Plastic pollution is poisoning our oceans and land, injuring marine life, and affecting our health. Earth Day 2020 is dedicated to providing the information and inspiration needed to change human attitude and behaviour about plastic. We learnt recently from our friends at Oceanic Global these devastating facts…
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At PAMA London we are advocates of living a life that eases the impact felt by the planet from those who inhabit it. There are several ways that we can all do this on an individual level and we believe that we are doing our bit by creating eco-friendly sustainable clothing!
If you are ready to take a look at your own household habits and lifestyle to determine how you can make positive changes for both you and the planet, then we have addressed two common problems here and provided ideas to help you get started!
Plastic is an undeniable disaster when it comes to the environment. The majority of plastic is made from petroleum or non-renewable natural gases*. The process of extracting these gases is known to be quite energy intensive and also damaging to the eco-system. Furthermore, the manufacturing process is a massive source of pollution – to land, air and water!
In the United Kingdom alone, we consume more than five million tonnes of plastic each year. It has been estimated that only 24% of this plastic actually gets recycled, meaning that 3.8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in landfills every year.
So, how can you ditch the plastic and stop contributing to this problem?
Recycling all relevant plastics is a good place to start but you can also work to eliminate this product from your shopping list entirely. Take a re-usable bag with you every time you leave the house so that if you do buy something you don’t have to purchase a plastic bag to carry it home in. The average person uses 425 plastic bags every single year* and you can easily get this number down to zero by taking your own with you!
You can also choose not to buy products that are wrapped or contained in plastic – such as water in plastic bottles or pre-packaged foods. Shopping for whole foods and fresh fruit and vegetables at the market is a great way to avoid doing so, as well as taking your own re-usable water bottle with you everywhere you go!
It is a scary fact that a massive amount of companies do not list all of the ingredients contained within their cleaning products. The sad reality is that there are simply no rules or regulations demanding that they do so, and this can lead to unwanted and harmful nasties in your home!
Fortunately, you can easily make your own cleaning products with simple to source things that you more than likely already have in your house!
White wine vinegar and baking soda are two of the most powerful ingredients when it comes to cleaning your home. Let’s take a closer look at these two things!
By simple mixing white wine vinegar with an equal amount of water you can effortlessly create a cleaning solution that works for most surfaces. For tougher stains you may try warming the solution slightly and leaving it on the surface for upwards of ten minutes before you wipe it off. The acidic properties of white wine vinegar are the reason that it is so effective at cleaning.
Baking soda is also fantastic for cleaning and strikes a balance between acidic and alkaline. This means that not only is it great for clearing up stains, but also that it can wok to neutralise odours. There are so many incredible uses for baking soda and you can click here to read 51 of them!
By incorporating one or more of the ideas mentioned in this article you can begin to ease your impact on the planet and also potentially improve your own health and wellbeing! This is especially the case when it comes to limiting the amount of chemicals, and therefore toxins, that you bring into your home!
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There are several ways that you can lower your impact on the environment, such as through purchasing clothes made from sustainable fabrics. In addition to your wardrobe, you can also look to your plate to find ways to decrease how your presence is felt by the environment.
When it comes to how much they affect the environment, the consequences of producing different foods varies wildly. Agriculture will inevitably always affect the environment in some way, and the key to striving towards sustainability is to make small positive choices that eventually amount to a larger change.
The main environmental issues associated with food production are:
Let’s take a look at which foods are the least harmful to the planet and which foods leave the largest footprint!
As far as environmentally friendly foods go, lentils are one of the top choices. Lentils are edible pulses that are primarily grown in India, Australia and Canada. There are many different types of lentils available – all of which are incredibly nutritious!
It is estimated that every kilogram of lentils produced is responsible for just 0.9kg of CO2*. When we consider that the same amount of lamb is responsible for approximately 36kg of CO2 then we can observe just how environmentally friendly lentils are!
One of the most amazing things about broccoli is that it has its own natural defence against pests. This means that farmers can grow the delicious crop without having to rely too much on chemical help to keep their plants protected. Pesticides are not only damaging to the environment but can also be harmful to those consuming the foods on which they have been used!
Lamb is arguably the most resource intensive food to produce. This is largely due to the methane emissions from the animals themselves and it is important to note that methane is as much as 25 times more harmful than CO2*!
The resources that go into making the food to sustain livestock is another reason that farming animals for meat is not eco-friendly. Also, lambs are slaughtered for meat before they become fully grown sheep. This means that the amount of meat that they provide is relatively small, especially when compared with the majority of farm animals that are fully grown before being used for meat.
Second only to lamb, beef is another environmentally damaging meat. Each kilogram of beef produced is responsible for approximately 27kg of CO2*. Furthermore, this type of red meat requires as much as 160 times more land to produce than staple plant foods*!
As you can see, the most environmentally damaging foods are those that are derived from animals. In fact, 18% of greenhouse gas emissions come from animal agriculture*. If you think that this does not sound like a large number then consider that this is more than the combined greenhouse gas emissions of all types of transportation! A massive 32,000 million tons of CO2 are created every year by livestock and associated animal byproducts, such as dairy and leather.
Making the conscientious decision to include less meat in your diet is one of the best things that you can do for the health of the planet, alongside making sustainable choices in other areas of your life. The clothes that you wear, the modes of transport you take, and the food that you choose to consume will all contribute to your carbon footprint.
Opting to include an increased amount of plant-based foods in your diet is a great way to support a decrease of your intake of animal products. When you include a wide variety of plant-based foods, you have the potential to enhance your health in countless ways – as well as helping the health of the planet!
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Today we are going to take a close look at the benefits and disadvantages of common fibres – both natural and synthetic – in order to determine what the best choices are when it comes to the health of our planet.
Fibres are used to create fabrics through a three-step process of spinning, weaving, finishing, and are the basis for all textiles! Natural fibres are those that come from animals, plants or minerals, whereas synthetic fibres are those that are man-made. There are many differences between the two in relation to origin, production and the impact that their existence has on our environment.
Cotton, linen and wool are arguably the most popular natural fibres in the present day. Cotton and linen are both taken from plants, whereas wool comes from sheep.
Cotton is most commonly used to make shirts, jeans and towels. It is breathable, durable and quite absorbent. It can be both washed and ironed, but it does crease easily.
As we explored in a previous article, cotton production is not considered to be sustainable as cultivating cotton is damaging to the environment. Click here to read more about this.
Linen is made from the fibres that grow inside the stalk of the flax plant. Similarly to cotton, linen is most often used to make clothes and towels, and is also breathable, durable and absorbent.
The environmental impact of manufacturing linen is heavy as pesticides are generally used on regular flax plants. In order to alleviate this impact you may consider only buying organic linen.
Wool is acquired from sheering sheep. It is useful for making clothes because it is great for regulating the body temperature when worn. Lighter wool garments are a good choice in the summer for staying cool, and heavier items can be worn to stay warm in the winter months.
There is much debate as to whether sheering sheep is cruel or not, and certain groups of people (such as vegans) will avoid wearing wool garments. In addition to the cruelty concerns, the environmental implications of raising livestock should also be considered. Insecticides are often used on the animals themselves to keep pests at bay, and sheep may overgraze, leading to a disruption of the natural eco-system.
Man-made synthetic fibres are usually manufactured through chemical processing and this can be quite taxing on the environment. Nylon and polyester are among the most widely used synthetic fibres today.
Nylon has been around since the 1930’s and is often hailed as the world’s most useful synthetic material. As a plastic it is used in many of the products that we use every day, and as a fabric it is used in rugs, swimming shorts and umbrellas – among other quick drying items!
It is important to be aware of the fact that nylon is not biodegradable, and will therefore exist indefinitely. Nylon also requires a great deal of energy to be manufactured*, and nitrous oxide is released into the air during production, contributing massively to global warming.
This synthetic fibre is derived from water, petroleum, coal and air*. It has been in existence since the late 1930’s but wasn’t available until several years later. It is used for clothes, home furnishings and also for making everyday objects, such as bottles. It is s good choice for clothes because it is generally wrinkle free.
Polyester has a significant environmental impact and production of this synthetic fibre calls for approximately 70 billion barrels of oil each year. This is both carbon-intensive and non-renewable! Polyester is not biodegradable and is a huge pollutant in our oceans.
As you can see, there are consequences for the environment when it comes to both natural and synthetic fibres, although the impact of natural fibres is less drastic. It is important that we as a society continue to make moves towards sustainability with the fabrics that we choose – a concept that we are especially interested in at PAMA London. Check back soon to find out more!
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Cotton is one of the most popular fabrics used today – if not the most popular – with roughly 20 million tons being produced each year! It is safe to assume that you are never too far away from an item made of cotton! As well as being used to produce a wide range of clothing items, cotton is also used in things like furniture and household items.
To truly understand how popular cotton is, and why this is the case, let’s take a look at some statistics:
Cotton grows as an annual crop from a perennial tree. The large majority of cotton is picked from the plants by hand, with just a third of picking being done by machines. It is estimated that one worker will be able to pick up to 30kg of cotton each day.
With the cost of labour increasing in many parts of the world, more farmers are being pushed to invest in mechanical picking. This type of picking is currently most popular in Greece, Spain, Turkey, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina.
Cotton accounts for between 10% and 20% of all insecticides used for all crops. It is also responsible for between 5% and 10% of all pesticide use. When we consider that less than 3% of all agricultural land in the world is used for growing cotton, then we can see how high the ratio of chemicals to crops is!
Insecticides are a type of pesticide specifically used to target insects, whereas pesticides are chemicals used to deter all pests from crops, and kill them if necessary.
The large amounts of toxic chemicals that are used to manage and mitigate the risk from all pests during cotton production is problematic for several reasons.
First of all, the pesticides go on to contaminate the soil, which will then run through to nearby water sources.
Secondly, pests can develop resistance to these chemicals over time, which then leads to stronger pesticides having to be created. Also, these chemicals can be harmful to the natural enemies of the pests that are being targeted. This seriously disrupts the ecosystem and can cause new problems to arise in terms if which pests the crops need protecting from!
Furthermore, cotton requires massive amounts of water during cultivation. In addition to being incredibly taxing on natural resources, over-watering an area can also decrease the quality of the soil.
Industrial fertilisers are often required in order to adequately grow cotton, and the energy required to do so is responsible for between 1 and 2% of the world’s annual energy consumption. The amount of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere during these processes is certainly a cause for concern when it comes to climate change!
Increasing the prevalence of sustainable fabrics is one way that we can move on from cotton and embrace more environmentally friendly farming practices and fabrics.
At PAMA London we believe that using recycled charcoal bamboo for clothing production is a much better option than cotton. Click here to read more about our fabric choices and how the planet and the wearer can benefit from making this choice!
The first part of namaste comes from "namaha," a Sanskrit verb that originally meant "to bend." Bending is a sign of submission to authority or showing some respect to some superior entity." Over time, "namaha" went from meaning "to bend" to meaning "salutations" or "greetings." The "te" in namaste means "to you," Deshpande says. So all together, namaste literally means "greetings to you." In the Vedas, namaste mostly occurs as a salutation to a divinity.
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