{"id":1312343,"date":"2019-07-12T07:00:07","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=983486"},"modified":"2019-07-12T07:00:07","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T13:00:07","slug":"sustainable-living-isnt-just-about-the-environment-its-about-smart-consumerism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/sustainable-living-isnt-just-about-the-environment-its-about-smart-consumerism\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable living isn\u2019t just about the environment, it\u2019s about smart consumerism"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/DSC_9509-1024x684.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/DSC_9509-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/DSC_9509-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/DSC_9509-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Antonia Pitica, left, and Alin Turcea created Eco Roots, a minimalist, earth-conscious brand that aims to give consumers the power to choose, through the products they buy and use, what kind of world they want to live in.<\/strong><br \/><em>Photos courtesy of Eco Roots<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>When Alin Turcea and Antonia Pitica recognized the significance of plastic products in their everyday lives, they felt compelled to do something about it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Bags for produce, groceries, to-go cups, toothbrushes, water bottles \u2014 these items are a part of our everyday lives, and they\u2019re almost always plastic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What if they could create these products for people who cared about living more sustainably for the sake of our planet, while also educating consumers everywhere about the importance of our individual actions?&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.0267379679144\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-983486-97\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/IMG_2772-Edit-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/IMG_2772-Edit-683x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Photos courtesy of Eco Roots |\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p>Photos courtesy of Eco Roots<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/IMG_2772-Edit-683x1024.jpg\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/16-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/16-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Photos courtesy of Eco Roots | Eco Roots sells products for people who care about living more sustainably for the sake of the planet.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Eco Roots sells products for people who care about living more sustainably for the sake of the planet.<\/strong><br \/>Photos courtesy of Eco Roots<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/16-1024x683.jpg\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/sustainable-living-isnt-just-about-the-environment-its-about-smart-consumerism-sponsored\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/sustainable-living-isnt-just-about-the-environment-its-about-smart-consumerism-sponsored\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe had a lightbulb moment, and we began reading about climate change to see what we could do to develop habits that were better for the environment,\u201d Alin said. \u201cWe started <a href=\"http:\/\/ecoroots.us\">EcoRoots<\/a> when we realized how much of an impact consumerism was having on our lives and the lives of those around us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By creating this minimalist, earth-conscious brand, Alin and Antonia aim to encourage an economy that considers the future. They want consumers to have the power to choose, through the products they buy and use, what kind of world they want to live in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we did our research, we realized that we had been making many of our choices out of convenience, without considering the consequences,\u201d Antonia said. \u201cWe knew that, in order to ask other people to change, we needed to change first. So, the first step we took toward our new lifestyle was simply refusing what we didn\u2019t really need.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here are some of the reasons that making these small steps can not only change the way you live your life for the better, but also positively impact the environment..<\/p>\n<p><strong>Future generations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alin and Antonia feel personally responsible to do their part to address pollution and climate change for future generations. Climate change is one of the most significant issues we\u2019ll face in our lifetime, Antonia said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to consider how devastating the effects of plastic consumption are on our already fragile environment, including our oceans and marine life, but also our own health and well-being, too,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can all make changes to ensure that our children and grandchildren aren\u2019t left to clean up the mess we\u2019ve made.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Small steps are easy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Activities such as brushing your teeth or shopping at a grocery store are habits for most people. We do these things without thinking much about them, but what if the products you used didn\u2019t end up harming marine life or clogging up landfills? What if you could use products as a consumer that actually meant something?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s easy to get discouraged when you\u2019re trying to change habits that you\u2019ve had your whole life, but the key is being patient, and knowing that real change won\u2019t happen overnight,\u201d Alin said. \u201cThere are many small steps that you can take if you\u2019re just starting out on this journey, and these small habits will become second-nature overtime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alin and Antonia started their sustainably living journey by bringing reusable bags to the grocery store. From there, they began to avoid plastic-wrapped produce, switched to biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes, began using reusable water bottles and switched to a reusable razor instead of single-use disposable razors.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Becoming more conscious overall<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By making these small changes, Alin and Antonia became more conscious consumers everywhere they went. They checked packaging when they went shopping to avoid plastic whenever possible. They realized that while it\u2019s not always possible to avoid plastic entirely, they could use a lot of substitute products such as reusable or recyclable packaging including glass, stainless steel or cardboard to ultimately have less of an impact on the environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter you\u2019ve made changes like composting, packing reusable bags for shopping trips, looking for products that come in recyclable, non-plastic packaging, look around your home and see what other products can be replaced by a sustainable alternative,\u201d Alin said. \u201cUsing sustainable products will save you money in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Steps that ALL consumers can take<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here are some of the ways Alin and Antonia make changes in their lives by using EcoRoots products. They believe this is a good starting off point for anyone interested in living more sustainably. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/ecoroots.us\/\">ecoroots.us<\/a> for product options.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Buy fresh produce rather than produce wrapped in plastic. Check out your local farmers market or another grocery store if yours doesn\u2019t have what you\u2019re looking for.<\/li>\n<li>&nbsp;Unless medically necessary, skip the plastic straws. Because they\u2019re not accepted by most recycling centers, many larger companies are beginning to ban them anyway, so this is one of the easiest to implement.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Call your local recycling center if you\u2019re not sure if something is recyclable, don\u2019t just throw it out.<\/li>\n<li>Compost your food leftovers.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Bring reusable bags with you whenever you go shopping so you don\u2019t have to take home any plastic bags.<\/li>\n<li>Use a reusable coffee cup and water bottle so you can skip the paper and plastic.<\/li>\n<li>Walk, use public transportation, car-pool, or ride your bike to reduce your carbon footprint.<\/li>\n<li>Eat locally. You\u2019ll know exactly where your food is coming from, and you\u2019ll get to support local businesses and farmers. This is especially easy in the summertime when most towns have weekly farmers markets.<\/li>\n<li>Consume consciously. Buy things out of necessity, not boredom, and when you do need to buy something, try to find ethically sourced clothes and other products.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Support small, local businesses.<\/li>\n<li>Use alternatives to plastic whenever possible in products for the home, kitchen, health and beauty.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/sustainable-living-isnt-just-about-the-environment-its-about-smart-consumerism-sponsored\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Antonia Pitica, left, and Alin Turcea created Eco Roots, a minimalist, earth-conscious brand that aims to give consumers the power to choose, through the products they buy and use, what kind of world they want to live in.Photos courtesy of Eco Roots When Alin Turcea and Antonia Pitica recognized the significance of plastic products in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1312343","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-20 13:56:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1312343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312343\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1312343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1312343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1312343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}