Most people see breakfast cereals as a healthy way to start their own or their kids´ day. And why wouldn’t they? Producers boast health claims like “low-fat, nutrient-dense food with many essential vitamins and minerals”. But the recent news about chemicals found in many breakfast cereals has made people question these claims and think about how healthy these cereals actually are.
Read MorePeople have been chewing on substances made from plants, grasses, and resins for a long time. The Ancient Greeks chewed mastic gum, made from the resin of the mastic tree. The Chinese used ginseng plant roots and the Mayans and Aztecs used chicle, a natural tree gum, as a base for making a gum-like substance. But modern-day chewing gum was mainly commercialized in the United States where the American Indians chewed resin made from the sap of spruce trees.
Read MoreWe went from fast fashion (high volume, low prices, cheap labor, bad environmental practices) to slow fashion (low volume, lasting pieces, thoughtful materials and production methods). At least that was the idea and in theory it sounds very logical, because don´t we all want beautiful clothes that last a lifetime and that don´t hurt the people who make them and our planet?
Read MoreThere are a lot of ingredients in make up and skincare that you actually don’t want to put on your skin. And don’t think that by buying ´natural´ products you’re in the safe zone. Products that label themselves as natural, organic, or eco don’t actually have to follow any legal or industry rules about their ingredients.
Read MoreMost band-aids are made of plastic. The adhesive sheet of a band-aid is usually made from either PVC, polyethylene, or polyurethane. It is a single-use plastic item, but unlike other single-use plastics, band-aids can’t be replaced by a reusable item. Polyurethane is, like all plastics, petroleum-based and is the same toxic compound found in chemical-laden mattresses.
Read MoreWe have seen on the news and most probably also in real life how single-use plastics pollute our earth. But did you know that cigarette butts are the single greatest source of ocean pollution? Every year trillions of cigarettes are tossed out in parks, on streets, in oceans and on beaches. The impact on the environment of these filters is not the only impact on the environment though, this impact starts at the production process of cigarettes.
Read MoreCandles go a long way back and different cultures around the world developed them independently. The ancient Roman, Chinese and Japanese made wicked candles by dipping some sort of paper in melted tallow (animal fat), sperm whale fat or wax from tree nuts. These candles were used to light their homes, to help travelers at night, and in religious ceremonies.
Read MoreFaux leather (also pleather or vegan leather) is often used as an alternative to genuine leather, because of animal welfare issues. But is it also better for the environment? Some people might argue that animal leather is natural and thus more environmentally friendly. But the animal´s skin needs to be treated in a chemical process called tanning to make leather.
Read MoreAs people use more portable power-consuming devices, the demand for batteries increases. Think cell phones, (video) cameras, , laptops, (remote controlled) toys and electric cars. Worldwide billions of batteries are thrown away each year and all of these contain toxic and corrosive materials, like cadmium, mercury, lead and lithium. The production, transportation and distribution of batteries uses up natural resources, contributing to an accelerating depletion of natural resources.
Read MoreThe problem of plastic pollution has been gaining more attention lately and more and more people have come to realize that recycling will just not be enough to stop or even reduce the enormous amounts of plastics entering the environment. The problem of plastic pollution starts long before it reaches our oceans, rivers and beaches. Too many barrels of oil are turned into plastic, and plastic packaging is designed without fully considering what happens to it after it’s used.
Read MoreMany of us can remember that we were told as kids that milk was good for us. We had to drink it to get our daily intake of calcium so we would have strong and healthy bones. But several studies have shown that consuming more dairy doesn't result in less osteoporosis. On the contrary, a study conducted in Sweden in 2014 has shown that too much milk (three or more glasses a day) was associated with increased mortality and a higher risk of fracture.
Read MoreHappy New Year! I hope you all had a great break and that you have started the new year with some sustainable resolutions. In 2018 several positive things happened around the world and I thought I´d share some of this good news with you to start the new year on a positive note.
Read MoreHoney bees (Apis Mellifera) have been in the news quite a lot recently. Honey bees are vanishing at an alarming rate and since the 1970´s already almost 60% of honey bee colonies have disappeared, mostly due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Nobody really knows what causes CCD, but many experts believe CCD can be attributed to a variety of factors: increased use of pesticides, a virus-harboring parasite, inadequate/poor nutrition and bee management stress.
Read MoreYou might be surprised by how much toilet paper is being used every year, but our need for fluffy, extra soft toilet tissue accounts for approximately 15% of our world’s deforestation. It is a single-use paper product that mostly comes from virgin wood. According to environmental research organization Worldwatch Institute, citing the World Wildlife Foundation, global toilet paper production uses about 27,000 trees per day, resulting in almost 9 million trees per year.
Read MoreAnti-fur protesters have had their impact on the world of fashion. The last London Fashion Week was the first main fashion week in which none of the designers used fur in their shows. This comes many years after fur farming was banned in the UK in 2003 (the import of animal fur remained and is still legal). During the past year big fashion names like Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, Furla, John Galliano and Donna Karan have claimed to go fur-free.
Read MoreMuch of what we consider as trash and throw away in the bin can actually be recycled. Recycling is better for the environment by sending less waste to landfills and by providing materials for new products. Unfortunately, recycling rates are not as high as could be. In Europe recycling rates differ much between countries.
Read MoreAlthough balloon releases look beautiful, the effects are devastating to animals and the environment. When balloons land back on earth (sometimes after having traveled thousands of miles and reaching even the most remote places) they litter the land, oceans or rivers and it is basically the same as littering any other kind of trash. Balloons can be mistaken for food and eaten by animals, such as sea turtles, dolphins, whales, fish and birds, and ribbons and strings can lead to entanglement, causing death (all of these animals have been found with balloons in their stomachs).
Read MoreTeflon is a registered trademark and a brand name owned by Chemours (a spinoff of Dupont), and is best known for the Teflon pans and cookware, although it is used on a range of products. Its popularity is due to its characteristics like easy clean, nonstick, repellency and durablity.
Read MoreMillions of people start their day with a cup of coffee and many of those choose the convenience of coffee pods. In 2014, pods accounted for 34 % of all coffee sales, a massive growth of 133,710 % since 2000. Since coffee is globally the second most traded commodity (after crude oil), this translates into billions of pods consumed worldwide. Nespresso alone sold 28 billion pods in 2014.
Read MoreMost people don't think twice when buying their toothpaste, but it might be worth looking into the ingredients that most contain, since there could be some that are not so beneficial to your health. Even though you don't use much toothpaste and you don't normally swallow it, small amounts do end up in your body and bloodstream via absorption in your mouth.
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