Self care is something that we at NM Thera are huge advocates for. We firmly believe that there is a whole world of benefit to be had from taking a little time to relax and to pamper yourself. We think it is important to take ownership of our health in our everyday lives. That can mean drinking more water everyday to stay properly hydrated, it can mean taking a relaxing warm bath to soothe our muscles and joints from a labor intensive day. It can even be something as small as using lotions to keep skin hydration at healthy levels. But oftentimes, self care products produce a lot of waste. Colorful and fun hydrating face sheets do wonders for our skin’s overall health, but the wrapper and the product itself end up in the trash.
This blog post will be all about strategies to reduce waste, shrink our carbon footprint, all while making sure we still take care of ourselves. If you’re reading this, you more than likely believe in the physical and mental health benefits of self care. And if not, then make the effort to carve a little time out of your day, because you deserve it!
One of the most obvious ways to take steps toward a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle is eliminating consumption of plastic water bottles. Yes, they may be quick and easy to pick up at the store for your gathering, but plastics take 450 years to degrade completely. Well beyond any of our lifespans. Switching to reusable metal water bottles is a great way to reduce waste. You throw out the plastic bottle, and refill the metal one. It’s pretty self explanatory. Not only that, but plastic bottles are notorious for exposing us to BPA, a toxic chemical byproduct of plastics which will negatively impact your health if exposed to too much of it.
Besides, bottled water has been proven to be no different than most tap water. Using charcoal water filters at home can make the reusable metal water bottle experience superior to plastic water bottles. Our human brain is dependent on water in order to function properly. Water has been proven to increase concentration, performance, elevate mood, and increase energy levels. Drinking more water is almost always a good idea for our health, but for the overall health of the one and only planet we have, move away from plastic water bottles and switch to reusable water bottles.
Make no mistake; plastic is a wonderful innovation. But it’s the single-use nature of it and its inability to decompose for a long period of time that makes this material an environmental disaster. Considering how inexpensive it is to produce plastics it won’t be going away anytime soon. As individuals, we can take steps to reduce the amount of plastics used in our daily lives.
The easiest way to reduce plastic usage is to bring a reusable bag with you to the grocery store, so as to not rely on the plastic bags used by the store at checkout. The plastic bags we may already have at home can be used as trash liners or to clean up after your pets. Plastic is here to stay. The idea here is to be more responsible about our plastic consumption, starting at home.
Another easy way to be more sustainable is to ditch make up removal wipes and switch to reusable bamboo pads. Not only does it do a better job of removing make up after a long day and is soft on the skin, bamboo is also sustainable and is an abundant resource. We recommend looking into implementing reusable bamboo facial pads into your makeup removal process!
For those of us who wish to take extra good care of our feet, foot masks have probably made their way into our foot care routine. Who wants dry, cracked, calloused feet?! No thanks. Foot masks are a great way to deliver moisture and various nutrients to feet that could use a little more TLC. However, much like the fun colorful face sheets we’ve all seen our friends use online, they create lots of waste. There is no reusability whatsoever.
NM Thera is currently developing a foot care product that is nor only reusable, but infinitely customizable. Keep an eye out for the announcement of the NM Thera Soky Sock. This product will allow the user to fully customize a foot care routine. Mix up a foot bath, or use it to keep a thick layer of lotions and oils concentrated on your feet. You decide how you want to use the Soky Sock. All the while, your feet will feel fresh, soft, and as though new life has been given to them.
What other ways are there to perpetuate our eco-friendly lifestyle? One way is to reduce consumption of red meat. We grow a lot of crops to feed animals, and we cut down a lot of forests to do that. But beef, far more than pork or chicken, contributes to environmental harm, in part because it requires much more land. The greenhouse gas production per serving of chicken or pork is about 20 percent less than that of a serving of beef. Consuming less meat and more plant foods is a much more sustainable way to consume protein.
Additionally, eating more locally sourced fruits and vegetables is a great way to reduce environmental impact. Starting a compost is another great way to reduce waste. For example, eggshells are a great addition to a compost. They offer tons of nutrients to a compost, but serve no purpose in our trash cans. Visit a local farmer’s market. Involve yourself in the community of other environmentally conscious people at the farmer’s market. Who knows, you might even make a few friends and swap sustainability tips back and forth. There is so much good we can all do to help reduce how much we send to landfills, and instead live much more sustainably. For even more about sustainability and reducing our overall consumption, check out these sustainability themed podcasts. After all, it is the Earth we call home and we need to take better care of it! We hope these easy to implement tips find their way into your daily lives.
Comments