Journal

  • Meet The Woman Behind The Business

    Meet The Woman Behind The Business
    In honor of Women's History Month, we collaborated with four women-owned businesses in the local Reno-Tahoe area. Learn more about their story and what empowered them to begin their entrepreneurial journey.
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  • How To Do Research On A Company

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    In my previous post, I spoke about Mindful Shopping. One way to being is by doing your research before your shop, and asking yourself these important questions: Is it ethically made and is it sustainable? However, the real question here is, how do you know if the item was made ethically or if it’s sustainable? Most of the times, we as consumers tend to just read the words “ethically made” or “Eco-friendly," so we assume that the product we are purchasing is indeed those things. However, it is important to do your research and truly see if a company is backing up their claims.

     According to Earth.Org , Green washing is when a company or organization spends more time on marketing themselves on being sustainable rather than on actually minimizing their environmental impact. Consumers are more likely to spend money on companies that seems ethical, as being seen as ethical drives profitability.

    Many companies have simply put up a facade of sustainability while they continue to engage in activities that cause more waste. Some companies on the other hand, may be engaging in green washing, simply because they are unaware they are doing it. Usually this means they don’t have the expertise, nor do the research on what actually constitutes as sustainability.

    Below are some of the things to look for when conducting research on a company:

    Quantifiable evidence

    Does the brand share its core values, and are sustainability and ethics part of those values? Are there quantifiable measures of the sustainability of the brand, such as percentage of recycled materials in their clothes? Perfection when it comes to sustainability and Eco-friendliness is impossible, but laying a foundation and setting up reasonable small steps is a great way to tell if a company is actually sustainable or not.

    Third party accreditations and reports

    Great place to start when it comes to assessing whether a brand is sustainable and ethical, as they have no vested interest in a brand’s sustainability status, and require hard evidence of sustainable production to gain the seal of approval. 

    Irrelevant Claims

    These are claims that are “technically true” but not relevant. One example is a “CFC-Free”- CFCs are banned by law, so this is not truly an indication of sustainability or environmental friendliness.

    Transparency

    If a company is not transparent with its practices and claims, it’s usually because they aren’t environmentally friendly. Ask these companies about their other projects like who they support, donate to, etc. This is a telling sign of their actual actions and intentions.

    Look for minimal packaging

    In many cases, companies using green washing tactics will still have their products in an unnecessary amount of packaging. Which would seem contradictory to sustainability claims.

    Ask Questions

    Don’t be afraid to reach out to companies and question their claims. If you’re unsure, you can usually find sourcing and ingredient information on company websites

    Comment below some other ideas on how to make sure a company is indeed sustainable/Eco-friendly.

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  • Mindful Shopping

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    In my last post, Tips for De-cluttering, I talked about the benefits of de cluttering spaces in your home, like your closet. So, I thought this was a perfect time to talk about mindful shopping. Sometimes it is easy to de clutter your closet space, and then fill it back up with more clothes!  

    In the recent years, I have seen the impact that clothing has had on our environment. According to EARTHDAY.ORG the fashion industry is responsible for over 8% of total greenhouse gas emissions. It takes nearly 3,000 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt and 3,781 liters of water to make a pair of jeans.

    While I enjoy shopping, I’ve come to realize that I have enough. I don’t really need anything more. Does this mean I’ll never shop again? No, but I am working on doing more mindful shopping. That is, I now take time to reconsider the items in my cart.

    You may ask yourself, how does one go about mindful shopping? Well, below are a few things to consider:

    Do I have the space for this?

    Though you might like something, you may want to ask yourself whether you have enough space for it. Remember, you don’t want to clutter your closet.

    Don’t impulsively shop.

    Every time you have the desire to buy something, put it on a 30-day wait list. If you still want it at the end of 30 days, then you can purchase it. You may discover that there are a lot of items you don’t want anymore. 

    Is this purchase more important than my big financial goals?

    Is it more important to buy this item than it is to fully fund my retirement account? Or is it more important than saving for a down payment on a house, saving for my kids’ educations, paying down the mortgage faster, or taking a family trip? 

    Do I have any high interest credit card debt or other debts to pay off?

    Before buying anything other than the essentials (i.e., groceries), pay off your debts! By doing this you’ll have more money to spend in the future, not less!

    Do I already have something similar? 

    Before you go out to buy something, check to see if you have anything similar that could serve the same purpose.

    Can I borrow this from a friend or rent it?

    If you need a special occasion outfit, could you borrow a dress from a friend? One New York socialite I know rents all her special occasion designer dresses because she has very little closet space and doesn’t want to be seen in the same dress twice. 

    Is it the best value for quality and price?

    How durable is it? Is it ethically made and sustainable? Do your research before you buy.

    Can I find the same thing used or for free on free cycle, E-bay, at a charity shop, or auction?

    If you HAVE to buy something, see if you can get an even better deal by buying used. 

    Buy less. Choose well. - Vivienne Westwood

     

    Comment below some of your favorite mindful shopping tips.

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  • Tips to De-clutter

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    Do you ever find it difficult to focus on work when everything around you is a mess? Well if you are anything like me, it is impossible to get anything done with mess around you. The Arkansas Traveler explains how according to a study by researchers at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute, when an environment is cluttered, the chaos restricts your ability to focus.

    Your home is a container and you must fit your family, pets and belongings into that container comfortably. If you think about it, your whole home is filled with container within containers; for example, your fridge contains your fresh food and your shelves container other household items. Your closet is the container for your clothes. However, sometimes it is easy to just pile random things everywhere and cram other containers, overfilling them with unnecessary items.

    When you disrespect natural limits, things are hard to find and retrieve, and it’s difficult to keep clean. Not to mention, when you have too much going on around you, it becomes difficult to focus on one thing and can be time consuming if you wait until the last minute to get everything done.  

    Below are some tips to help de clutter your home:

    • Follow the ‘Fits too tight, get rid of things’ rule. This works for anything. For example, clothes jammed too tightly in a wardrobe get wrinkled and are hard to find. Which makes it difficult to get dressed in the morning. By giving your clothes space to breathe, they stay neat, are easy to see, and are ready to wear. 
    • Clean your kitchen every night, don’t leave any dishes and wash them right after cooking/dinner.
    • Keep lids on your Tupperware container. This prevents lids from being lost and will allow for a far more organized space. (Doesn't everyone just hate Tupperware?)  
    • Have a hamper for sweaty dirty clothes, like your gym clothes and another hamper for simple dirty clothes like work attire or dresses, etc. This will prevent you from just throwing clothes on the ground and starting another pile.
    • Do you bed every morning. It’s always nice coming home to a made bed, this allows you to just come home and either decompress, or focus on the things you actually need to get done. Very Well Mind explains how making the bed is about setting an intention to do the little things that bring about an orderly, thoughtful, responsible, balanced, or successful life.

    If you enjoyed any of these tips, share this post with friends and family 😊

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