environment
How sustainability and the corona pandemic can harmonize
Environment and sustainability take a back seat during the corona pandemic.
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Even in times of the corona pandemic, consumers can pay attention to their ecological footprint. These companies help with that.
Environmentally friendly and sustainable action is not always easy during the corona pandemic. After all, many flights are canceled, business trips are becoming video conferences. But visits to the restaurant are no longer possible since the beginning of the partial lockdown, ordering to take away or with the delivery service is the alternative. Many are currently also trying to avoid going to the supermarket or boutique. However, mountains of packaging waste are accumulating through delivery services and frequent online shopping.
Online shopping, yes – but sustainable
In times of Covid-19, online shopping in particular is becoming increasingly popular. Fashion fans can rely on fair clothing, for example from Armedangels. The company only produces sustainable fashion from organic raw materials such as cotton, wool or linen, but also recycled PET bottles. In addition, the label wants to avoid long shipping distances and pays its farmers in India more than just the minimum wage. Fair working conditions are very important here. Armedangels is also known for making regular donations and cooperates with several charities.
Have food brought – but WITHOUT packaging
Ordering groceries online saves you a visit to the overcrowded supermarket, but it creates even more packaging waste. Not so with "WITHOUT the packaging-free supermarket": As can be seen from the name of the Munich company, the concept is based on the constant attempt to work without residual waste in everyday life. If you enter a supermarket from WITHOUT, you will find that the food there is only available in plastic-free and sustainable dispensers. Customers are encouraged to bring their own containers for transport. This could be lunch boxes, old canning jars or bottles. Anyone who would like to have the products delivered can rely on the order service – which of course takes place on the bike. There are comparable "unpackaged" models in many cities in Germany.
Continue to eat in the restaurant – but more environmentally friendly
Many restaurants currently only sell to-go food, some also offer their customers to collect the ordered dishes in their own containers in order to save waste. But large chains like the fast food company McDonald's are also committed to sustainability; as the current sustainability report, printed on recycled paper from used beverage cups, shows. McDonald's relies on products from the region – 61 percent of the ingredients come from Germany – and less packaging and recycling. Plastic is rarely used in the restaurant. Instead, the group fills its food and drinks in containers and cups made of fresh fiber paper that comes 100 percent from sustainable forestry. The restaurants have been collecting used paper cups since April 2019 in order to then process and reuse them, according to the company the first closed recycling loop for cups in Germany.
Use time for wellness – but without chemicals and plastic
Many people spend most of the partial lockdown at home. Why not use them for wellness and care? However, since the cosmetics industry still leaves a large ecological footprint, SANTE Naturkosmetik has made it its business to pay attention to animal welfare, climate neutrality and the reduction of plastic. To prevent packaging from being used in the first place, SANTE has launched a solid shampoo, for example, which means that the plastic bottle is automatically eliminated. The product still promises intensive moisturizing, a pleasant scent and a natural hair feel. The products are made from organic raw materials, are vegan, contain no silicone and contain no preservatives or colorings. This guarantees a pleasant break.
Merry Christmas in a small group – but ecological
It has recently become clear: At least a very small group of families can have a peaceful Christmas. A traditional Christmas tree should of course not be missing. The company Fair Trees makes it possible in many German cities to buy a Christmas tree without a guilty conscience. Because the Christmas trees are often planted and felled regardless of the environment. Fair Trees also wants to put an end to the dangerous working conditions to which cone pickers from Georgia are exposed – because a large part of the seeds come from there. Consumers can therefore be sure that with a Fair Trees Christmas tree they are choosing an ecological and fair variant. In addition, buyers get involved socially, because: For every kilo of seeds and trees sold, the local community in Georgia receives a donation.