Shannon College

During the Green scientific advisory group discussion today, we talked about companies focusing on sustainability. Say what you will about Walmart but they are totally leading the way, approaching and supporter their suppliers, and making sure their products still seem approachable by their consumers. Here's a really long article but it goes very far in depth on all the good that Walmart is supporting. https://qz.com/work/1354706/walmart-tried-to-make-sustainability-affordable-heres-what-happened/

I know that many of us, by this time, have missed out on some travel opportunities due to the global pandemic. I definitely have, but the one that hit the hardest is th postponement of eXxpeditions, the all women's sailing crew who are spending 3 years circling the globe and collecting data about plastics in our oceans. I have been accepted for Leg 22 of the journey,  which would have taken place in March of 2021. Because of the uncertainty of the virus as well as country regulations on international travelers, the boat has been docked with an uncertain sail date. These women are doing amazing work, I and  I'm so honored that maybe one day I'lll be able to sail with them. They may just be holding the data that could forever change the global image of plastic pollution and help drive permanent solutions. 

https://exxpedition.com/

Remember when I said that sometimes all you have to do is ask? My plastic free deodorant arrived today! So excited to have my favorite brand be working toward sustainable practices !

Some of my cotton produce bags were stained from different foods, so I decided to  go full tilt hippie and tie-dye them!

Made my own toilet bowl cleaning tabs to avoid buying another bottle. Now I just have to find a vendor that sells citric acid in something other than plastic, but at least i bought in bulk!

Picking up some new sewing skills while making prizes for our top scorers!

Had a delicious lunch at Blue Sushi today. All of their seafood is sustainable, and their straws are paper and stir sticks are bamboo reed. Stopped at Goodwill on the way home to search for more glass jars and scored this awesome haul. So pumped to create new homemade products (or snacks) to fill them with!

If you're looking for a new influencer to follow, check out @plasticfreemermaid. She's an ex-pat living in Australia who just release a book called "I Quit Plastic," and she uses her book, blog, and social media pages to show us how she's been living plastic free for over ten years. She is very optimistic, shares loads of free content (including recipes and helpful tips to opt out of plastic), and so far seems very supportive of wildlife and animals. Sometimes I worry about these people being anti-zoo but haven't seen any red flags yet, and honestly she's one of the most generous influencers I've seen with how much free information she gives. This woman truly cares about the planet and helping people learn how to save it. I'm only bummed that I've just recently started following her, so I have so much content to catch up on!

If you're looking for more ideas, make sure to follow the Plastic Free July instagram page, it's full of inspiring stories from people just like us who are going through the hoops of learning how to eliminate plastics!

Looking for a way to clean your portable utensils either pre- or post-use? Check out this Dallas-based, women-owned company: https://www.tastyclean.com/ Tasty clean is an apple cider vinegar spray that can disinfect items like reusable straws, utensils, as well as retainers, mouthguards, etc. I met the owner a few years back at EarthX and bought her product knowing it would come in handy. While I can’t guarantee that the apple cider spray kills covid, I will say it makes me feel a lot better about pulling a fork out of the bottom of my purse using it for lunch. I have one of their smaller travel sprays, but bought the large refill for it so I can use less plastic over time. Tasty Clean has also made an 80% alcohol hand sanitizing spray if you feel you need to clean more than just your utensils!