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

A Drop in the Ocean Vendor Spotlight: Zero Waste Soaps with Soap & Clay

We’re turning the mic over to our zero waste vendors! This week, get to know Chantine McBain, aka Mrs. Soap & Clay, who makes all of our unpackaged bar soaps and more. In this video, we’re chatting about everything from how Soap & Clay got its start to answering the question, “What is soap, really?” with a whole lotta laughs along the way.

A Drop in the Ocean Zero Waste Store Ocean Conservation Partner Vermilion Sea Institute Field Station
You already know at least 1% of our sales are donated to our ocean conservation partner, Vermilion Sea Institute. But have you ever wondered, “Why VSI? Who is Vermilion Sea Institute? Why did we choose them to be our ocean conservation partner??” I'm about to tell you all about it.
A Drop in the Ocean Shop What is zero waste and a circular economy?

What is zero waste? It’s a simple question, but I’m not usually one for simple answers. I don’t believe there are black-and-white solutions to most things, and I don’t believe there are one-size-fits-all ways to be sustainable. So let’s take a closer look at this question. What exactly is zero waste...and what is it not?

A Drop in the Ocean Zero Waste Store Answering New Year FAQs

To kick off the new year, we're taking a step back to basics to answer some of the most common questions we received in our year-end survey. Because chances are if one EcoWarrior has the question, there’s likely several more in the community who are also wondering the same. We're tackling everything from how we named the shop to why our prices are the way they are.

Small Changes. Big Impact.

This year, we introduced a mini-series of blog posts where we focused on just one small thing we can do in our everyday lives that has a big impact for our planet. To wrap up this mini-series, we're taking a journey back through them to see just how big of an impact we could have making these changes for just one month.

A Drop in the Ocean Shop What is Lights Out for Migratory Birds?

I first heard of the Lights Out for Migratory Birds program in 2017, and the more I learned about the program, the more interested I became. I discovered just how important programs such as these are for our wildlife - and for ourselves. So today I wanna share with you a bit about Lights Out, why it matters, and what we can all do to protect migratory birds from the comfort of our own homes.

6 Ways to Wrap Furoshiki
There’s a lot we can do to reduce our waste during the holiday season, including how we package our gifts. Let's take a look at the beauty of Furoshiki wraps, and we'll show you how to wrap six different types of gifts using just one wrap, all with zero waste.
Why should you turn down your thermostat?

What’s your thermostat set to right now? It may not seem like one or two degrees really matters when it comes to sustainability, but they really do! Residential heating and cooling accounts for 9% of all energy consumption in the United States. Here's how to slash that number and save money.

Are Pizza Boxes Recyclable?
Last week a friend forwarded me an Instagram Story from Domino's Pizza that got me real fired up. So let's take a look... How much does grease and cheese impact recyclability? Are pizza boxes recyclable at all? Is Domino's greenwashing us all?
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.

A Drop in the Ocean Shop Why it's important to support small business
And then I stopped dead in my tracks in the middle of the aisle. What was I doing?? Buying these gifts at Target doesn’t make sense. Here I am, always an advocate for shopping small and walking around a massive national big box store. WHAT was I doing?? So let's talk about why it's so great to support small businesses - and how we can find them in the first place.
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. 

A Drop in the Ocean Shop 8 Tips for a Low Waste Wedding

This past weekend I was away at a wedding that was so beautiful, so full of love and happiness, and so...low waste! I couldn't help but document the whole thing to share with you. So today, here are 8 tips for a zero waste wedding, inspired by Kirk and Meghann’s big day.

A Drop in the Ocean 5 Tips for Hosting a Zero Waste Party

The arrival of fall brings shortly behind it the holiday season, full of gatherings with family and friends. And with those gatherings typically comes a quite bit of waste. But does it have to? In this week's blog post we're chatting 5 ways to keep parties low to zero waste - without spending any extra money.

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.

What is manufactured demand?
How the heck did we end up in a place where bottled water is everywhere and people are actually paying for it, when most of us can get clean drinking water essentially for free from our taps? The answer: manufactured demand - the manipulative marketing tactic we should all know.
A Drop in the Ocean Zero Waste Sustainable Living Blog Back to School

I may be a wee bit late to the party, but back to school is in full swing! I’ve compiled nine of my favorite tips for a zero waste back to school season, just for you. Or, if you’re returning to your office soon and need a revamp, think of this as your guide to a zero waste back to office season 😉