Help the environment by using environmentally-friendly paper products in your home. Start small. Consider switching up your paper towels or toilet paper or kleenex. Here are a few ideas to help:

Toilet Paper: The company, Who Gives a Crap, is determined to prove that toilet paper is about more than just wiping bums. They make all of their products with environmentally friendly materials, and donate 50% of their profits to help build toilets for those in need. https://us.whogivesacrap.org/pages/our-impact

Other Paper Products: Check out One Green Planet for other environmentally friendly products. https://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/the-best-planet-friendly-paper-products/

Synthetic fleece is warm and cozy, but you don’t want to eat it for dinner. The material is made up of soft plastic fibers, and thousands of microscopic particles tear away from these fibers through regular wear and tear. With every wash, for example, water runoff carries away some of the fibers, depositing them into the ocean, where fish consume them, Ives explains. Each wash of a fleece jacket can release up to 2 grams of microfibers.

But even simpler than that, the particles can separate from the fabric while you’re wearing it and end up in the air as dust. There’s no way to stop this process—the only way to avoid microfiber pollution and consumption is to opt for natural fabrics like wool, cotton and linen.

How to Help: If you do happen to own fleece, wear and wash it less. “When you do have to wash it use cold water [it’s less likely to dislodge the microfibers] and consider investing in a washing machine lint filter to keep the particles out of runoff,” recommends Dune Ives, executive director of Lonely Whale.

The reasons to go plastic-free are compelling. The benefits span from environmental to health to conservation. Take the challenge and reduce your plastic use slowly. Find a commonly used item which is either plastic or comes packaged in plastic and find an alternative.

Here are a few simple options to consider:

1. Rather than continuing to buy water in plastic containers, consider purchasing a reusable water bottle and filling it up with filtered water.

2. When grocery shopping, it’s easy to grab the plastic bags in the produce area to hold your upcoming purchases. Consider purchasing a reusable produce bag. Here’s one option: https://www.onyalife.com/product/reusable-produce-bag-8pack/

3. Plastic sandwich and freezer bags are easy to use and dispose of, but consider the lasting impacts these bags have on the environment when they’re thrown away. Consider storing foods in other containers like glass.

More ideas? Share them with us by leaving a comment so that we can all find ways to help!