"To live a sustainable life and be an example to others."
POINTS TOTAL
0
TODAY
0
THIS WEEK
768
TOTAL
participant impact
UP TO
30
minutes
spent learning
Elizabeth's actions
Materials
Recycle Everything I Can
Recycling
Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will research and recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community, making sure to not contaminate recyclables with non-recyclables.
COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS
Materials
Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion
Multiple Industry Solutions
I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Participant Feed
Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.
To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?
My daily challenge of recycle everything I can has been very educational. I learned a lot about my waste and what I can do to minimize it. I also realized that a lot of the products I buy are recyclable, but only at certain facilities. I was able to share my knowledge with friends and family, hopefully increasing the amount of waste that is recycled. During this challenge I found myself refusing many things. An offer of free food with plastic waste or stress balls from career fairs does not phase most people. During my college tours, I would gladly accept any random knickknack that came with the introductory baggy. If food was offered, I would accept it, without thinking of the waste. I had grown a lot before this challenge but I was even more careful during it. I have to say, I am glad I chose this challenge. It is very rewarding to see the physical difference I make by recycling. These last few days have been less successful, due to visiting family that does not traditionally recycle. I have been extra vigilant, making sure to choose food options that have little packaging. My main source of waste comes from food products, so this has helped a lot. I look forward to attempting more daily challenges in the future.
As my daily challenge comes to a close, I am so thankful for everything I have learned. Prior to challenging myself to recycle everything I possible could, I would get flustered and end up throwing a lot of recyclables away. I have made more of a conscious effort to recycle everyday since this challenge started. Though I forgot to check-in everyday, I was able to stick to this challenge almost every day since it began. There were only a couple days that I refused to dig recyclables out of my family's trash, though most days they were really good about recycling. On these days, I was stressed and most of the time, the recyclable was ruined, covered in a sauce or old food. I felt guilty every time this happened and tried even harder the next day to encourage my family to place the recycling in the correct location. As for myself, I was able to recycle all of my recyclable material, unless of course a member of my family mistakenly through it away. The member of my family that is the most difficult to persuade to recycle is my little sister. She is autistic and doesn't always understand recycling or just forgets. I do appreciate her trying, though. Overall, I think my challenge has gone fairly well. I do sometimes put off taking everything to the recycling drop-off. This has been even more of an issue since quarantine started and I do not go out daily. It makes taking the recycling to the drop-off more inconvenient. Even so, I love the feeling after I have emptied my car off the recycling. I am about to travel and will be with family that does not recycle at all, but I am going to try my best to set up recycling and take it when I leave. I am excited for the new challenge.
I completed my one-time challenge of learning about and practicing sustainable fashion. Going into this challenge, I already knew quite a bit; however, I wanted to expand my knowledge to become a more active citizen. To date, I have not purchased any brand new clothing items or accessories in the past year or so. My one exception is that I purchased a sweatshirt from an organization I am a part of on campus. And I later realized that I could have just made my own sweatshirt by embroidering the word onto something I already owned. This challenge is what made me realize that I should not have purchased this new item. I had ordered it before the school year began and received it soon after starting this challenge. It really made me think about what I actually need and what I can make on my own. Knowing that I have the ability to alter my own clothing is empowering. I never worry about having the "right" thing in my closet. On the off chance that I do find myself in need of something other than what I own, I visit a thrift store. All of my "new" clothing, shoes, and accessories over the past year have either come from thrift stores or were handed down to me by a family member. I love knowing that my purchases are sustainable and that I am not contributing to the environmental harm that comes from fast fashion. This challenge specifically required that I spend 30 minutes learning about sustainable fashion practices. I was able to complete well over this requirement by reading the two articles the challenge recommended, watching informative videos, and researching on social media. Using social media, I was able to find many local stores that thrift-flip clothing. I now follow them to keep up with deals and new featured items that are posted every week. The articles were very interesting. I especially liked that one included a graphic that divided sustainable fashion into categories. Here is a photo of the categories. This website (https://www.moneycrashers.com/buy-sustainable-ecofriendly-clothes-budget/) actually went through different fabrics and described their environmental impact, which I found very helpful.
A couple of YouTubers I watch also posted some helpful videos that gave me some good ideas for being a more conscious consumer of fashion. Here is the link to my favorite video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4htkiP2gzZY In this video, Jenny gives six tips for ditching fast fashion. She is an amazing human and has a ton of great advice for living sustainably. (She is vegan and a minimalist!)
Expressing your personality does not have to be in the form of fashion. People express themselves in numerous ways that allow them to communicate their thoughts and feelings. Creative hobbies, such as painting, sculpting, or sewing can be a great way to express yourself in a more sustainable way. However, if fashion really is your passion, there are eco-friendly tips and tricks to be more sustainable. First, vintage is a must. Vintage items are classy and because trends tend to circulate, it can be easy to find in-style pieces with a low carbon footprint. Buying older items can be cheap, but it can also be expensive depending on the quality and brand of the clothing or accessory. These higher prices can be useful if you are dead-set on buying 'expensive' clothing. Thrift shops house hidden gems. People may write off Goodwill or KARM, since the majority of items are lacking the style fashion lovers look for in clothing, but they shouldn't. Searching for treasures in a sea of used clothing can be time-consuming, but it's also fun and finding a good piece becomes much more rewarding. And some thrift shops can be pretty high-end. PlanetXchange, for example, only accepts certain quality items and brands. I have personally found some of my favorite clothes and shoes at this store and recommend it to everyone I know. Another sustainable option for new-to-you clothing is hand-me-downs. This may sound childish, but used clothes from your parents, or even grandparents, are amazing. If they've had the clothing or accessory for a long time, it may be seen as vintage, and better yet, it has sentimental value. I can't count the number of times someone has asked me where I got my flannel or shirt and the answer has been from my mom or grandma. It is nice to have a piece of clothing that is not sold any longer, making it your own. Speaking of making it your own, another great idea is to 'thrift-flip' your clothing. You can go buy used clothing, or use some of your older clothes that just aren't cutting it anymore. Use the fabric scraps as patches for other clothes, or embroider a new design onto a sweatshirt or jeans! Cut the legs off of pants that are just too short and make them into shorts! Then, you can use the excess material for future fashion projects. You can even make extra cash by selling these one-of-a-kind pieces. The options are endless. There is no reason to keep supporting fast fashion in this day and age.This is a photo of a local business' instagram page. The company is called BareThread and they thrift-flip old clothing and sell it back to the public. This an affordable and fashionable option for those that want to get creative with their wardrobes.
How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle? How does considering implementing these "R's" make you feel?
I could incorporate other "R's" into my lifestyle by changing everyday habits. I have become more adamant about reusing and repurposing items that are not recyclable, whereas before I would through things away to avoid clutter. Repairing items has also become a habit. My first instinct is to fix things, whereas before I would have written myself off thinking I could not fix it. I have actually been able to fix a lamp, a coffee machine, and a flower/plant pot. These small fixes have not only saved me money, but saved items from landfills as well. I feel resourceful and capable when I implement these "R's" into my life. I have a newfound confidence in my ability to fix items and it has definitely sparked my creativity.
This challenge has been a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. Living in an apartment with other people that do not care or want to recycle makes it harder on me. I don't want to have to dig through the trash to pull out recyclables, which I then have to clean to decontaminate. I have run into the problem of people accidentally throwing contaminated materials into my recycling, ruining the majority of it. I have also come home to the recycling being taken out as trash. This is after having communicated my request to recycle. It is frustrating to say the least. And even when I manage to properly collect all of my recyclables, there is the issue of depositing it. My apartment does not have recycling, nor will they consider adding it. So, I have to take my recycling directly to the drop off center, since I usually have materials that cannot go directly into the paper, plastic, or can recycling bins that are around campus. Even the single stream recycling bins I have found do not take many of the objects I need to recycle. Plastic film is one of these materials that I have to take directly to the public drop-off. This may not seem like a big deal but, sorting through all the recycling takes quite a bit of time. As a college student with responsibilities, it can be difficult to prioritize dropping off my recycling. So, my room and car pile up with recycling. That is, until I break down and end up needing to throw it away just to be able to get around my room and drive my car. I don't know if I am just being lazy or if I need to change something in my routine so I am not sacrificing time to drop off recycling. The point is, it can be overwhelming for me and I thought writing about it might help.
Taking the time to recycle is a huge inconvenience to so many people (hence why a lot of people simply don't do it) but anything recycled is a step in the right direction! Many people make excuses for not recycling such as time constraints and other inconveniences, but props to you for not only recycling despite those inconveniences, but for carrying the weight of others as well! A dirty car or dirty room is the price to pay for a clean Earth. I also wish more apartments around Knoxville had an easier way to recycle which is why I chose to ask my landlord to set up a recycling center as my one time challenge. Hopefully other apartments will follow and it becomes the norm around Knoxville!
