.
- you may recycle gift bags and wrapping paper or Gift hampers for Him/Her.
- Brown paper bags, old newspapers, and other scraps of paper are all acceptable options for wrapping presents.
- paper tape is a better choice for the environment than plastic tape.
- Recycle your wardrobe
At present, the fashion sector is responsible for 10% of all global carbon emissions and consumes over 1.5 trillion liters of water annually.
Instead of going out and buying a whole new winter coat or knitted sweater, you should check to see if you already have anything in your closet that would suffice sustainable fashion. If you already have enough warm clothes to last you through the next months, you may want to hold off on buying more.
You should recycle clothes for a good cause rather than just tossing them away. Each year, we throw away over 350,000 tons of apparel that may still be worn.
- Keep the heat
The most obvious is to layer up with clothing before resorting to extreme measures like turning up the heat in the house. And if you're still chilly after that, you could always sprint up and down the stairs a few times. Walking just one minute a day will help you burn half a kilocalorie and provide you a little respite from your screen.
When you settle in for the night on the couch, dress warmly in winter clothes. Make use of a snug-rug, an additional blanket, or your own ingenuity. Alternately, you may get some quality time with your kitty or spouse. A hot water bottle might be used if that doesn't help or if they refuse to do so.
Even if taking a cold shower is healthier for the environment and ourselves, a hot shower might feel good on a cold day (people that shower with cold water also report ill less often than those who use hot water). Get a shower timer if you must take a hot shower. Water conservation begins immediately by cutting your shower time in half, from 10 to 5 minutes, saving an average of 30 liters.
It's preferable to return to a toasty home once you've warmed up. You may save money on heating by using the sun during the day and closing the curtains at night. Leave the oven door open once you're done using it to distribute the heat around the room. Since the oven's energy has been used, it makes the most sense to use it to its fullest potential. Apply weather strips as soon as the room is heated to keep the heat inside. Even if we manage to put to good use every bit of energy we produce, over 70% of it will always be classified as waste heat on a worldwide scale. When you leave the house, turn down the radiator so you aren't contributing to that wasteful cycle. In conclusion, as it gets later, the lights will be left on for longer periods of time. Never leave them on when you leave the room, and if a standard bulb burns out, replace it with an energy-efficient LED or CFL. Traditional incandescent light bulbs not only consume more energy than their LED and CFL counterparts, but they also pose a significant environmental burden during their disposal.
- De-ice with non-harmful means.
When the snow starts to fall, it's important to switch to de-icing procedures that don't produce dangerous waste.
Because of its prevalence in table salt, chloride has become a growing problem in our drinking water supply. According to research conducted by the University of Minnesota, for instance, about 80% of the salt used in the Twin Cities for winter maintenance is either absorbed by the ground or lingers in the surface water of the area's lakes and wetlands.
The use of chemical deicers endangers wildlife, vegetation, and the ecosystem as a whole. Surface water and groundwater can be contaminated by leaked antifreeze and chemical deicers that dissolve on driveways and roadways.
Water use is greatly affected by the method of de-icing chosen, as nearly one-third of all groundwater is used for human consumption.
According to the EPA, clean clay kitty litter, sand, or fireplace/stove ash can be used as alternatives to chemical de-icers. Additionally, electric snow blowers should be used rather than those that run on gasoline. Though they still require energy, they produce no harmful emissions. Both of these may be avoided if you clean your driveways and sidewalks using snow shovels and brooms.
In what ways can sustainable development benefit the globe?
Sustainability is essential for human survival as well as environmental health. The environmental harm we do may be mitigated with the help of sustainable practices from individuals, communities, and businesses.
When you practice sustainability, you automatically cut back on your consumption of energy. Wind and solar energy are preferable to fossil fuels because they reduce the need for transportation and have less of an impact on the environment.
Less waste, less pollution, and lower total expenses are the results of sustainable living and business practices.
Building a sustainable future
Unfortunately, there is still time to reverse the environmental harm that has already been done. Understanding what we must do going forward and making sustainability in winter a priority is at the heart of this good shift. These adjustments are within our reach on a personal, neighborhood, regional, and global scale. Each new generation has the duty to use the Earth's natural resources sustainably, minimizing environmental damage and working in harmony with nature whenever feasible.
Several options exist for us to live more sustainably without having to drastically alter our way of life with Zero-Waste Travels. Changing to a renewable energy provider is a simple, healthy, and affordable method to improve our sustainability in winter. While it may not always be feasible to install solar panels or construct a community wind turbine, switching to a renewable energy company is a simple and practical approach to reducing one's carbon footprint.
