Material Types
Food
Growing and producing food is resource and energy intensive, and 40% of it ends up wasted. In addition, chemicals like pesticides and additives can harm both the environment and our health. Get tips to help you minimize food waste in your home and start shopping for sustainable foods.
Glass
Glass containers, such as bottles and jars, offer an excellent alternative to plastic. They can be reused multiple times, have a significantly long lifespan, and are capable of being recycled forever. Check your knowledge and see if you know what types of glass are recyclable.
Metal
Like glass, metals are durable and everlasting, making them a top sustainable material. Did you know all metals can be recycled infinitely with no reduction in quality? And for a fraction of the energy required to produce metal from raw materials.
Paper
Despite being one of the most recycled materials in the country, paper products continue to be among the top materials found in landfills. Make certain you know what paper materials can be recycled, as well as eco-friendly choices to help safeguard the world’s forests.
Plastic
In recent years, plastic has received significant criticism, and rightly so. This cheap and prevalent material is created from fossil fuels and contains numerous chemical additives that can stay in the environment (and our bodies) forever. They are not biodegradable and leave a trail of harmful microplastics behind, and they are difficult and expensive to recycle. It might be impossible to completely eliminate plastics from your life, but you can significantly decrease them with some mindful changes in habit.
Textiles
The world of fabrics is a complicated one. The flaws are many: a culture of fast fashion, with its fickle trends, leads to literal mountains of clothing discarded. Fertilizers, pesticides, and gallons upon gallons of water used to grow cotton. Synthetic fossil fuel-based fabrics. Toxic production processes, leaving clothing laden with chemicals. Exploitation of workers, underpaid, underage, in horrible working conditions. Luckily there is guidance here to help you navigate this challenging industry.
It’s time to go green.
Not sure where to start your sustainability journey? Get inspiration and ideas here.