Earth Day 2023 marks the 53nd anniversary of this wonderful initiative and this year again, with the theme being “Invest In Our Planet”, the idea is to encourage governments, corporations, and citizens to take conscious steps toward adopting sustainable practices, buying from ethical companies and taking a more active role in the planet’s wellbeing. The first-ever Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 by activist John McConnel and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson separately asked Americans to come together to fight serious issues concerning ecology, reverence for existence on earth, and the rising pollution of soil, air, and water. Celebrated in over 140 countries, Earth Day is a reminder of our duty towards other living creatures and mother Earth and to prosper as an interdependent system.
In the spirit of giving, it’s important to think about how one can give back to the planet as well. What are the steps that can be taken to protect and preserve land, air, and water in the community and beyond? Sustainable actions – large or small – make a massive impact in this world. You may wonder how one person can make a difference? Well, it’s true that it’s going to take all of us but if you start right at this moment, the implementation can only get better as others join you. Everyone is accountable to the wellbeing of the planet.
Below you’ll find some brilliant ideas for volunteering and caring for our planet. While Earth Day is a wonderful day to honour the earth, you don’t require a special day to celebrate and support our beautiful planet while also being socially responsible.
5 Ways You Can Care For The Planet
1. Plant trees
Even if you don’t have a yard of your own to tend to, you can still leave an environmental legacy by planting a seed that may turn into a mighty tree one day. Taking care of our immediate environment by planting trees or any other kinds of vegetation will provide shade on sunny days, home to woodland creatures, and will replenish the atmosphere’s oxygen. Perhaps try planting trees or plants that improve air quality that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, eradicate air pollutants, and lowers surface and air temperatures.
2. Use active transportation
We’re aware that nothing beats the comfort of a car. But even though the convenience and ease may be higher, using a car isn’t the best option when it comes to saving the planet. Instead, consider cycling or taking public transport to reduce pollutants and greenhouse gases released in the air, lowering your carbon footprint automatically. If you’re keen on driving, choose to carpool.
3. Pick up garbage
Try to recall the amount of garbage you saw the last time you went for a walk on the street. We’re sure it was a little bit of litter here, there, and everywhere. Have you ever wondered where that litter ends up? Nine billion tons of litter end up in the ocean every single year. By participating in a garbage or beach clean-up, you not only clean up your neighbourhood but also protect our oceans and contribute to segregating trash responsibly for better recycling.
4. Donate “things”
If there are items lying in your home that serve no purpose anymore, instead of throwing them away consider donating them to those in need. For example, gently used clothing, small appliances, or other household items can be given to charities or orphanages or even to your house chef or maid to help them out.
5. Pledge to shop only local
By buying local, you support local farmers and producers, helping them stay in operation. This in turn leads them to protect local lands and wildlife by not allowing local developers to take over. Moreover, by shopping for local produce, you cut down on your food miles which essentially means your food doesn’t travel thousands of kilometers to get to you. This doesn’t create a large carbon footprint, cuts down on fuel consumption as well as air pollution. Local produce is also easily accessible and fresher than that sold by large retailers.
To keep the spirit going, we spoke to some of our most beloved brands to learn how they’re contributing to the welfare of the planet this World Earth Day. Scroll below to read their responses.
14 Brands That Are Taking A Positive Initiative Towards The Planet
1. Aminu
“At Aminu, we have adopted the strong definition of clean beauty which means making sure that our products don’t contain any micro-plastics or single-use plastic in our packaging. We are committed to delivering high-performing skincare for our customers but not at the cost of the long-term health of our planet.” – Team Aminu
2. Pinklay
“At Pinklay, we make everything locally. It’s a mandate to use the closest and most locally available resources. We take work to craft clusters, so they don’t have to move to already overburdened metros looking for work. Secondly, our garments are made to last with responsibly sourced pure fabrics. In addition, we’re 90% plastic free in our operations, we create fabric bags using leftover fabrics from our mainline production: the quality of which is high, and our sincere intent is for them to be reused by our customers. They are enclosed with every e-commerce parcel as a complimentary add-on to promote them reusing it. In an e-commerce company that is a very big step to reduce plastic pollution and we are proud to have made that possible.” – Team Pinklay
3. Zama
“The Zama brand is rooted in sustainability and wholeheartedly celebrates Indian food and diversity. We are committed to giving back to the planet every day, wherever and whenever we can. We prioritise sourcing our products from Indian producers and farmers, who are not only producing healthier food but also promoting organic farming and biodiversity. We are dedicated to reducing our overall environmental impact – we strive to use alternative options such as compostable or paper bags for our produce and club our deliveries together to reduce our carbon footprint.” – Team Zama
4. IRO IRO
“We are a circular design collective based in Jaipur. With the aim to push innovation in upcycling, every year we create a collection to tell a unique story about the unseen and under-appreciated Anthropocene. We create elevated clothing and textiles from waste, (and in the process of upcycling, utilize crafts and knowledge indigenous to India), that are highly functional, designed to last, and communicative legacies for our patrons. In pursuit of a fairer and more transparent fashion industry and to build camaraderie, we collaborate with other businesses to upcycle their waste into functional art pieces (fashion and interior) and help them go circular.” – Team IRO IRO
5. Pascati
“At Pascati, we are mindful of the space in which we make chocolates. Being the only certified organic brand of chocolates, we are certain no chemicals/pesticides are used in the cultivation and harvest of cacao & sugar. The shells of cacao which are a waste product, we mulch it and use it in the small garden where we have planted mango, guava, cacao & lemon trees. We are also the first chocolate makers to use solar energy to power about 2/3rds of our factory.” – Team Pascati
6. Wakao Foods
“Wakao Foods is contributing very much because we are the first company that started jackfruit meat. Jackfruit is naturally available in India, and no one identified it or tapped into its potential. So Wakao Foods has brought forward a traditional fruit that is grown a lot in India and has a natural texture, zero preservatives, and humongous potential across the globe. Jackfruit is grown in over 16 states in India, and 1.4 million tons of jackfruit is grown every year. We identified and mapped the various regions where jackfruit is grown and we procured it from across India but predominantly from south India from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Goa, and also from the Maharashtrian belt. Wakao also runs a campaign called Friends of Farmer where we contribute 1% of revenue to farmers, also equipment to farmers, and books for the children. The whole environmental impact is huge because of plant-based because we reduce carbon footprint by not using animal-based products.” – Team Wakao Foods
7. Nourish Mantra
“We are proud to have partnered with the amazing team at Plastic Collective, an Australian Social Enterprise. Together, we are helping remote and vulnerable communities clean their environment and ocean, generating employment and funding community activities through plastic recycling. Our goal is to create a circular economy for plastics, recognizing that completely saying no to plastic is not always feasible in today’s world. However, we are determined to minimize our plastic footprint and reduce plastic waste. Nourish Mantra is passionately working towards sustainability through dynamic collaborations like these, leading the way towards a brighter, more eco-friendly future.” – Team Nourish Mantra
8. Vilvah
“Sustainability is a core philosophy of Vilvah. It’s not just a MARKETING term for us. It doesn’t stop at changing our plastic to aluminium packaging or changing from plastic bubble wrap to recycled paper wrap or from using recycled invoice copies or by introducing Recycle Program in our Retail stores. We have always consciously worked towards the betterment of the planet, and this gives us ultimate satisfaction. Very recently, we moved to our full-fledged green building for production and installed solar panels for energy consumption. Switching to green energy has always been on our bucket list. This is one more step in adhering to our core philosophy. We are not a 100% sustainable brand, but we strive to do our best. We strive to give a better planet for our future generation.” – Team Vilvah
9. Nasoprofumi
“To Save is to Sustain, we want to work effectively in a fashion where we make the 360 processes of giving back to the environment even more effective & fun.” – Team Nasoprofumi
10. Bare Necessities
“This Earth Day, we’re striving to make mindful changes in our lifestyle and encourage others to do so! Because we believe that if we take care of the planet, the planet will take care of us.” – Team Bare Necessities
11. Octavius Tea
“Every day we make choices in our lives that affect the environment. At Octavius, it is our genuine endeavor to make tea sustainable, our constant efforts to improve soil quality, water management, maximum usage of organic manure, wildlife conservation, workers’ well-being, and packaging that cares are few efforts that showcase our “planet first” initiatives. We have also applied for a few sustainability certifications and are hopeful to get certified soon which will further strengthen our efforts.” – Team Octavius Tea
12. Raw Beauty Wellness
“This Earth Day, we will be planting native fruit trees. Not only do fruit trees create a beautiful ecosystem for birds and insects like bees, but they also make available their bounty to a passerby. Moreover, native trees are easier on the local environment as they aren’t too demanding in terms of water requirements, neither do they adversely alter the ecosystem.” – Team Raw Beauty Wellness
13. Sublime Life
“For so much that we have taken from our planet, it’s only fair to start giving it back. It’s time to adopt a greener, sustainable lifestyle. Even the smallest actions like reducing waste, reusing and recycling more will amount to making a huge difference. It’s time to invest in the planet.” – Team Sublime Life
14. ThinkRight.me
“True sustainability begins with the evolvement of individuals. It starts with the inner attitude, with our values, our mindset, and our culture. Sustainability isn’t a trend but a transformation. We believe that by changing our thought, we can relook at our relationships with money, resources and consumption to be more mindful about the planet and save it for the generations to come.” – Team ThinkRight.me
Take a page out of these brand’s book of philosophy and contribute to the wellbeing of our planet by giving back in any way you can.
Read more: India’s Most Famous Mango Varieties #VocalForLocal
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