ECHO's Tips For Minimizing Waste

We try our absolute best here at Echo to be kind to our environment. Our shop owner, Jami, is even working towards becoming Zero Waste! 

Jami was inspired by Lauren Singer of Trash Is For Tossers. Lauren managed to to only produce 1 mason jars worth of garbage/waste over the span of four years. Though the thought sounds incredibly daunting, there are tons of ways that we have found to make producing less waste simple, fun, and even more stylish!

We  have had some great guidance from our good friend, client, and former Sustainability Consultant, Katherine on how we can reduce our waste. Below are some of the simple and stylish ways that Jami and Katherine have encouraged us all at Echo to create less waste and be more eco friendly!

1. We have several E-Coffee Cups around shop to keep us from having to use single use coffee cups when we get our lattes!

The average person goes through 500 single use coffee cups a year and, contrary to popular belief, most disposable coffee cups are not recyclable because of the plastic lining that is on the inside. 

Not only are our E-Coffee Cups 100% recyclable, the cup is made of bamboo rather than plastic, includes a silicone sleeve that is also made of recyclable material and is super cute! 

2. Reducing plastic silverware and the use of plastic water bottles. The average person goes through an estimated 167 plastic water bottles each year; we love knowing that our choice to use less plastic water bottles is taking away from the amount of waste accumulated by plastic

Jami loves this reusable and adorable bamboo silverware kit!

Photo belongs to Package Free Shop.

3. Avoiding the use of plastic shopping bags. We're a bit biased, but we think that we have made the cutest reusable canvas tote. 

Working towards a Zero Waste lifestyle is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient, visionary, and will truly make a difference in the health of our planet. We encourage everyone to work towards producing less waste and doing it in a way that is fun and stylish!

Here are a couple of Jami's favorite resources for working towards a Zero Waste lifestyle. 

Conscious By Chloé - a lifestyle blog focused on living consciously written by the founder of ZeroWastePDX Chloé Lepeltier.

Trash Is For Tossers by Lauren Singer. Lauren studied Environmental studies in college and currently lives a Zero Waste Life in NYC. 

Lastly one of our favorite places to shop by reusable items is Package Free Shop. 

What are your favorite ways to reduce waste?