During the rush and stress of the holiday season, it can be easy to slip on the regular eco-friendly practices you keep to throughout the year. Whether it’s not making your usual fuss over composting holiday food leftovers, or tossing your wrapping paper into the trash, it’s time to get your sustainable habits back on track. After all, while the holidays are a joyous time for indulgence, the coming of the New Year presents an opportunity to hit refresh, and kick off January with hope, optimism, and your ideals in check.
It’s never been a better time to re-prioritize sustainable habits for the New Year to make every day Earth Day. Therefore, we’re upcycling some of our favorite sustainability advice from the past year to help make 2016 your most environmentally-friendly one yet.
1. Clean up or clean out
New Year, new closet. Make space for holiday gifts, shopping adventures, and next year’s fashion trends by cleaning out your closet. Feeling intimidated? We’ll help you through each step of the process. You’ll start the New Year feeling good and more stress-free. Drop off unwanted items at your local Levi’s store for 20% off another item or donate them to Goodwill without even leaving your house. If you’re still feeling torn about what to do with your denim, follow our flowchart for some tailored advice.
2. Get H2-low
From washing your jeans less to carrying a reusable water bottle, making small changes to your everyday routine makes a huge difference. For the tech-inclined, we’ve found helpful apps to cut down water usage, and for animal lovers, this list of endangered wildlife will help you connect a face to water waste.
3. Air your clean laundry
Keep up the good work and line dry those infrequently washed jeans! Take our quiz to learn about the impact your laundry decisions have on your electricity and water use. Especially applicable for drought-stricken Californians, here are five helpful tips for successful line drying.
4. Get creative and DIY
Don’t forget to set aside time to have a little fun. We’re talking about arts and crafts with the kids – your children, kids you babysit, relatives, anyone! Upcycle old denim with these creative DIY suggestions that include aprons, coasters, and flowers.
5. Channel your inner biker
Is your New Year’s resolution to be healthier or lose weight? Biking can help you break the sedentary cycle! The average cyclist loses 13 pounds in their first year of bike commuting and saves 411 grams of CO2 per mile – talk about a winning idea. We have plenty of tips to help you get started.
6. Mind your food
Eating more veggies and less meat (raised humanely without hormones, antibiotics, etc.) helps the environment and your health, according to the Mayo Clinic. Compared to vegetables, red meat requires 160 times more land and produces 11 times more greenhouse gases, including methane, a gas more potent than carbon. And when you’re done eating, toss scraps onto a compost heap!
7. Shop around
Your clothes say a lot about you, including your commitment to sustainability. When shopping this year, don’t forget to check how your clothing was made, the materials it’s made of, and its durability. At LS&Co., our Wash<Less process has helped us save one billion liters of water since 2011 and our WellThreadTM Collection is made with integrity.
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