Elephant Box Blog | EARTH DAY

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Three things you can do today

Yes, you’re probably stuck at home thanks to Coronavirus, but we can still do our bit for the planet.

Be an ‘armchair activist’ !

We need to stay focused. Climate change and the human impact on the environment hasn’t gone away!

One bright spot in this coronavirus pandemic has been the apparent return of nature. We’ve seen fish-eating birds return to the clear waters of Venice, wild boar roaming the streets of Rome, and my particular favourite…the feral mountain goats of Llandudno.

Nature, it seems, is making a comeback. But the the sharp focus on the climate crisis and the changes we need governments to instigate is in danger of being lost as the pandemic and the ensuing global recession will take key resources and attention from these issues. It will continue to be up to us to keep making noise as activists and support organisations that organise to protect the natural world. Maybe you can’t take to the streets right now but you can get onto Avaaz or Surfers Against Sewage to check out their petitions and grassroots campaigns.

Donate to organisations making a difference

If you have cash to spare (even a tiny bit) consider donating it now to charities and Non Governmental Organisations making a difference in the world. There are still 790 million people worldwide without access to clean water and an estimated 1.8 billion people without access to adequate sanitation. The problem with plastic and the oceans also hasn't gone away.The people working for good still need money to keep operating and doing the great work that is so sorely needed.

As part of our pledge to donate 1% of our turnover, this year we are focusing on these three epic organisations; trees for cities, surfers against sewage and

city to sea. Check them out and donate if you can!

Say no to fast fashion

However the clothes industry comes out of this it isn’t going to be good news for the workers making the garments and who are taking the brunt of this pandemic. The pandemic is shining a light on how exposed these workers are. Asda has now confirmed that it is cancelling its clothing orders and paying between 30% and 60% on orders not yet finished.

After growing criticism brands such as H&M and Zara-owner Inditex committed to pay in full for existing orders from clothing manufacturers. Read more here. There are many reasons to say no to fast fashion, this is sadly just another to add to the list.

Detailing the environmental impact of fast fashion, a resource from the Centre of Sustainable Fashion and University of the Arts London states that ‘clothing production worldwide has doubled since 2000 and yet the average British or European person keeps their clothing items for about half as long. Globally the vast majority of discarded clothing ends up in landfills or is incinerated, currently, only 20% is collected for reuse or recycling.’

There are so so many ethical and sustainable clothing brands out there right now, take this time for some sofa surfing so when you do want to get out of your loungewear and show yourself to the world again you can be sure that no worker was exploited in the process. A good place to start is the good shopping guide ethical fashion directory.

Better yet - get into your wardrobe and drawers and fish out some stuff that hasn’t seen the light of day for years. You never know, you might rediscover old gems of clothing that you thought you’d lost, even get out the sewing machine and upcycle them or mend them.

Be Picky About Food!

It’s probably true to say that pretty much of all of us got a little bit twitchy in those first few weeks of lockdown. Empty shelves in the supermarkets and not wanting to go out shopping so often meant we were more careful with what we bought, we planned meals and checked what was going south in the veg box more than usual! Let's keep it up. True - flour is a scarce resource nowadays so baking that bread might get tricky but there a ton of fun videos all over the internet so if you weren’t much of a cook before lockdown there’s no excuse not to emerge as a full blown Masterchef afterwards. Check out Eco chef Tom Hunt's instagram videos here.

Top tip - organise your cupboards and fridges. did you know that you can use our steel containers in the fridge and freezer and oven?! Check out Joy's videos on our instagram or facebook feed for lessons in using the Elephant Box to prep, store and cook your meals from scratch.

Happy Earth Day from all of us at Elephant Box