Emily Bartlett

Pads and tampons are typically made with plastics, and about 41 million pounds of menstrual products end up in landfills every year. This month, I will make the switch to sustainable, reusable period products.

While most stores offer lenient return policies, what actually happens to all of those returns? I will spend 10 minutes learning about what happens to returns and how I can make better purchasing decisions to avoid returns in the future.

I will spend 10 minutes learning about the costs of fast fashion and begin trying to practice sustainable fashion in my own life.

Greenwashing can fool even the most experienced eco-advocate. This month, I will spend 10 minutes learning what greenwashing is, how to spot it, and what I can do about it.

Science has shown that focused time in nature calms our over-worked frontal lobe and gives space for the areas of our brain associated with emotions, pleasure, and empathy to take over, providing a sense of calm that is measurable in brain scans and even blood tests. Each day this month, I will spend 10 minutes outside in nature, and share my observations, reflections, and learnings on the Participant Feed.

The only thing worse than a single-use item is a zero-use item! I will use (and use up) what I already have in my home before buying something new.

Whenever possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when shopping, including produce bags. I will either use my own reusable bags, or keep my items loose.

Help us make the Plastic Free Ecochallenge the best it can be! Take the challenge pre-survey (and look out for the post-survey at the end of the challenge!) so we can better understand the impact the challenge has and how we can improve in the future. Plus, you'll earn points for completing it! Thank you!

Globally, packaging manufacturers make about $25 billion each year on plastic beauty and personal care packaging. That's a whole lot of plastic - nearly all of which ends up in landfills. When it's time to buy more, I will replace my beauty products with refillable, sustainable, and/or DIY options.

I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.

Eliminating 100% of all plastic from our lives simply isn't possible. Throughout this month, I will embrace imperfection in my plastic-free journey while exploring and testing new ways to reduce my plastic footprint.