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Sustainable Steps

sustainability

  • Guest Post: Fun Tips to Avoid Amazon

    Guest Post: Fun Tips to Avoid Amazon

    I’m welcoming my mom to Sustainable Steps with another interesting article — this one is all about her new (better) life after giving up Amazon (for reasons some of us here might sympathize with). I admit, I’m not there yet. I use it way less than before — and as a last resort, not a…

  • Sustainable Gift Guide for Tweens and Teens: 2025 edition

    Sustainable Gift Guide for Tweens and Teens: 2025 edition

    My daughter and her friends are becoming solid tweens, and their eyes are wide open to pop culture. They’re drawn to blingy plastic fidgets, to Labubus and Taylor merch, and to overpriced single use polyester Halloween costumes. And honestly, I think letting them have a small amount of that is fine, so they feel like…

  • How Is Mark Carney Like Banksy? 

    How Is Mark Carney Like Banksy? 

    They’re Both Working Toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals I was inspired by Robin Spano’s “The Art of Banksy: If You Can, Why Wouldn’t You?” She writes, “All those seemingly disparate issues that Banksy highlights — which I think boil down to sustainability — can maybe be best summarized by the United Nations with their…

  • The Art of Banksy: If You Can, Why Wouldn’t You?

    The Art of Banksy: If You Can, Why Wouldn’t You?

    Over the March Break, I took my daughter and her friend to The Art of Banksy exhibit in Vancouver. Banksy is a street artist. He sprays stenciled art on public walls, and you never know when or where his next piece will pop up. His work is anonymous — and illegal. But unlike your average…

  • Sip Sustainably: Let’s Ditch Those Toxic Cups

    Sip Sustainably: Let’s Ditch Those Toxic Cups

    I wish I could say it was my altruistic love for Planet Earth that made me flip the switch to using sustainable hot beverage cups. But I made this change for selfish reasons: my long term health. The planet just reaps the side benefits. The Dirty Truth They’re everywhere. Paper cups from trendy coffee shops…

  • Choosing Sustainable Pots for Your Plants: A Guide for Indoor Gardening

    Choosing Sustainable Pots for Your Plants: A Guide for Indoor Gardening

    My daughter and I have crashed into the indoor gardening scene recently, turning our house into something resembling a jungle. To contain our new habit, I’m shopping for simple, sleek, sustainably crafted pots to make it look like we brought these into our house with purpose. I opened the question on Facebook about where to…

  • Sustainable Kids’ Presents: Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas That Don’t Compromise On Fun

    Sustainable Kids’ Presents: Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas That Don’t Compromise On Fun

    Oh, the children’s gift dilemma. Your kid is invited to a birthday party, and your heart wants to send them with a present that will delight the birthday kid without adding plastic to the landfill. And the holidays are coming. Do we have to chuck out our sustainable goals to give joy to the kids…

  • Jeremy Valeriote: A Chance for Change

    Jeremy Valeriote: A Chance for Change

    We have a unique opportunity in West Vancouver – Sea to Sky for this coming provincial election. On October 19, 2024, we can vote in a voice of reason. The BC Liberal party (latterly BC United) folded out of the game for this round, leaving two parties to contend for control of the province —…

  • Celebrating International Coffee Day: Sip Sustainably

    Celebrating International Coffee Day: Sip Sustainably

    Our sustainable step of the week is in honor of International Coffee Day, celebrated on October 1st each year. It began in 2015, and it’s a day to appreciate coffee farmers and promote awareness of the ethics of fair pricing and sustainable coffee farming. We’ve all heard the buzzwords — organic, fair trade, shade-grown. Somewhere…

  • There’s plastic in my tea!

    There’s plastic in my tea!

    The Hidden Danger: Microplastics in Tea I recently learned that most commercial tea has plastic built into the teabags to seal them. When you pour hot water onto the teabag, guess what melts into your drink while the tea steeps? Billions of microplastics and nanoplastics, that’s what. If you think that sounds unhealthy, you’re right.…