Our generation may not be known for being activists but We Are What We Do reminds us that there are loads of small things we can do everyday. We Are What We Do is action oriented non-profit company that wants to do good in the world (plus they seem to love fun colors, just like us!). You probably know them from their “I’m not a plastic bag” tote bag (designed by Anya Hindmarch and the logo was created by our friends at Antidote). They created the bag to get more people doing the first action in our book Change the World for a Fiver: Decline plastic bags. Their online shop has other books about changing the world (and who doesn’t want to charge the world a lil bit?!), colorful pencils and notebooks with actions written on them, colorful reusable bags, and an adorable Tweet Towel that lets you embroider a message on a Twitter-esque tea towel. All of their products are cute, colorful, and eco-friendly, AND all profits go to social and environmental campaigns. Heck yeah! Need more inspiration? Try some of these actions to make the world (and your day) better.
ENVIABLE PERK: Products that help make the world a better place.
Do small, good things everyday.
GIVEAWAY ALERT: We Are What We Do is giving away a goodie bag that includes:
– a copy of Change the World for a Fiver
– a set of postcards from the book Change the World 9 to 5
– a large pink notebook
– a medium green notebook
– an orange academic diary
– a set of 6 bookmarks
And it’s all going in an orange Plastic Ain’t My Bag!
To enter, comment on this post and tell us an action you practice to better the world. Ash switched all of her light bulbs to energy saving bulbs. Kimmy makes sure to turn off all of the computers in her lab before she leaves, and tries to not keep unnecessary lights on at her house. Of course we both BYO bags to the store and we try to shop locally for both food and fashion! For extra entries, follow We Are What We Do and Green Eyed Monster on Twitter, and tweet about the giveaway mentioning @WeAreWhatWeDo and @greeneyedmonst.
Photos: Courtesy of We Are What We Do
Available: http://www.wearewhatwedo.org
I bring my own bags to stores when I can; usually bags that I up-cycled from t-shirts!
I use cloth diapers and I always put my husbands snacks in reusable bags.
We only have solar power {no mains electricity at all} x
I’ve started taking shorter showers and I shop used whenever I can.
I always bring my own bags, recycle at home and try to conserve electricity!
At work, I unplug the toaster when it’s not in use and I always turn off my computer monitor when walking away for a longer period of time (as well as turn off my computer at the end of the night). Also, my colleague collects #5 plastic containers for Preserve Products (http://www.preserveproducts.com/) and I help make sure she gets all the ones from the office!
I walk. I walk to work, I walk to the store, I walk to the library, I walk just to look at pretty things. I walk anywhere I can to use my car as little as possible.
I try to walk as much as possible and use reusable bags!
i’ll wear 5, 6 layers of clothes to keep warm in winter instead of using the heater.
Beyond all of the environmental/sustainable things I do – I smile at everyone I pass by to better the world. That insurance commercial is right, one kind act can spread. Plus, smiling makes me feel better too.
i bring my own bags to all the stores, ones i’ve made from old shirts and try to watch our water use in the house. we eat local and sustainable, not only for the environment, but for us!
I recycle more than I throw away.
We are making are already big garden about 6 times bigger this fall, for many reasons, but to decrease our personal foot print is a big part of it. We compost, and recycle everything we can. We use re-usable bags for everything we possibly can
We do as much as we can to assure our future planet for our children and possible grandchildren. It is a real fear of mine that I have brought kids onto a dieing planet. I want to make sure I am not a part of that as much a possible, to keep it alive!
- I recycle almost everything instead of throwing away.
- I use energy efficent light bulbs.
- I try to keep as few lights on as possible. Candlelight can be very nice.
- I use water saving showerheads and toilets.
- I hand wash dishes instead of running the dishwasher.
- I always use my own bags at the store.
- I don’t excessively run the AC in summer.
- I use my wood burning fireplace to heat my house mostly in the winter, with minimal help from my furance.
I’m kind of a “tree-huggin’ hippie” as some people might say.
I keep my air set at 78 to increase the energy efficiency of my apartment! I also unplug all of my appliances before travelling so they aren’t sitting there sucking up electricity while I’m gone.
I recycle as much as possible and even take recyclables HOME from WORK b/c they don’t recycle there!
I really started recycling everything and always turn off equipment in the lab that isn’t being used (biggest pet peeve!) I also bring bags with me grocery shopping, never used to do that too. I also gave up the air conditioner and use a fan if I need it.
I recycle EVERYTHING. If I’m out someplace & don’t see a recycle bin (NH is not Seattle), I’ll hang onto it until I can recycle it later. it’s getting to be a little nuts.
I usually use re-usable bags at the market and during my shopping time.
In spite of all the complaints in my house I don’t turn the heater on until there is frost outside.
I make sure I always turn off lights , unplug anything that really has no need to be plugged in all the time, and my client and I recycle all plastic and tin that he uses =D
I try and recycle everything that I can , reuse everything that I can and pick up trash whenever I see it.
Thank you for the giveaway!
I try to recycle and reuse as many things as possible – buying and selling used things instead of getting new ones whenever possible? I’m doing both (well, maybe expect for a toilet seat, I’d get that one new)!
Love this company! And I love this post. I can relate to so many of you! Tree-huggin-hippies unite! Lol.
I try to buy in bulk to use less (REDUCE, reuse, recycle), re-use as often as I can (glass containers, no plastic baggies, paper towels, etc), we recycle everything possible, compost a lot and produce very little actual garbage. And I started a recycling program at my office. Turn off lights. Shut down my computer at the end of the day. Bring bags for shopping. I hardly ever buy new – thrifting is more fun anyway. We buy organic and I try to support local foods and goods.
Those are the main things – I love our planet and I really try to take care of her. Glad to hear about all the great stuff above!!! So encouraging.
What great products! I’d love to sport these and spread the word!
I give all my magazines to a neighbor when I’m done, I regularly donate household good and clothing to others, and food to the food bank.
Beside the everyday actions that have become part of my daily routine (reusable bags, recycling, buying used, etc.), I recently upcycled a milk jug into a sandwich holder so I don’t use a plastic baggie when I pack my lunch! It was super easy and I love it!
Pack my lunch in reusable plasic containers
Use countertop compost bin to collect food scraps to go in our green waste container
Re-usable shopping bags or request no bag at all.
Extra clothing/blankets in the winter rather turning on the heat.
Recycle plastic, glass, metal & paper at home.
Print on the back side of paper that already has printing on one side. Our dept rarely uses “fresh, clean” paper.
Cook from scratch
Meatless Monday’s (several times a week)
I try to leave the lights off as much as possible and take my purchases home without bags when I only buy a few things.
I use energy saving light bulbs also! I try to use less energy by opening windows and keeping lights off. I try to walk everywhere or ride the bus too
I don’t use the “stand by” always “off” all electrical devices. I don’t use plastic bags, and if for some reason I got one, I use it for rubbish.
I try to be self-conscious about everything that I do and how it may affect our environment, so I do all of the excellent actions that have already been posted. About the only thing that I can add is to say that I’ve cut out the shampoo step when washing my hair – I go straight to the hair conditioner step. Saves on resources and helps to keep more chemicals out of the environment. I shop at thrift stores before I buy anything new. And I watch television in the dark (just like at the movie theater)!
How do I try to better the earth:I walk to work and leave the vehicle at home,I use reusable produce and grocery bags,I make my own beauty creams etc,I even make my own toothpaste.When shopping we try to do our best to buy stuff with little or no packaging.I turn lights off when not in use,as well as unplug everything in order to not have dirty energy.I just bought a compost made in canada and now compost,most important I support the local farmers market and buy my fresh produce there and even locally made body soap.I dont buy cleaners at all I make my own with baking soda,vinegar,borax etc i also use soap nuts to do my laundry and bought a few drying racks and hang my clothes to dry!
this is my proper email sorry hope it gets changed Iwould love to win this prize!!!
walk to the store and drive my scooter more and my car less. (my scooter gets 90 mpg).
With the plastic bags I get from stores, instead of throwing them away, I shred them up and use them as yarn to crochet/knit bags. My family recycles everything, we grow our own vegetables (no pesticides!) we use energy saving light bulbs, and we hardly ever use the AC.
I use a refillable water bottle at school (I’m a teacher), and I also use reusable snack baggies when packing my lunch! My new classroom also has a window to the outside, so we’re constantly using that as our source for light rather than using overhead fluorescent lights. Thanks for the chance to win!
A few years ago I got my dream car: a hybrid civic
I love it, and it is environmentally friendly. I use a refillable bottle at school and on the go. All of our bulbs are energy efficient. I use reusable bags at the grocery store, or when I forget them I use the paper bags to put my recycling in.
Now following green eyed monster on twitter (@KHBride)
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/KHBride/statuses/121824031044407296
Also following @WeAreWhatWeDo (@KHBride)
I have moved away from paper towels (almost entirely). That means using regular towels & napkins, and you might think that I do more laundry but in reality I don’t. I air dry my hands when I would have previously used a paper towel & so on.
I am super anal about unplugging cell phone/computer chargers and other devices that drain electricity even while off. CFLs are in all my lamps, I bring re-usable bags to the grocery store. I have a timer in my shower to try to keep it under 5 minutes. Most importantly, I teach my students to love the earth, to recycle, not to litter, and to “leave no trace”.
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i’m a firm believer that a lot of little things can add up so we recycle, bring our own bags, use re-usable bottles, and a bunch of other small stuff!
i bring my own shopping bag and i generously separate plastics, bin, cans, boxes, newspaper, magazines
@gustosagiveaway following both twitter account
tweet
https://twitter.com/#!/gustosagiveaway/status/122217550590390272
I always try to bring my own bags and shop at the farmers market whenever possible.
we compost and use cloth bags for snacks- no ziplocs!
i twitter follow both and tweeted
@mamipdx
we recycle, use rain barrels, adn grow a garden.
We use recycleable shopping bags and I send my kids to school with a litterless lunch.
I only shop secondhand for clothing.
Any batteries I use are recharable! thanks!
To better my LOCAL world, I buy from independent, local shops. I also bring my own tote bag when shopping. I turn off lights as I leave a room & shower with energy saving shower head. I recycle, recycle, recycle.
fastkat at gmail dot com
I recycle glass, plastic and paper in a special big bag in my kitchen.
I recycle and repurpose as much as possible.
im part of a group at college which is doing a campus wide contest to see which dorm can reduce the most energy in a month!