All the consumption-oriented promotions are getting a bit out of hand. There’s Black Friday, and Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, all geared toward kicking off the holiday shopping season.
We are as gulity as any store of promoting our products through this weekend frenzy of shopping. It is an opportunity to reach a lot of people and we feel that offering safe, durable alternatives to plastics is part of our mission. For us, it is not just about selling products, but also about building awareness about plastic pollution and toxicity as broadly as possible.
Buying and unbridled consumption are not what the holiday season is all about. It’s really about giving. So it is refreshing to now have a bit of a counterbalance to all the shopping, in the form of Giving Tuesday. And it’s becoming a global movement.
Giving Tuesday is a day dedicated to giving back. It kicks off the giving season – though we would argue that every season is the giving season.
It is catching on all over the world and you can learn more about it at the Canadian website and US website for Giving Tuesday. As a Giving Tuesday Partner, Life Without Plastic is committed to spreading the word about the movement.
It is a day dedicated to celebrating generosity and to giving. There are so many ways to give. One could give time, money, love, energy, products, services, chocolate chip banana cake, a squash from the garden, a smile. The possibilities are endless.
We have decided to give monetary donations to three non-profit organizations doing important work to stem the tide of plastic pollution and toxicity.
The Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) is a global alliance of individuals, organizations, and businesses working together to stop plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on humans, animals, the ocean and the environment. We have been active members from its start and have sponsored various PPC activities.
Environmental Defence challenges and inspires change by connecting people with environmental issues that affect their daily lives in their homes, workplaces, and neighbourhoods.
We worked in tandem with Environmental Defence to build awareness about the problems associated with bisphenol A (BPA). Their focused efforts led to BPA being banned in Canada – the first such ban in the world – which has led to similar bans being put in numerous other countries.
The 5Gyres Institute conducts cutting edge research and communicates about the global impact of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans, while employing strategies to eliminate the accumulation of plastic pollution in the 5 subtropical ocean gyres.
Most recently, they have achieved solid successes with their ongoing campaign to slowly but surely rid the world of the insipid microbead – tiny microplastic particles added to personal care products as exfoliants.
We were one of the first companies to jump on board and sponsor a “trawl” by 5Gyres collecting samples of the ocean surface to quantify the mass, size, colour and type of plastic pollution floating in the gyres back in 2010 when they put out a call for sponsors for an expedition through the South Atlantic ocean gyre.
As you can see, there are lots of great ways to give. Do you have a favorite charity or non-profit doing work that aligns with your values and makes the world a better place?
Here’s a chance to make a difference. All you have to do is give of yourself in whatever way works for you.
Just give.