6 Ways to Make Sure Your Everyday Purchases Aren't Harming the Planet

Conduct label critiques.

While it's unreasonable to expect consumers to research every single purchase, it is simple enough to become more educated shoppers who arrive at a store armed with the mental knowledge and tools needed for 'label critiques,' says Yoo. By label critiques, Yoo means looking for specific eco-friendly certifications and logos on the packaging of items you select when shopping.

A few of the most notable certification logos to keep your eyes peeled for when choosing a product include the Leaping Bunny certified symbol, the EPA Safer Choice logo, and the BCorp symbol.

The EPA Safer Choice program was created to help consumers find cleaning and other products that are not only safer for you and your family but also for the environment. These products should have safer chemical ingredients. As the EPA website explains: "Companies who make products carrying the Safer Choice label have invested heavily in research and reformulation to ensure that their products meet the Safer Choice Standard. These companies are leaders in safer products and sustainability."

BCorp certification meanwhile, indicates that the company responsible for creating the product you're about to buy is one focused on balancing profit with purpose. In order to obtain BCorp status, a business must go through extensive and rigorous review to ensure it meets "the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability." B Corps are focused on accelerating a global culture shift in a way that meaningfully redefines success in the business world and builds a more sustainable economy.

"It's important to pay attention to labels and look for these types of certifications, because there's a lot of 'greenwashing' going on right now," Yoo points out.

What that means is that product manufacturers are well aware that consumers are more eager than ever to purchase items they feel good about, that won't harm the planet, and that can be disposed of responsibly. To attract this type of consumer, many companies make sustainability claims on packaging that they know full well are not entirely legitimate or are patently false.

"It's a completely unregulated space, and so it's really on consumers to parse through all of the marketing language, which is asking a lot of the consumer," says Yoo. "The average consumer has good intentions, but doesn't necessarily have the time or expertise to do a deep dive on all the products they purchase, which is why greenwashing is so rampant."

Searching for eco-friendly and sustainble certifications on products is at least one way to ensure that the company making the items you select is trying to do right by the planet.

This step alone, however, is not enough, particularly when it comes to reducing our global reliance on single-use plastics. It is merely the low hanging fruit.

Educate yourself about local recycling programs.

Just because a package says it's recyclable, doesn't mean it actually is recyclable, says Yoo.

"It may be recyclable at some recycling plants, in some states, depending upon each government's program and requirements," she explains. "However, a lot of packaging that people toss into their recycling bins is not something their local centers can actually take. For instance, a 'cardboard' milk carton is likely to have a plastic aluminum-paper blend film on the inside, and therefore cannot be disposed of so easily."

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the downfall of believing recycling can save the day. Many recycling programs across the country are simply not able to recycle much of what they receive. A report from Columbia's Climate School outlines a few of the reasons for this, including that many recyclables become contaminated when placed in the wrong bin, or when a dirty food container gets into the recycling bin. (Contamination can prevent large batches of material from being recycled.) Other materials meanwhile, can't be processed by certain facilities. Perhaps most importantly, the international market for recyclables has all but disappeared. There are simply too many different types of plastics being produced, and few viable markets for these items. It is imperative that consumers begin to understand this very critical point if we are to bring about meaningful change in our daily lives.

What's more, because recycling programs in this country were dependent on China for so many years, our domestic recycling infrastructure was never fully developed. As a result, there is no economical or efficient way to handle recycling in the absence of the international market for these items, says the Columbia report.

What does it all mean for you, the consumer, when walking the aisles of a store making purchases? Educate yourself as much as possible about what your local recycling program can handle. Call local recycling facilities and ask questions. According to the EPA, in 2017, 66 percent of discarded paper and cardboard was recycled, 27 percent of glass, and 8 percent of plastics were recycled. Glass and metal can be recycled indefinitely, while paper can be recycled five to seven times before it's too degraded. Plastic can only be recycled once or twice. Ultimately, six times more plastic waste is incinerated than is recycled.

Here's the key takeaway (get a pen and paper to write this down if need be): The only plastic that's being recycled with any widespread regularity is that which is labeled with a No. 1 or a No. 2, according to a Greenpeace report. Meaning, you'll want to look for the recycling number on the plastic items you're considering purchasing. Unfortunately, many plastic items, especially beauty products, have no number at all on the packaging.

To step up your efforts even further when you're shopping, actively search for products that are not packaged in plastic but are instead packaged in glass, aluminum, or cardboard. There's a growing crop of start-ups that eat, sleep, and breath saving the planet and challenging the status quo. And these start-ups are offering all sorts of products packaged in alternative, eco-friendly materials—from cleaners and laundry detergents to beauty products. Some of the names to become familiar with in this space (in addition to Blueland) include ThreeMain, Earthbreeze, Tru Earth, and HiBar. But these are merely a few examples, once you start googling away, you'll find there are many eco-friendly alternatives entering the market. The message to take away here, is that it is becoming easier by the day for you as the consumer to shift to a more eco-conscious lifestyle.

Demand accessibility.

The search in your local Target, Walmart, or other retailer for eco-friendly, and climate-friendly consumer products can be discouraging. I've done it myself and come away completley disheartened. Because once you start paying careful attention on your shopping trips, you'll begin to notice aisle after aisle of plastic packaged products, or items that contain chemicals harmful for the planet, or products that through their creation, distribution, or end-of-life disposal (or all three phases)—are environmentally detrimental in some way. All of which brings Yoo to her next important tip for shoppers: Consumers need to start demanding accessibility when it comes to eco-friendly products.

"This is a less obvious one, but it's something we've thought lot about here at Blueland," says Yoo. "Products cannot make a large-scale difference if people cannot access them—whether that means they're unaffordable, or they are not available at a retailer nearby."

Not being accessible can also mean that the products don't work well, as can be the case with some cleaning products, making them not accessible or not practical.

"As consumers, we need to demand more of brands," continues Yoo. "We need to demand that brands be more accessible in all of these ways. Green products have had a bad rap for some time because finding them may be more work, or they're more expensive, or they're less effective. These things must change."

Here's how you can put that into practice as a consumer: Use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to reach out to brands, and let your voice be heard. While you're at it, use these same platforms to reach out to the Targets, Walmarts, and other retailers of the world and request that they start offering more options on their shelves.

Strive for carbon neutrality in your purchases.

Carbon emissions are considered to be the No. 1 contributor to climate change, making it critical that the companies you support with your shopping purchases take accountability for their carbon emissions and engage in consistent, meaningful action to reduce them.

Product manufacturing companies that supply stores can go carbon-neutral by doing such things as purchasing high-quality carbon offsets from projects like wind farms. Taking this step helps to support the transition to a sustainable energy economy and provides added revenue to renewable energy developers.

Consumers, meanwhile, can seek out companies that are making clear on packaging (or on their website) that they are carbon-neutral. While you're at it, look to see if they have a certification to back their carbon-neutral claim, says Yoo.

"We've been seeing this claim of being carbon-neutral more and more on packaging," says Yoo. "It has been a more recent phenomenon and is becoming increasingly commonplace."

Refuse, reduce, reuse.

Above and beyond all of the tips Yoo has already provided, she offers one final but critically important bit of advice: refuse, reduce, reuse. This is, of course, a slightly updated take on the slogan many of us have heard for years now: reduce, reuse, recycle.

Refuse must become the new path forward.

Refusing to purchase items that are environmentally harmful is more important at this fragile juncture in our planet's history than our reliance on recycling. Refusal can be followed by developing a strong habit of reusing items before purchasing new.

"We must think before consuming," says Yoo. "Do you really need that item you're considering purchasing? Can you borrow something? Can you reuse something? We must refuse and reuse over recycling."

This is where the financial savings may be realized. If you make a mindful shift to reusing items more, or borrowing them, or even begin purchasing secondhand items more regularly, it can reduce your daily and monthly cost of living, along with helping the planet.

Postscript: Demand change, and begin that change at home.

Change can be hard, it can cumbersome, and we can all be dogged by inertia. What's more, change takes time, which can be discouraging. But governments around the world are lumbering giants that are failing to act speedily enough in response to the climate crisis or pollution of the planet. Furthermore, many attempts at progress on a legislative level are thwarted by industry lobbyists with a vested interest in maintaining their profits.

Consumers far and wide must demand more aggressive action from elected representatives. Consumers must lead the way in the absence of true leadership at the national level. And in the meantime, or simultaneously, we must engage in bolder actions ourselves on a daily basis. The good news is, Yoo already sees small examples of this happening, including in the form of an increased level of awareness among consumers who want to lead a more eco-conscious lifestyle.

"I'm hopeful that future is within reach," concludes Yoo. "It's been really interesting to watch what's happened even over just the past two years and just within the category of cleaning products. This concept of refillable cleaning products has become far more widespread. In Target, you're now starting to see a lot of refill options available, and this change is being driven by consumer demand. Businesses will follow the consumer."

"People are increasingly feeling that climate change is real, that it's here, and that we have an increasingly short period of time to address it," says Yoo.