Canadians produce over 700kg of waste every single year and although that number is overwhelming, it is also too easy to ignore it without realizing that every single little bit of effort you make can reduce the impact you leave behind and get that number to a more manageable level. 

1. Keep a reusable bag in your everyday purse to reduce using plastic bags. If you’re like me, it’s SO hard to remember to grab your cute tote bag when leaving the house. Every time I head out, I try my best to remember or to leave them in the car but for whatever reason, I always forget! I bought myself a Baggu bag and it comes in a cute little bag that can be folded up really small so it fits nicely in my everyday purse. 
2. Ditch the ziplock bags and switch to reusable snack bags. It is SO easy to just use those plastic ziplock bags but Woah, what an opportunity we have to keep those bags out of the landfill and it’s so easy thanks to all the options we have available now. It is SO much cheaper than buying the boxes of Ziploc on the regular and much cuter too with all the fun patterns out there. We are obsessed with Colibri snack bags and have been big fans way way before the store was even a thought. Colibri is a locally owned company run by the most fabulous woman.
3. Purchase your products in glass containers rather than plastic. We try our best to find everything in glass from spices, sauces, soaps, essential oil sprays, etc. The glass jars are perfect to bring back in to get filled with your favorite shampoo, conditioner, cleaners, hand soaps, etc.
4. Shop at local farmers' markets or join a CSA for your food. One of our favorite ones is Natural Collective CSA. They grow organic vegetables in our area which is really convenient but when you participate in a CSA like that, you are getting locally grown organic produce that didn’t have to travel from afar to make it to your plate, you’re also getting produce that is in season and picked from the earth just before it gets into your hands. To make the most of your CSA, plan your meals out to reduce spoilage, take leftovers with you the next day, pickle anything extra ( in those fancy glass containers that you are using and saving).
5. Shop at local thrift shops for things like home decor and clothing. We are lucky enough to have a fantastic local MCC that gets some pretty great items in. A new shop is opening up in Niverville as well called Shop Niverville that carries beautiful second-hand women's clothing. 

These are just 5 easy switches you can make in your life right now but we have so many more opportunities available in our store from reusable coffee mugs, kids water bottles, long-lasting pyrex that serves as bakeware and serving ware, purchasing our toothpaste tabs and refilling the glass jar when done, using a natural sea sponge instead of the synthetic versions, using bamboo sprays and toothbrushes. 

If you want to make a really big impact, we suggest checking out our friends Anupaya. We carry a good handful of their products here in our store and we are so proud to do so because of their one pound promise. For every product that they sell, they are dedicated to cleaning up one pound of garbage. Anupaya arranges clean-ups all across Canada and it goes to show you just how much we can personally do for our planet. They have cleaned 58,469lbs of waste so far!! 

What are you doing to reduce your waste?

The TCGS girls