Zero Waste

How to be Eco-Friendly During Quarantine

published on April 15, 2020 by Angela Hamilton
updated on November 2, 2021

As upsetting as it is to quarantine during such a beautiful season, I hope it’s allowing people to enjoy and appreciate Mother Earth a bit more. Busy lifestyles make it difficult to practice green habits, so this forced slow-down is a great time to try them out and see what sticks for you and your lifestyle. I know everyone’s quarantine rules are a little different, but as of right now in Seattle, going outside and taking walks and enjoying the sunshine (while remaining a respectful distance from others) is probably the #1 thing keeping our spirits up. So, I’ve been feeling extra grateful for fresh air and spring blooms, and think it’s a great time for us all to show our gratitude with more eco-friendly habits. In a time when so much has changed in an instant, it’s comforting to go outside and see flowers blooming and birds chirping.

This isn’t the case for everyone, but if you do find yourself with a little more time on your hands, consider using some of it to make a few simple lifestyle changes in an effort to become more eco-friendly in the long run. I intentionally kept these tips as more of an intro because I want you to know that there is always something you can do, even if you don’t live in an area with as many resources (or encouragement!) as Seattle to ‘be green’.

How to be eco-friendly during quarantine

Mindful habits. With quarantine forcing a lot of us to slow down, we have the opportunity to reflect more on our lifestyles and try improving personal habits. Before you could practice touching your face less, you had to notice how much you were doing it before, right?

Now is a great time to think about which lifestyle habits could be made more eco-friendly too—whether it’s washing bottles and cans right away so you can recycle them properly or using meal planning to make the most of limited grocery trips and ultimately waste less money and food. It’s such a great time to get the whole household on the same page, too.

Single use swaps. Decreasing your reliance on single use items in favor of reusable ones is a great way to lower your environmental impact, but it can be tricky to get in the habit of. If you’ve been thinking of how to go “green”, now is the time to get a feel for it. An easy start? Try swapping out paper towels for cloth napkins. Right now it actually makes you more resourceful… it lessens your reliance on popular “stock up” items which will make you feel a little more empowered getting through this crisis—and beyond.

Another quick, practical swap is changing from dryer sheets to (sustainably made) wool dryer balls. They eliminate the need for throwaway dryer sheets and work just as well. (I hate static so I was a bit apprehensive at first, but they do the trick!) If you like them scented, you can make them smell exactly how you want with essential oils, or keep them fragrance-free. It’s freeing not to rely on a grocery trips for some of these everyday items.

Lastly, another way to be more eco-friendly during quarantine is to master recycling. In the United States, trash removal and recycling programs vary widely and are extremely confusing to keep up with. This is because it’s not streamlined at a national or even state levels. It’s usually counties or individual cities that dictate their own waste programs based on local resources (and/or demand). Even then, there are tons of items that need to be disposed of different ways in order to be recycled, such as textiles and trickier plastics. For example, this year Seattle announced that it would no longer be picking up plastic films along with the rest of weekly recycling. Instead, we need to take them to a different recycling center (where they won’t interfere with the other machines). There’s truly so much to learn about recycling in each area, and I can see why people stick to the basics. It seems like a daunting task, but it feels so good to know that everything is going in the right place.

Would you like to see more in-depth advice on any of the tips above? If you’ve already started on this, share your favorite single use swaps or recycling tips below to teach others how to be eco-friendly during quarantine.

This backyard party is proof that eco-friendly entertaining can be pretty too

published on July 31, 2019 by Angela Hamilton
updated on May 1, 2023

We’ve been sharing sneaks on Insta all summer, but I’m pretty darn excited to announce that our eco-friendly entertaining guide is HERE! I know it’s a little late in the season, but I wanted to compile all the photos of our summer backyard party into a guide that proves just how easy and affordable it can be to throw a beautiful party with the environment in mind.

PS: After you scroll through the photos below, be sure to follow the link to DOWNLOAD the rest of our entertaining guide!

Why is beauty so important here? If you search Google or Pinterest for oh, about five seconds, for an eco friendly party, you will not be surprised. It’s pretty much all along the same style, including lots of outdated trends at this point. In this case, I can totally see why a hostess would cringe at the thought of throwing a party with an “eco” spin. Then there are entertainers on a budget (hi!) who want to throw a pretty party too. There are tons of single use products marketed to these very people, with pretty patterned paper plates (that’s a mouthful) and even those “handy” plastic wine glasses that “look like the real thing” (don’t get me started). Being in the wants-to-create-something-beautiful-on-a-budget camp myself, I don’t believe I should have to resort to single use to host a creatively styled gathering. So, those are just a few thoughts we kept in mind while putting this together. We really did want to speak to people like us, who love Pinterest and Instagram and all the pretty parties they inspire, but wanted to be conscious of both our budget and our impact.

The first thing we did when planning our party was decide the vibe. We knew we wanted it to be casual and in a backyard, so the picnic idea was just SO much easier than finding enough furniture.

Knowing we had a backyard party vibe helped us narrow down food options. I’ve been all over the Mediterranean diet lately, and I liked that a mezze board could be vegetarian friendly (vegan if you take out the feta/tzatziki) and require minimal cleanup.

We used the same concept for our fruit platter. We always add a little jcoco chocolate, which is a local Seattle brand that fights hunger with every purchase.

You can find our wine cocktail idea in the full guide below, and we’ll do a post on it soon too!

You probably know by now that we use edible flowers on just about everything. Instant pretty!

We also talk more about sourcing decor for your party in our guide but some of the key pieces we used were a marble platter from member Ten Thousand Villages, jute place mats and coasters from Will + Atlas (mostly to steady drinks/vases on the grass), and some pretty linens from Etsy.

We thrifted a few pieces, but for the most part, went with what we already had, which helped us define our color palette and style too.

I created a few farmers market floral arrangements using the techniques shared here, opting for a wildflower look that’s very much trendy and in season right now.

We’d love to share the rest of our eco friendly entertaining tips with you! Simply sign up for our email list to receive monthly updates from the eco club team, and you’ll get a welcome email with the instant download of our 9 page PDF guide with more photos + tips.

ECO CLUB SIGN UP + DOWNLOAD GUIDE

Have you thrown a low-waste party this summer? Share your tips below!

*Photos by Charity

10 Simple Ways to Go Green as a Solopreneur

published on May 13, 2019 by Natalie
updated on November 2, 2021

One of the main reasons people decide to go full time as a solopreneur is for freedom and flexibility. Choosing when and where to work, traveling as they please, and yoga pants as acceptable work attire. Another wonderful thing about being an independent business owner is the ability we have to make our own business decisions. We can choose to make eco-friendly decisions for our businesses and to even help educate those we work with. To help you begin making more green decisions, we’ve listed out 10 simple ways to go green as a soloprenuer, below! We know everyone’s eco-living journey is unique, so these are just 10 easy options to begin switching your own methods little by little.

Ditch the Coffee Shop and DIY That Latte
No line, no pants, no waste, no problem. Avoid the wasteful cup, lid, and straw by whipping up your own delicious coffee or tea drinks at home. Not only will you skip out on some waste, but you’ll skip out on the bill too! I love to make my own cold brew at home by letting 1 cup of ground coffee and 4 cups of water sit together in the fridge overnight. Just strain the mixture using a fine mesh strainer and sip away!

Pro tip: Use those coffee grounds for a DIY energizing body scrub! Mix the leftover grounds with coconut oil to desired consistency and let the spa day begin.

Opt for Digital Mock-Ups Instead of Printing All the Things
If you’re a creative of any sort, this one’s for you. You’ve probably seen the gush-worthing photos other creatives share of their work printed on pages and all perfectly laid out. These looks are amazing, but they are also easily doable without printing all that unnecessary paper! Instead of printing your works for that one-and-done shoot, make your presentation photos in Photoshop.

Advertise Digitally
It’s 2019! If you aren’t already advertising digitally, get it together! Choose digital advertising methods instead of print ones. Instead of mailing postcards, build that email list. Instead of ads in the paper, put ads on your local news source’s website. It’s great to have a “paper trail” in your biz – unless it’s your advertising.

Source Locally and Choose Eco-Friendly
I know, I know. Some things just have to be printed. When you can support local businesses. When you can’t, choose eco-friendly choices. Because I’m on the move so much, I decided to get my own business cards printed with Moo. They offer business cards made from recycled cotton t-shirts! When working with clients, do some research and try to source locally for them too.

Psst: If you’ve never used Moo, here’s 25% off your first order!

Turn Off or Unplug Your Tech
When you’re done for the day, turn off or unplug your tech. If you’re not comfortable powering it off, just put it in sleep mode. You’ll conserve energy and save some money on that electric bill!

Donate to Eco-Friendly Organizations
Not only is donating to eco-friendly organizations just a pretty darn good thing to do, but it’s also rather marketable. Every time I book a design client, I donate to a non-profit that focuses on reforestation, and they plant 12 trees in areas affected by forest fires. My clients love knowing that their dollars are going somewhere great and that they’re directly helping in some way.

Opt for Green Web Hosting
Often times, web hosting companies will use renewable energy sources or purchase carbon offsets to help even out their energy use. A great example of this is DreamHost. DreamHost houses their servers in a facility which utilizes high-efficiency cooling that uses partially reclaimed water. They are also partner with state-level “clean wind” programs and only use electricity from renewable sources.

Reuse & Recycle
Now, this one doesn’t need much explanation! Reuse whenever possible and recycle as much as you can. Take notes on the back of printed papers you no longer need, reuse that plastic cup from lunch, and use double-sided printing when you can. Check with your local recycling center to see what they accept – you may be surprised! As someone who strives for a zero-waste lifestyle, I use mason jars for all the things. They’re great for storage, that DIY latte you whipped up earlier, overnight oats, or even for a little herb garden!

Revamp Your Workday Snackage
Buying package-free snacks in bulk help you to avoid a lot of excess food packaging that can’t be recycled! Instead of grabbing a bag of chips, stock up on healthy goodies like nuts, berries, seeds, and dried fruits in your local supermarket’s bulk section. This way, you have snacks that last you longer and are just better for you. That bag of convenient chips only takes a few minutes to grub, but the chip bag can take literal centuries to decompose.

Pro tip: If you bring your own containers, you can use tare on the store’s scale for the container’s weight and skip the plastic bag waste. (Hello again, mason jars!)

Digital Gifting
Client gifts are such a lovely way to let your clients know they’re appreciated and to make a memorable mark uniquely. Instead of sending the usual goodie box, opt for digital gifting. Gift boxes are beautiful, but there’s a lot of unknown variables – where were the products sourced from? Were they ethically made? What’s the shipping process? What’s the packaging situation? Personalized emails and thought out gift cards to your clients’ fav places show you care just as much as a mailed gift box would!

BONUS: Educate Yourself and Discover More Ways!
There are so many more ways you can make little green changes in your day to day that are individual to your needs! Take some time to educate yourself and discover those ways. Recyclebank is a fun educational website that teaches you all about recycling and rewards you as you learn. If you’re interested in learning more about the zero-waste lifestyle, check out Going Zero Waste.

Some of these options may take a bit to work into your business! If you’re unsure of where to start, pick one that resonates most with you and begin focusing on it! It all starts with habits. Making new habits is key to working your way to more eco-friendly living! Before you know it, you’ll be running a greener, more sustainable business.

Photo by Charity Hestead Kubena

Eco Friendly Dental Floss Should Be Your Next Zero Waste Purchase

published on April 3, 2019 by Angela Hamilton
updated on November 1, 2021

If you haven’t asked your friends on social media about their own favorite sustainable brands, put it on your to-do for after you read and pin this post. That’s how I found out about natural and organic oral care brand Terra & Co, which is run by two sisters on a mission to create natural, non-toxic and cruelty-free products. Their story is impressive—from their beginnings amidst war in Bosnia to managing beauty startups in LA to building a company while living on opposite coasts (NYC and LA) and now having products sold in coveted stores across the US. If eco friendly dental floss and oral care products (besides the bamboo brush) aren’t already on your zero waste shopping list, we’re pretty confident they will be after hearing Azra’s story.

Tell us a bit about you and Amra…
Amra and I always wanted to start a business that pays it forward. Growing up during the war in Bosnia, we had so many people and organizations help us during those terrible years. Postwar we moved to the US, got an education and both worked in the beauty business for over a decade. We never thought that oral care would be something we’d get into. A few years ago, while Amra was pregnant, she used only natural products and limited products filled with chemicals. That’s how she found activated charcoal powder and saw her teeth whiten, but it was a super messy process. She thought about how there should be toothpaste that contains activated charcoal but has no fluoride and fillers. Just simple organic ingredients like coconut oils and peppermint essential oils. She called me and we started looking for manufacturing here in the USA.

We were not sure how people would react to black toothpaste, but almost three years later, we have a brand that is sitting on shelves at Anthropologie, Saks, Free People, and eco-friendly hotels.

Now that we have created a successful brand and have the power to help others, each month we donate oral products to the Downtown Women’s Shelter in Los Angeles to help low income and homeless women. Amra and I have been personally visiting the center and working with them. One of the wishlist items in almost every shelter is toothpaste. We hope as our business grow to help out more shelters in our communities. Terra & Co plans to start a fund where the percentage of each sale will go towards helping low income and homeless women.

How did your combined experience in the cosmetics industry help set you up for a business in natural oral care?
I’ve lived and worked in NYC as a makeup artist and beauty creative for over a decade. Amra managed few beauty startups in LA so her business side and my creative side were proven to be a good fit to get a business idea to a working business.

What was your biggest challenge in creating all-natural, zero waste oral care products?
We both believe that the future of consumer products have to be created with the least impact on mother earth. The biggest challenge is finding biodegradable packaging and lowering our carbon footprint. After attending a few packaging trade shows I find a limited number of suppliers who focus on eco-friendly and biodegradable packaging, to my surprise. Especially because we want all of our products to be made in USA.

Can you talk about the differences between conventional dental floss and Brilliant Black?
Conventional dental floss is usually made out of strands of nylon or Teflon with added wax and flavors. Neither of these polymers is biodegradable, and not to even talk about plastic packaging that flosses come in. Brilliant Black floss is made with bamboo fiber, activated charcoal (why not whiten between teeth?) coconut oil, candelilla wax (vegan wax) and peppermint and spearmint essential oils. All of these ingredients are biodegradable including our carton box that floss comes in.

Tell us more about the packaging you use for your products.
From day one we have focused to not only make chemical-free products that work but to minimize packaging as much as we can as a small business. Our bamboo toothbrush used to come in a plastic travel case and now we have switched to box made out of the biodegradable carton and printed with eco-friendly ink in California. We have been working and testing new tubes made out of sugar canes that will be a great replacement for recycled plastic.

What are a few of you and Amra’s fave sustainable beauty/skincare brands?
There are so many brands that we both love. Few of the favorites are: Dr. Hauschka, ILIA Beauty, Immunocologie, Noniko Natural Skincare, Jane Iredale…

Thanks to Azra of Terra & Co for sharing their story. Purchase eco friendly dental floss and other oral care products on their website.

Photos by Taylor Lewis

Why I Chose to Build a Tiny House at 26

published on March 4, 2019 by Kate
updated on November 1, 2021

Yes, a few weeks after my twenty-sixth birthday, I began construction of a tiny home: 196 square feet of house lovingly positioned on a flatbed trailer in the southwest of my home state, Montana.

And yes, I am building it in the dead of winter. (Snow is peaking and flurrying outside in negative temperatures as I write this on a mini-break from sawing and hammering.)

To some, this is the ultimate dream. The tiny house movement has been accelerating in the last few years, with micro-homes spread across all fifty states. The appeal is real: low cost of living, mobility, and reduced carbon footprint (among many, many other benefits).

For others, living tiny is, to put it lightly, a challenge. (Nearly 50% of all Americans would “definitely not” choose to live in a tiny home.)

So why am I doing it? I assure you, this is not the result of a ‘quarter-life crisis,’ and nor am I keen to join the slew of other tiny house builder profiles on the internet merely to gain acclaim.

I am asked this question nearly daily. To most, I simply say: Why not? But there is so much more to it than merely that.

I’ve adored “tiny” for two decades (and counting).

This is a nostalgic point, but I’ve coveted “tiny” since I could speak. More importantly, I’ve been crafting small since I can remember, be it in the form of miniature school books for my dolls or teeny lego houses for my plastic dinosaurs.

Now, I surround myself with itty-bitty succulents, miniature paintings, and ramekins (oh, the ramekins).

I don’t think this is really an obsession. I simply feel that small things have power, and they have truth. (Shakespeare says, of course: “Though she be little, but she be fierce.”) And always, always, less is more—in words and in things.

Big dreams often manifest in “tiny” ways.

I think that it is all too easy to assume that dreams must be grand, sweeping gestures, achieved by big, big, sweaty means. Such thinking pulls our attention away from the present, where delicious and beautiful change is happening all the time.

I’ve dreamed of a tiny house for years, yes, but its manifestation has actually taken a lot of time, a lot of learning, a lot of me figuring things out.

It’s a good reminder that small in itself can be a high point. Oh, and ticking all of the things off of a to-do list isn’t what it’s all about! (And, big secret: I’ve never been able to finish such a list in one day in my life.)

It’s urgent. (No, seriously.)

Our planet needs us. We’re all used to hearing this, but the earth’s situation is very, very grave. Over the past few years, I slowly opened my eyes to what has been happening around us.

I’m building a tiny house because I absolutely must: for the earth, for the rest of human life. It offers me the lightest possible means of living: my footprint will be less than 200 square feet literally, but I will also be living fully zero-waste and plastic-free.

What’s more, this tiny house will not have a black water system (meaning water that has been contaminated by waste or chemicals). Everything we put down its drains will be biodegradable and vegan, and this house will have a composting toilet!

We are also incorporating sustainable building practices and materials as much as possible during construction.

This is the philosophy behind my blog, A Lighter Earth.

I cannot exist as a moral human without making such efforts to live mindfully.

And in living mindfully, I live my best self.

Minimalism enables me to channel my best self.

Speaking of that best self… I am fiercely independent, but I’ve been a bit of a nomad for several years. There was a time when I packed all of my belongings into a Toyota Yaris hatchback and drove across the country—aimlessly, until I found my heart here in Montana.

I loved feeling like a turtle.

I loved the freedom of fewer possessions, of sacred, unfettered space.

I strongly believe that we move freer and better when we veer away from materialism.

Oh, and light. This tiny house will be filled with light, thanks to some salvaged nine-foot windows (repurpose!) and sky lights. That is also the heart of minimalism—moving more towards the sky!

Too much screen time.

As a freelancer and writer, my hands are all too used to crouching over a keyboard. (And in this society, we live in the blue light of our screens far too much.) I’ve found such relief in the physicality of the tiny house construction process, and what beauty there is in using my hands to build something I will inhabit!

Biting winter winds have made this challenging, and there have been multiple learning curves (what with terminology, power tools, and, well, math). Yet I’m acquiring vital skills, and ones that are way too often associated only with men.

Who says women can’t run saws? It’s fun—you should try it!

I enjoy answering the question: “Why would you do that?”

I’ve spent too much of my life in fear. I’ve spent too many years assuming that there were things I simply could not do, for various reasons (societal codes, belief systems, etc., etc.). I’ve spent too long saying: “That would be nice…. but.”

Now, I strive to hear this question almost daily: “Why would you do that?”

(As if living in 200 square feet of space is as surprising as consuming insects, which really isn’t all that surprising!)

Why do I want to hear this question?

Simple.

I love venturing into territory that feels forbidden. Because once you venture, it’s a wild ride, there’s no going back, and “forbidden” really means “possible.”

Thanks for listening, friends. If you’re ever in Bozeman this spring and beyond, drop on by. The Light House will always accommodate fellow tea-drinkers and earth lovers.

8 Simple, Beautiful Zero Waste Starter Kits for the Absolute Beginner

published on March 3, 2019 by Angela Hamilton

I’d definitely consider myself a low-waste advocate—I’ve long boycotted many things single use—but even going mostly zero waste is a whole new level of commitment I can’t say I’ve yet mastered. That’s the thing, you may read an article, hear a story, or see a film that inspires you to jump on the zero waste train, but I think most of us really just do what we can, learn a little more, then do a little more, and so on. Not to mention, what you can feasibly do is largely determined by your location, finances, family you support, and lifestyle in general. Living a low waste lifestyle in Seattle is so much easier for me than it was when I lived in Los Angeles, and LA already has a lot more systems in place and support when it comes to green living than other parts of the US. It’s all relative. But no matter where you or or what your ambitions may be, these zero waste kits should help you ease into a sustainable lifestyle at your own pace.

8 zero waste kits for beginners

Making or purchasing a zero waste starter kit is an important (if symbolic more than anything) first step, but it is only one step. It’s a journey, not a destination, you know? And these simple zero waste starter kits are designed to set you on your way with ease:

Ecozied’s zero waste gift set is an affordable, thorough and practical package for anyone starting on a sustainable living journey. It includes eco dish cloths, wax food wrap, dish sponge, brushes, and toothbrushes and floss!

Package Free has great deals on their kits right now. Shown above are their Laundry Kit (excited to try their stain stick!) and Cleaning Kit. Find more Package Free zero waste kits here.

Tare Market’s Zero waste market kit contains a mesh bag, produce bags, beeswax wraps, straw and utensils, and comes package-free.

Coming from La Pepa Boutique in the UK, this starter kit has different sized bags, an organic cotton bath puff (cute, huh?), organic hemp cotton face pads, and crochet face scrubbies.

This bundle from self proclaimed plastic haters MeMotherEarth hits all the essentials: produce bags, toothbrush, dish sponge, hand brush and more.

16 piece sustainable kitchen starter set by TheJewelryBx21

I love that brands are starting to combine wellness and self care packages with zero waste products! JnLNaturals offers a self care kit with handmade and personal care goodies like aluminum free deodorant, a face mask, konjac sponge and more. Such a good sustainable gift idea!

Lastly, shout out to Eco Collective and Public Goods + Services here in Seattle. And if you’re looking for a bulk refill store in Seattle, The Naked Grocer is in Capitol Hill. These shops don’t have pre-packed kits for sale, but you can check off many of your zero waste necessities within them. Obviously, these are all just ideas and options for going the online route, but if you can get what you need at a local shop, even better!

Who here has a good go-to zero waste or plastic-free shop? Find more eco friendly finds here!

PS This is a 2023 update of a post originally published back in 2019! If you came here from Pinterest you might have seen some different photos. I’ve removed products that are no longer being offered and replaced them with fresh new ones you can find now. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about this update!