Your Sustainable Athleisure Brand isn’t Actually Sustainable. Oops.

Think About Tomorrow's Customer

As a sustainability professional, I’m wired to think longterm. If we close our eyes and look at the future — one, three, five, or twenty years — are consumers more or less informed about sustainability? It’s a simple question with an obvious answer. (They will all be more informed. Want to consider something different? Let’s talk — oliviagossettcooper.com) Yet, so many brands use sustainability messaging that is counter-productive to this insight.

Their Trust is Everything

The most important thing we can build with our customers and potential customers is trust. With trust, they buy our food and know it will not give them food poisoning, or recommend our shampoo with the piece of mind that their friend’s hair will not fall out.

Held Accountable to Our Claims

When we talk about sustainability and use sustainability claims today, we’d better make sure they can hold up to our customer’s level of sustainability standards tomorrow. If they don’t, be ready for backlash from better-informed customers, or should I say ex customers — including b2b.

A Story of Doing Sustainability Marketing Wrong

Here’s what this might look like in real life:

Athleisure brand KickinIt* decides to make all of their clothing out of polyester made from recycled ocean plastic. They are excited about this initiative and know that it will give them a ticket to jump on the sustainability train. Marketing team meets with supply chain team and they come up with a kick-ass Instagram and TikTok ad campaign. The ad reads “Sustainable Workout Clothes for Kickin’ ass, not the planet”, and shows a woman kick boxing in their new line.

The next few months KickinIt is picked up all over the internet as a cool new Sustainable athletic brand. They’ve got newly acquire customers galore. All coming to them for the piece of mind that they are wearing sustainable athletic clothes. The founder is on panels talking about sustainability and they are praised for their good deeds.
Here’s KickinIt’s dirty secret — their athletic clothes aren’t sustainable. Every time you wash their clothes made of ocean plastic, the plastic goes right back into the ocean in the form of micro fibers. Ooops. 

Over the next year, new athleisure lines start coming out claiming to be plastic-free. People start asking questions. The same publications that hailed KickinIt start telling their readers about microfiber plastic pollution. 

KickinIt customers are left scratching their heads. “But, if these KickinIt leggings are sustainable, like I was told, then why are they polluting my water and marine life with micro plastic? WTF KickinIt? Why did you tell me these leggings were sustainable? Not only am I never buying from your brand again, but I’m going to comment on your social media posts, letting 250 other people know your lie, and I’m going to tell all my friends, and possibly make a petition telling that big box retailer you just landed, where I recently bought your clothes, that they should stop carrying your brand or everyone who signs this petition will think that they are a lying brand too.”

Don’t be like KickinIt. What can your brand do if you have a sustainability initiative you want to market, but don’t want to come into the office to find an anti-your-brand petition sitting on your desk?

Sustainability Marketing Safety-Nets

Here are some safety-net guidelines for sustainability marketing that will help you avoid biting your tongue. They are concepts I share with anyone who comes to me for sustainable storytelling help (reach me at oliviagossettcooper@gmail.com or through Companies vs Climate Change.)

Don’t Use the Term “Sustainable”
The most sustainable thing a consumer can buy is nothing. Your offering might be more sustainable, but, it’s unlikely to fit into the very few categories of things that actually help holistically sustain the natural world. For those in-the-know, when a brand touts the term “sustainable”, in any of its forms, it’s a red flag for greenwashing. It makes them want to dig and see if the claim is legitimate, and, usually, it’s not. Don’t forget, tomorrow’s customer is even more in-the-know.

Be Specific
Market and tell a story around exactly what you are doing. Trust that people will come looking for it as they get more informed. If you are making your cups out of compostable plastic, say that rather than “sustainable cups”. If that is indeed what your brand is doing, then it leaves it in the consumer’s hand to determine if that is “sustainable” or not. So, when they get more informed later, they can only blame themselves, and know that your brand was just trying to do what you could at the time.

Show Your Progress
This might be counter-intuitive, but “sustainable” is really just synonymous with “we care” to consumers. If your brand is on a path to being more sustainable and offsetting your carbon emissions is first step, and, in the meantime you are trying to find a way to use zero-emission fuel but haven’t gotten there yet — talk about it. They won’t blame you for not getting there yet, they will walk away knowing you care.

Do Your Research
This is when marketing and sustainability science need to work very closely together. Bottom line is make sure your next sustainability initiative is
a) actually something that is good for the planet
b) actually something that your specific target cares about

Ask A Sustainability Friend
If you have no time do to any of this, or are just too lazy, this is a last resort. (But a good idea for everyone to do, anyway.)

A no-fail test is to run your concept by the most eco-warrior-minded people you know. What red flags do they see? What questions do that have? Ask different demographics to see how they react, helping you craft the story around your sustainability initiative, but keep the level of eco awareness the same across the board.


The rise of the term “sustainable” is a good sign, it means that brands are starting to recognize the demand, and that consumers are being bred to look for sustainable practices in brands. It’s a beautiful loop. And, right now, it’s probably doing great things for brands. It will get them by, for now, but, ultimately, they will get called out on unsuspecting lies.

It will be frustrating, because these brands meant well and they put a lot of resources towards their sustainability initiative. And, they genuinely thought they were doing something sustainable, something good. Yet, there they will be, facing a wall of angry, better-informed consumers.



*Fictional name

Every retailer needs a resale program

Every retailer needs a resale program. If you don't have one, you're missing an opportunity in a growing market.

The Opportunity

Resale has grown 21X faster than the retail apparel market over the past three years.

As more resell platforms arrive to market, it changes behavior along with it. Suddenly, resale shopping becomes more of a norm than an exception, and others are out there reselling your goods. Those are sales and behaviors you could be capturing.

Let's do a little experiment. I'm going to search for "secondhand Free People" on the internet and see what comes back.

I find:
2,540 used Free People items on ThredUp
29,433 used Free People items on Tradesy
5,040 used Free People items on Poshmark
229,669 used Free People items on ebay
0 used Free People items on Free People

Ideas for Your Brand

Partnering with Resale Websites

Abercrombie and Fitch recently partnered with ThredUp. Customers can bring in their used clothes in exchange for a gift card. Your brand could partner with a resale website that makes sense for you and your customers, and set up a trade program that makes sense for everyone too. 

Do It Yourself

You could develop a resale protocol and system yourself. While this might take more upfront investment, it allows you to develop something that works best for your brand, customers, and existing systems.

It also allows you to do something different from competitors who might take the easier way out by partnering with existing resale websites. The more you can make your story stand out, the better.

Have Someone Do It for You

There are services that help brands start and maintain resale programs, like Trove.

trove.co

Telling your Resale Story

The introduction of resale to your offerings is an exciting bit of news for your customers, and an opportunity to make it a part of your brand's sustainability story.

Resale can take on many different types of tones. It can be an opportunity for environmentalists, a shopping spree for budgeted shoppers, a connection for wardrobe sharers, a continued story for luxury aficionados. 

What you call your resale program, how you talk about, where, and with whom is just as important as you doing the resale program in the first place. If a luxury shopper thinks a resale program is for budgeted environmentalist then they are never going to shop from it, and it might end up hurting your main brand's image. 

On the flip side, if you ignore sustainability and make it inaccessible, you might rub a shopper who was going to do their shopping spree the wrong way.

Make sure you have someone on your team who can act as a liaison between sustainability, the resale program itself, and your customers.

Humans as Heros

If you haven't seen Yo-yo Ma's recent tweet playing a song that brings him peace, or museums sharing moments of zen with artworks, then you're not doing social distancing right. They are great ways to pass the time on your own, while still feeling connected to the world.

Inspired by Ma and museums, I started thinking what I uniquely had to offer to bring peace, calm, or, if nothing else, a way to kill five minutes that didn't include a feed full of virus updates.

I write songs. I make products. I can put together a beautiful photo shoot. And, I think more outside the realms of our reality than others. I'll do all of these things if have time.

Pulling from the latter, here's something if you're interested in one way I think the world could have been.

How the World Could Have Been

Everything Has a Purpose

In nature, everything has a purpose. It has been decided by billions of years of evolution. The obvious example is the wolves in Yellowstone National Park. 

Everyone has questioned their purpose in the world. Why is it so hard for humans, who are supposed to be such cognitive beings, to clearly understand our purpose in the world? Because, our reality hides it from us.

I see one option.

Our Hidden Purpose

Have you seen the video of a policeman helping ducklings out of a sewer?:

Or, what about the couple who "nursed" a rainforest back to life? Or, the countless videos of people helping wildlife during the wildfires in Australia?

We take these videos and find these actions amazing because it's the exception. As a species, it's something we do on the side. And yet, it's something we are uniquely capable of doing.

Somewhere down the line, we started using the earth and its beings. Seeing them only in service to us, rather than our opportunity to be heroes to them. 

The goodwill to be heroes of this planet lies within us. We can see it in the examples above.

If I step outside of our reality, I can close my eyes and see a world where we specialize in protecting the planet and everything that lives on it. 

We use our unique physical and mental capabilities to do whatever is needed by animals, forests, lakes, rivers, and mountains. In this reality, that is our purpose. 

It is beautiful. 

The Reality of Our Purpose

We live fulfilled. We feel our purpose. And the rest of the planet feels it too. We are not feared by nature, but respected and thanked by it. Just as we respect and thank it too, because we understand that everything has a purpose on this planet, and we all need to fulfill those purposes in order to survive.

Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash

There is no money, countries, corporate ladder climbing, or corporations, for that matter. There are roles and pride in those roles. And, before the socialism and communism police ring their sirens, understand that without money and corporations, these can't really exist. I don't know exactly what there is, there is some form of personal ownership, but, the point is, our goals are not monetary and our heroes are not corporate. 

We celebrate those who make great saves to the planet and its beings. We train, work, and strive to do great things for our fellow Earth inhabitants. 

We learn how to avoid harming the planet, as it goes against our purpose on it. Energy, food systems, transportation, lodging, etc. are all executed in ways that either benefit the environment or maintain it.

Creatures of Learning

Here, in this could-have-been reality, we understand more about the world around us. We learn from it. There is so much to learn. 

Our ability to learn is so great. We could learn a new way, though our distaste for change stops us. 

It's an amazing gift we've been given, this combination of physical and mental ability. I can't imagine a more fitting purpose for it, than to either completely preserve ourselves, or the planet. 

What To Do Now

Obviously, this isn't going to be our reality. But, you can make it a little bit more of your's.

Instead of killing a bug in your house, bring it back outside.
Consider biomimicry for your next design challenge.

Opt for renewable energy, most energy companies are offering the choice. Check with yours.

Plant trees.

Compost.

Eat vegan.

And, everything else recommended on my newsletter Today We Will. Sign up here.

Why I Chose to Focus on Reducing Plastic Waste (In response to "Anti-plastic focus 'dangerous distraction' from climate change" article)

While working towards my MBA in Sustainability, I had trouble choosing which environmental issue to focus on post graduation.

First, I chose climate change because of the urgency behind it. Then, as I learned more through my masters program, I realized the importance of working to reduce plastic waste.

Partially in response to a recent article published by BBC News claiming that focusing on plastic waste was a dangerous distraction from climate change, I'm sharing why:

Nature can survive climate change (we might not)

Most people don't realize we aren't really fighting climate change to save the planet, but to save ourselves. And, our co-inhabiters. I certainly didn't realize this going into getting my masters. 

Nature is resilient. It has bounced back from billions of years of changes, including previous global shifts in climate. 

Whether we're too late for climate change is an unknown. But we know that nature will try and revive itself. So, whatever is left on this planet after the blows of climate change, I want to give it a fighting chance.

Nature has revived post climate change, but never with plastic.

Whether it's humans, minos, or mycelium — nature will need potable water and/or edible sources of energy (food) to make its big comeback. This hasn't been an issue in its previous revivals, but plastic poses a big threat to the ecosystem nature has relied on to bounce back with in the past.

If we want to make sure nature comes back as usual, we need to stop infusing it with lasting micro plastic in its water and food systems.

Companies won't innovate away from plastic if we keep using it

I don't know how else to describe this point beyond its headline, other than to reemphasize. If you get it, move on to the next point.

It's only when consumers show they want change through shopping and social behavior that companies will spend money on change. 

When we show companies we aren't OK with plastic, we encourage them to find more sustainable alternatives. 

Plastic emits ghg, just like some plastic alternatives, at least after alternatives there isn't plastic.

When anything that's organic or biodegradable — food, grain salad bowl, paper cup, etc — ends up in landfill, it emits methane — a greenhouse gas way worse than CO2. Plastic doesn't break down as quickly, so it doesn't emit as much.

The argument in favor of plastic to follow this fact is that plastic is better for the planet because it prevents more ghg emissions.  

But, this argument seems to always fail to mention the ghg emissions from plastic production.

Plastics production is responsible for 1% to 3% of greenhouse gas emissions, and that's just in the US. Switching to an oil plastic alternative, like plant-based plastics, could reduce industry-wide GHG emissions by 25% annually. Imagine how much ghg emissions would be reduced if companies keep innovating, or we curb our use.

Plastic production is expected to keep growing

I will leave my final reasoning with this excerpt from the NY Times recapping a study released last month (October 2018):

"Petrochemicals are currently the largest industrial energy consumer and the third-largest industrial emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. The report found that direct greenhouse gas emissions from petrochemicals would increase 20 percent by 2030 and 30 percent by 2050.

The main driver of the petrochemical industry’s growing climate footprint, according to the report, will be plastics."

Today, I run a company focusing on beautifully designed alternatives to single-use plastic items. Here is Silvr, our launching product.

There's a .gif of it to the left <. Would love any feedback you have.

olivia@silvrinc.com.

Podcast Interview with Sarah Kauss

I’ve been looking up to the way Sarah Kauss runs her business from the moment I discovered S’well. Since the idea for Silvr popped into my head, my wanting to learn from her only grew stronger.

I had the amazing honor of getting to ask her pretty much any question I wanted to (I could have ask her 100 more) in podcast interview I conducted with her, and it was a dream. I learned so much, and think any entrepreneur could too.

Here’s the link to the article with the podcast link. Thank you, Sarah!

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/new-lifestyle-how-swell-reusable-bottles-are-proving-sustainability-can-be-stylish

Just Because They're Right Doesn't Mean You're Wrong

I hit a steep learning curve when starting to figure out how to manufacture silvr.

After weeks of research and conversation, I landed on casting and injection molding as my manufacturing process of choice.

At the same time, I landed on the material I would use — 304 stainless steel.

About a month into reaching out to manufacturers, one wrote back saying that what I was asking for wasn't possible because of the resistance 304 stainless has.

I was embarrassed and crushed to know I had to go back to the drawing board.

With more research I found that 304 stainless works better with a manufacturing process called machining. So, I started reaching out to manufacturers for this...

...only to be told "Why don't you do injection molding? It will cost so much less and scale better?". I was shocked to know that there were plenty of shops out there capable of carrying out my original manufacturing plan.

I completely abandoned what I thought was correct approach because one person, who I perceived to be more knowledgeable, told me it wasn't possible. 

Now, I'm back to my original approach and feeling foolish, but more confident all at once.

Moral of the story; don't let one person or comment change your course. Just be confident enough in the path you have chosen. 

I'm Looking for a Partner

I'm looking for a partner to join me in bringing to life a company called silvr.

My work communication style is pretty straight-to-the-point. Personal guideline of "work hard and be nice to people." So, respectfully, I'll get right to it.

ABOUT SILVR

Silvr uses the power of design to reduce the use of disposable plastic products, by offering more attractive alternatives. I was inspired by how the likes of S'well® and Tesla were able to change consumer behavior to be more environmentally sustainable by focusing on more desirable design. 

The first product to launch from silvr will be beautifully designed personal flatware that's meant to reduce the use of disposable plastic silverware. Currently, what's available in the reusable cutlery market is very utility or "granola" in style...sporks, bamboo, etc..Silvr aims to offer a third option that feels more premium and that most would be excited to use.

MY ROLE/STRENGTHS IN SILVR
I'm product/brand/marketing heavy. Second to that, I have an understanding of business direction based on what's going on in the market and data. With a Sustainability MBA, I'm comfortable navigating all of this while optimizing finances. I work on silvr full time and I'm based in NY. 

PARTNER'S ROLE/STRENGTHS IN SILVR

To complement me, silvr needs an operationally-focused person on board... P&L/manufacturing/order fulfillment heavy. Second to that, the ideal partner would have sales skills to pull some weight with getting initial orders and an ability to communicate well with a future sales team. I'm looking for someone to dive in with me full time, but am open to lower hourly commitment to feel it out at the beginning.

He, she, or they do not need a background in sustainability or sustainable goods, but should be excited about silvr's mission of reducing disposable plastic waste. Background in consumer goods is a major plus.

He, she, or they can be based anywhere in the US.

PROGESS TO DATE
I started working on silvr in October 2017. After multiple rounds of design and prototyping, the prototype is pretty much finalized. I've spent considerable time on brand and sales strategy and have a good idea of how I want to enter the market. Through extensive user testing, I've validated demand for the product from consumers. Beyond direct to consumer, early discussions with customers ranging from small boutiques to larger enterprise have been encouraging.

I'm in touch with a few manufacturers, but have not selected one yet.

If you want to get involved in this capacity or know someone who might, shoot me an email at oliviagossettcooper@gmail.com. Thanks!

(More info on me if you'd like...

2010-2016 I worked as a copywriter for advertising agencies and digital products.

I'm really focused and trained on what drives consumers — from product to copy. I love the psychology behind it. I'm a good mix of creative and strategic.

2016-2018 I became an MBA in Sustainability

My personal goal is to use business to improve responsible consumption...if we are going to consume, which we will for the foreseeable future, let's do it in a way that's less harmful to planet and other people.

My work style is to work when working and play when playing. I'm not the best at balancing both at the same time. But, I think building relationships is important. Work hard for sprints then taking a little mind break in the form of chatting about current events, going for a walk, watching a quick video, etc..)

Rethinking VC Return Models for Investing in Mission-Driven Companies

The most popular way venture capitalists currently seek and expect returns are through as-fast-as-possible exits via acquisition or IPO. Fair enough. They give startups money and would like to get it back, and then some, as soon as possible.

Here’s the problem. These popular return models aren’t a good fit for mission-driven businesses, which is potentially keeping VC investors from investing in them.

Mission-driven companies, by ethos and definition, are not meant to rise up to then be absorbed by another company and its mission, nor dictated to by stakeholders seeking hyper short-term returns on Wall Street.

No, the very reason for starting the enterprise was to commit to bettering something —  the planet, working conditions, animal welfare etc.. This is what drives the entrepreneurs starting these mission-driven companies.

The investment return model for mission-driven companies needs to change to reflect those companies’ longer-term expectations.

Rather than returns through exit, VC impact investors should seek returns through preferred dividends that grow over time as the company, and its mission, sustain and succeed.

The best mission-driven companies realize that profit is just as important as planet or people to the company.

Without it, they would not sustain themselves, which would terminate their mission. So, while profit distribution return terms have grown unattractive to a VC world bruised by growth before profit, the dividend model is ideal for mission-driven companies.

This isn’t a new model, just an unpopular one. The crowdfunding site Kickstarter recently kick-started a dividends return model in the VC favorite sector of tech. The company shocked the market when they opted for dividends rather than an IPO or acquisition in 2016.

Many argue that this approach could hurt the growing business, as profits should be invested back into the company. But, this is only a problem for companies that had the upfront capital in the first place. With a no-exit future acting as a 10,000-foot hurdle for mission-driven companies, their problem is the opposite. They want to get to a place of profit sharing as fast as possible, because doing this is the only way that they can get the initial investment these businesses need.

What’s more, the current VC model is based on high risk, high reward, where investors bet on many and expect a few to return big investments. They generally want profits to be invested back into the company to help it grow, no matter whether it remains profitable or not. Being a financially sustainable company is not what gets investors their high returns, but being a risk-taking high-growth company that reaches a higher valuation and IPO’s or sells will. What this all means is that VC investors are not rooting for many of their portfolio companies to survive long-term, they want them to risk everything to either crash and burn or exit and deliver the desired return.

If it’s not already obvious, this doesn’t jive well with a future full of mission-driven companies. The future needs those companies to stick around to see through their mission.

The solution to this issue is to create a return model based on sharing the success of company profit growth and financial success. This could be in the form on dividends or other profit-sharing agreements.

As mentioned earlier, this model is uniquely fit for mission-driven companies. They will then focus on profit more than most other businesses because it is only through profit that their business can grow and, therefore, their mission can succeed.

Three Ingredients to Successful Sustainability Marketing

For over 10 years, I studied how consumers reacted to content. As a creative and digital product copywriter, I was obsessed with how every word they saw could sway them one way or another.

Now a sustainability MBA and entrepreneur, I am even more driven to understand consumers’ behavior, but as it relates to being more responsible consumers rather than how to get them to buy a million more things they don’t need.

By observing everything from user comments on “sustainable” products, to looking at other less sustainable messaging and the reactions of consumers there, I have developed a few hypotheses on how to market and speak with consumers to drive the adoption of more sustainable behavior.

Here are the most common successful traits of “sustainability” messaging to consumers I have seen that lead to higher adoption of responsible consumer choices.

DON'T RELY ON FACTS

The most widely-accepted messaging that leads to more sustainable consumer behavior tends to use images, instances, and videos more than stated facts. The world went up in arms after the release of a few videos showing sea turtles with a straw in their noses and dead whales with straws in their stomachs. It was only after videos like these that the concept of straws being bad become more common on posts by people who led more sustainable lives and those who didn’t. It enabled a Kickstarter campaign for a foldable reusable straw to raise $1.7 million, 13,380% more than their initial ask.

SPEAK OUTSIDE THE BUBBLE

Sustainable concepts and products that reach a larger audience use messaging that doesn’t speak directly to consumers already leading a more sustainable lifestyle. Sounds obvious, but too often companies try to market more sustainable products with images and copy that resonates most with eco consumers. To make a bigger impact, these companies should consider a different target market and speak directly to them. The most successful companies selling more sustainable goods understand that people leading more sustainable lifestyles will be excited by their product already and don’t need as much attention or acquisition costs going towards on them. S’well Bottle is a prime example of speaking to an audience outside of the sustainable bubble by offering a product that focused on style, messaging that focused on fun lifestyle, and pricing that shouted luxury.

MAKE IT ABOUT THE PEOPLE, NOT JUST THE PLANET

Hands down, the most important ingredient in successful sustainability messaging is to focus on the benefit to the consumer. The greatest example of this is the organic movement. When organic became known as something that wasn’t just a thing that hippies opted for to help the planet, but was actually better for one’s health, it become a mainstream demand. A recent example of a company finding success with this approach is Rothy’s shoes. Their messaging focuses on style and offers a shoe that doesn’t give blisters. Oh, by the way, they are made from recycled plastic and 3D printed.

There are more nuanced aspects of successful sustainable messaging, but here I have presented the most important three. Together, they can help you get your message, initiative, or product to reach a wider audience and get people more on-board with your sustainable idea. These are not one-size-fits-all solutions, and you should always listen to your customers and the market to adjust messaging accordingly. But, keeping these keys to successful sustainable messaging might get you started on the right foot to having a bigger impact.

What I’ve Learned From Writing Over 300 Sustainability Lifestyle Tips

Every weekday, I share a sustainable lifestyle tip through a community newsletter. This didn’t start because I had hundreds of tips up my sleeve, waiting to be shared. I started the newsletter knowing about 50 tips. Over the course of a year, I had to come up with new, creative ways to enable people to help the planet or at least reduce their impact. The process was eye-opening in many ways.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways I have after sharing one year’s worth of tips.

Rethink Everything

Before long, I had to start monitoring every little decision I made and action I took throughout the day to find opportunities for better environmental choices that weren’t already on every eco blog. As I’m writing this, right now, for example, I can think about if my laptop is 100% charged and therefore I can unplug my charger. I can consider the screen brightness to optimize battery life. I can think about where this laptop came from and if there was a used laptop or one made with components more local to my location. I can look at the table it’s resting on and ask what finish it has on it, what woods it’s made from, and where the vendor is located. I could go on.

Be Realistic, but Creative

You can’t ask too much from people. Once they start to feel like a sustainability tip is beyond them, they can’t connect to it. They feel like it’s something only extreme activists or “sustainability people” do. I have found that people get most excited about tips that they would have never thought of, but are so damn easy they can’t believe they’ve never thought of them before. “Choose the Lonely Banana”, “Turn the Lights of When Leaving a Restaurant Bathroom”, “Only Use a Pea-Size Amount of Toothpaste”….

There a Million Ways to Tackle One Environmental Problem

From plastic waste to CO2 emissions, each daunting threat to the environment caused by humans can be broken down into itty bitty decisions we make throughout the day, each different from the next. For example, there is an opportunity to reduce your contribution to methane emissions in the packaging of the product you decide to purchase, in how much food you make, in how much food you eat, in the way you dispose of your tea, in how you prepare your tea...and that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. It’s better to pick a big environmental issue and master one approach to ending it at a time. Otherwise, you end doing things like forgetting your reusable mug.

People Pick and Choose

There are a few eco all-stars who take an exhaustive approach to sustainable living and incorporate nearly every tip I’ve shared over the past year or so. I practice nearly everything I suggest and even I slip up or need to work harder at following my own sustainability tip advice. For the most part, though, there are a few tips that stand out to a person, and those are the ones they will adopt. Each person might take to different tips, but there are always a few ideas that really speak to each individual.

People are Really Curious About This Stuff

It’s not that people don’t care, it’s that they don’t know where to start. Hearing about climate change and rising sea levels and the rise in the endangerment of species is really overwhelming, but it can be hard to know how to help if you aren’t a marine biologist or don’t study sustainability in depth. By offering simple ways to help, people feel more connected to the cause and start to feel comfortable asking more questions. One of my favorite things about writing the newsletter is when people reply wanting to know more, or wondering, “but, what about this…?”. If they have a good questions about choosing bar soap over body wash, I bet they have even greater ones about the climate change news they read every day.

You Can Make a Difference With Us

I get asked a lot whether or not the small individual tips I recommend really can make a difference. Ironically, the only thing that could stand in the way of the answer to this question being “heck, yes, you can make a difference!”, is the willingness of each individual to participate. It’s also not just about your direct impact. Each of us can act as a model to other people, showing them a more sustainable way of making everyday choices, and hopefully inspiring them to do the same.

To learn more about the newsletter and see what sustainability tips come out next, visit todaywewillnewsletter.com.