Conscious Consumption
Ask yourself if you would buy it if it wasn’t on sale
We are all becoming increasingly conscious of the impact of the products we purchase. While our priorities differ, we have started consciously (or unconsciously) changing our purchase behaviour, deciding where to shop and who to purchase from based on a brand’s social and environmental impact.
We can’t do it without your help
As the world grapples with a host of worsening environmental issues, most of us aren’t doing enough to help make a difference.
Single use plastics, runaway consumerism, a lack of focus on sustainability. They’re things we want to be better at. But our busy lives make doing more really hard.
Our choice is either keep doing what we’re doing and ignore the planet. Or, turn ourselves into hermits, buy a pair of hemp sandals and reject the modern world.
People will tell you there is no way to live life without contributing to the problem.
Discover a better way with Green Friday.
Green Friday: a rebellion against Black Friday
Shopping Australia’s most sustainably-sound brands with purpose, a slower pace and greater intention this November.
November is a key growth month for Australian retail with a combination of events including Click Frenzy, Singles Day to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It has become a critical period for retailers but none of them are thinking about the sustainability of the planet. Green Friday as an initiative from the guys that brought you Releaseit, addresses it.
Green Friday is a reactive movement flipping the narrative with a driving ethos of shopping with consideration and mindfulness. It’s the proverbial riot against the mass-waste aftermath of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday scramble, as many consumers purchase with impulse in lieu of thoughtfulness.
90%
of Australian households have unwanted or unused items
80%
of household plastics and textiles are landfilled
$80Bn
in fashion purchases end up in landfill each year
64
countries & Australia ranks last in climate change performance
Top 5 Sustainability Tips
Living sustainably is not about going without the things that you love and enjoy doing. In fact, a little thought and a few simple tweaks to your lifestyle can have a big impact on your environmental footprint, without requiring a lot of time and effort.
Often living sustainably is about forming new habits that are healthy for you, your family and the environment. Our top 5 tips will get you started.
1. Reduce your food waste
Reduce your grocery bills by finding out how to avoid food waste. The average household throws out approximately $2,200 worth of food each year. Food thrown into your garbage bin ends up in landfill, and breaks down in a way that can create greenhouse gasses.
2. Use reusable cups such as keep cups
Australians consume more than 50,000 cups of coffee every half hour, and an estimated 3 billion takeaway hot drink cups every year. Sadly these cups, which are made from virgin materials rather than recycled paper, cannot be put in your kerbside or workplace recycling bins. Take a cup with you or have your drink to stay.
3. Say no to straws and plastic bags
Australians use around 10 million plastic bags every day, contributing to an estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic dumped into the ocean every year. Plastic straws are also to blame, and are one of the most common items found on beach shores all over the world. All of this plastic fills our landfill, harms our wildlife, and can take lifetimes to break down. Just say no to plastic bags & straws.
4. Walk, bike and use public transport whenever possible
Walking and cycling is good for your health and the health of the environment. Think about walking or cycling to work, to make exercise and reducing carbon emissions part of your day. If neither of these are an option, think about taking public transport or carpooling. While you’re at it, avoid air travel as much as possible and carbon offset your flights.
5. Go paper free
Reduce the paper clutter in your home and save some trees by going paper free. Almost everything from your phone bill to your credit card statement can be viewed online. Contact your banks, utility providers and other service providers to go paperless. And while you’re at it, switch to recycled toilet paper.