Welcome to the A Drop in the Ocean blog!

Every Monday we're popping into our EcoWarrior community's inboxes with practical + actionable tips for living more sustainably, and we're always working hard to add those emails to our blog as well. But we're a small team and sometimes we get behind because, hey, we're human.

So if you want these kinds of tips every week, without even leaving your inbox, join the EcoWarriors for Make Waves Mondays - because that's one thing we don't get behind on. Pinky promise.

Blog

What happens to all of the stuff we return?

With the holidays upon us, I thought it might be time to talk about returns. It happens - sometimes we buy or receive things that just aren’t what we expected, and our first reaction is typically to send it back. But what happens to all of those returns? Are they really going to be sold as new, no harm done? Let’s dive into it.

What is a Buy Nothing Group and why should you join one?
Building and supporting a sharing economy is a critical component of any zero waste lifestyle, and Buy Nothing Groups are one of the best ways to do that. So today we're talking all things Buy Nothing - what it is, why it's better than donating to a thrift shop, and even why your local group may be called a "Gifting With Integrity" group instead.
Plastic Neutral: Greenwashing or Actual Waste Solution?
There are some pretty major players in the "sustainable" and "zero waste" space that brag about being certified plastic neutral. But what does that really mean for sustainability? Is plastic neutral certification greenwashing, or is it an actual solution to our ocean waste problem?
The 7 Best Documentaries for Sustainable & Eco-Friendly Living
Most sustainability documentaries are trash. But there are some truly spectacular documentaries about sustainability, waste, and climate change that have had lasting, positive impacts on my life. Here's 7 of my favorite documentaries to inspire you to live more sustainably - without guilt, shame, fear, and absolutism.
A Drop in the Ocean Blog: Which has a smaller eco-footprint - physical books, ebooks or audiobooks?
If you've ever found yourself staring at your bookshelf wondering if it would be more eco-friendly to switch to a Kindle or other e-reader, this post is for you. We're breaking down the carbon footprint of physical books, e-books, and audiobooks to find the definitive answer to which is the most sustainable way to read.
A Drop in the Ocean Zero Waste Store: Why You Shouldn't Rake Your Leaves This Fall

It’s officially that time of year when the leaves are changing color and starting to fall onto our lawns. As they start to accumulate over the grass, you may be tempted to rake them all up into piles, toss them in some bags, and leave them on the curb for trash pickup. But is that really the best way to manage the increased [natural] debris? Let's talk about it!

A Drop in the Ocean Shop How to Use Powder-to-Liquid Hand Soap

While some of our eco-products are obvious and easy to understand, many of them may not be. There’s so much innovation happening in this space, and today I'm showcasing one of my favorite, new, innovative zero waste products on our shelves - powder-to-liquid hand soap.

A Drop in the Ocean Zero Waste Blog: Sustainable Lawns
The American lawn is iconic, but more and more people are starting to question if constantly maintaining these little green squares is worth it. Where did the American lawn come from, how did it become so ubiquitous in our culture, and can we replace the lawn with something better? EcoWarrior Robb joins us to write a guest post on the subject.
A Drop in the Ocean Shop What is Earth Overshoot Day and why does it matter?

This past Thursday was a big one - Earth Overshoot Day. It's the day each year that marks when we have used as many resources as the earth can provide us. But what does that actually mean, why does it matter, and what can we do about it?

How zero waste is A Drop in the Ocean Shop?

For every pound of waste we, as consumers, throw out, seven more pounds are thrown away upstream. So you may be wondering, if you’re buying a zero waste product from us, is it actually zero waste for us, too? Or are we just taking things out of packaging and reselling them as “zero waste”? Take a peek behind the scenes with us!

A Drop in the Ocean What is Earth Hour plus 8 ways to spend Earth Hour

Earth Hour was founded in 2007 as a call to awareness about our climate crisis. It’s a simple, symbolic way we can all take a stand and make a difference. To participate in Earth Hour, on March 26th, for one hour, beginning at 8:30pm, turn out your lights and choose how to spend Earth Hour. Here's how I'll be spending the hour this year.

A Drop in the Ocean Zero Waste Store: Composting vs. Recycling - Which is more sustainable?

Today we're chatting all about recycling versus composting, which is better, and why. This topic was inspired by one of our EcoWarriors when she commented on a post in our EcoWarrior Pod that pizza boxes are compostable, and that’s better than recycling. I realized that this is something many of us assume in the sustainability space, especially with how much we hear about how broken our recycling systems are, but is it really true?

A Drop in the Ocean Zero Waste Blog How sustainable are roses?
For centuries, the rose has been the symbol for love and beauty. Today, more than 250 million roses are grown annually, just for Valentine's Day. But how eco-friendly are these flowers, and can we show our affection more sustainably?
A Drop in the Ocean Shop 3 Reasons to Ditch Paper Towels

How much more sustainable are reusable items versus disposable? What a great question! Let's take a look at paper towels and how much water we can save by making the switch to reusables.

Phantom Energy: Why we need to unplug our chargers.

What do phantoms and vampires have to do with zero waste? It’s all got to do with energy use. Because remember, zero waste is about more than physical waste. It’s about wasted time, wasted energy, and wasted resources. Phantom energy, or vampire power, is the energy your electronic devices are always consuming, even when they’re turned off or not in use, and all that phantom energy can add up quickly. 

What's the environmental impact of one pound of meat?

It takes intention to change food habits. They’re ingrained in our culture. So rather than use this space to say we should all go vegan or we should all go vegetarian, what if instead we each ate one less pound of meat each week? How much would it really matter?

5 Ways to Drive Less + The Impacts for Sustainability

Nearly a third of all of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions are from transportation. About a sixth are from our everyday vehicles. That’s a huge portion of our emissions just from one aspect of life - getting from Point A to Point B! The good news is, we don’t need everyone to stop driving to make a sustainable difference. Do this instead.