With warmer weather in full-swing and the season of outdoor adventure beginning, it’s a perfect time to reflect on your relationship with the earth. Ask yourself how your actions on a daily basis could affect the environment and then think of some places where you could change your habits to be a bit more eco-friendly!
Clean and Green
Just because you’re going for green doesn’t mean you have to compromise the clean! Because of our commitment to the health of your family and the planet, SC Johnson was one of the first companies to develop an extensive evaluation process, called the Greenlist™. The Greenlist™ process assesses the health, safety and environmental impact of the raw ingredients in each product formula; including solvents, propellants and even the packaging! Not only is the Greenlist™ a commitment to the environment, but also to the quality of the product. A great example of this is Windex®, the first product to be approved by the Greenlist™ process that actually became a more effective cleaner as a result of the reformulation under Greenlist™.
Rest assured that when you choose Windex®, Pledge®, Scrubbing Bubbles® or any other SC Johnson product, you’re making a responsible choice for the environment and the health of your family.
To learn more about the Greenlist™ process visit www.greenlistcanada.ca.
Cool Composting
In addition to being mindful of the products that go into your home, it’s important to be conscious of the waste that goes out of your home. Many cities around the country have increased garbage taxes as a way to encourage people to cut down on their output. Starting a composting system is a great way to give back a little to the earth while cutting down on your weekly waste. And now, with handy green bins that are available and mandatory in most provinces, even apartment dwellers can compost!
The rules of composting are simple; only dispose of organic waste, excluding any packaging other than tea bags or coffee filters. If you’re composting in the backyard, you can also include waste from the yard; leaves, grass clippings and shrubs. Be sure to turn the soil before applying your composting mixture and then combine both the wet kitchen ingredients and the yard ingredients to mix into the soil. Composting can actually be done all year long! For more information about how to compost at home visit the Composting Council of Canada at www.compost.org.
Local Flavour
When thinking about your relationship to the earth, what you eat has a lot to do with it! Choosing organic and local produce is an easy, low-maintenance way to make sure that your families’ food choices have a more positive environmental impact.
Eating local foods goes a long way to reduce the amount of carbon emissions that are involved in transporting your food to your grocery store from whatever exotic locale it was originally grown in. For one week, try a family experiment of only eating food that comes from a local source. Check out your local farmers’ markets and grocery stores for a wide selection of seasonal, local produce. If you can’t find only local food, try to make it all organic.
Earth Gratitude
Take a moment this month to reflect on all the amazing blessings in your life that have come from the Earth. Mention it to your family and say a blessing at mealtime to remind them just how much we have to be grateful for every day, sunshine, trees, fresh air and nutritious food that all comes from Mother Earth.
