It seems like most people have a defining event or moment that jumpstarted their path to living more sustainably. Each of the team members at cinder + salt has a different story about how their eco-journey started and how it's going!
Our Retail Operations Manager, Sara, started building a capsule wardrobe and buying with intention and purpose. She also started looking for clothes made from recycled materials. Her favorite sneakers are made from plastic collected off beaches.
Rachel, our owner and creative director, has a jungle in her home and wanted a sustainable way to water the jungle. She keeps a pitcher by the sink to collect grey-water, which she uses to water her houseplants. Grey-water is unused, clean water like melted ice cubes, an unfinished glass of water from the day prior, or, if her cats are being jerks and put kibble in the water bowl to signify they want a fresh pour, that goes in the pitcher too.
Composting is a huge commitment and a great way to dispose of any biodegradable waste. Tin, our Production Assistant, and their family have a seriously good-looking compost pile! It allows for less waste to go to the landfill and they get nutrient rich soil to use in the future.
The first time our Middletown Store Manager, Becks, visited cinder + salt was in June of 2022 when she participated in the street clean up in Middletown. She learned about the specialty recycling program (which she now helps to manage!), which allowed her to #levelup recycling at home! Now she's recycling all of her Mylar-lined snack packages, bubble mailers, and bottle caps. Also: She didn’t realize our grocery stores accept ALL plastic bags for recycling, not just plastic grocery bags! They can be dropped off at the recycling center at the store, which is a total #gamechanger for her. Doing these small things helps her to feel as if it’s #earthdayeveryday.
The print shop's seamstress and quality control agent, Jan, is crazy crafty and takes old suits and re-purposes them into hooked rugs and pillows. She pulls the suits apart and then makes strips of fabric and then goes to town hooking by hand. The process takes patience and a skilled hand and Jan has been perfecting her hooking for a while. She makes rugs and pillows for family and friends and everyone treasures their handmade piece.
Social Media and Branding Lead, Ah Young, likes to limit the amount of plastics she uses so she puts Bees Wrap on top of a glass storage bowl to save any leftover foods as an eco friendly alternative. The beeswax food wrap can easily be washed and reused several times, helping to reduce plastic waste. We even sell a DIY Bees Wrap kit in-store, if you're into that sorta thing.
The resident Print Shop Ninja, Brenda, utilizes wool dryer balls. The balls bounce around with the clothes and allow for better air circulation, letting her clothes dry quicker. Which means Brenda is saving on the electric bill, and right now who doesn't want that. AND you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the dryer ball to make your laundry smell amazing!!
Why buy another vase when you can repurpose those cute little jelly jars? Beth, our Marketing + Communications Lead, never misses a chance to display her kids' creations. The glass jars and containers you may already have in your fridge are perfect for holding flowers, whether they're in water or made of paper!
So, now that we've shared a few of the ways we Earth Day Every Day, we want to see how you've made changes- little or BIG- in your own day-to-day. Share your tips and maybe someone else will see something they don't do. We'll learn from each other and work to make the world a bit better one day at a time!