Key Takeaways:
Sustainable marketplaces are not just about selling products; they're about promoting a lifestyle. By choosing to purchase from these platforms, consumers are supporting artisans, small businesses, and sustainable practices. Moreover, these marketplaces often have strict criteria for the products they list, ensuring that they are eco-friendly, ethically sourced, and of high quality.
Etsy is renowned for its vast collection of handmade, vintage, and unique products. Supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs, Etsy provides a platform for artisans to showcase their creativity.
Focused on healthy living, Thrive Market offers everything from natural wines to cruelty-free bath sets. Their mission is to make healthy living accessible and affordable for all.
This marketplace is dedicated to reducing waste. Offering products in reusable, refillable, or recyclable options, Package Free is a haven for eco-conscious consumers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBdRC8w57yw
For those interested in clean beauty, Credo is the go-to platform. They are committed to offering products that are sustainable, ethical, and transparently clean.
For those that love curate lists of brands or products to speed up your sustainable transition, Urban Biome provides just that.
Offering a range of unique and personalized gifts, Uncommon Goods is perfect for those looking for something out of the ordinary.
By choosing to shop sustainably, consumers can make a significant impact. Not only does it reduce the environmental footprint, but it also promotes ethical labor practices and supports small businesses and artisans. Moreover, sustainable products often last longer, reducing the need for frequent replacements.
Table: Benefits of Sustainable Shopping
Benefit | Description |
---|---|
Environmental Protection | Reduces waste and conserves natural resources. |
Supports Ethical Labor | Promotes fair wages and working conditions. |
Quality Products | Sustainable products are often of higher quality and last longer. |
Supports Small Businesses | Purchasing from sustainable marketplaces supports artisans and small businesses. |
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZXRLiu_c1t4
As the holiday season approaches, consider exploring sustainable marketplaces for your gift-giving needs. Not only will you find unique and meaningful gifts, but you'll also be making a positive impact on the planet and its inhabitants. Happy shopping!
]]>The problem with single-use plastics is that they don't biodegrade. Instead, they break down into smaller and smaller pieces over time. These pieces can be ingested by animals or marine life and also accumulate in the environment and the foodchain.
Don't buy single-use plastics. Avoid plastic bags, especially ones that aren't biodegradable. Also avoid straws, utensils and other single-use plastic items whenever possible.
Bring your own cup when you get takeout. It’s a small change, but it can make a big difference.
Use paperless calendar and use online banking services. You can also pay your bills online instead of receiving a pile of physical bills every month.
Buying local produce is a great way to support your community and the environment. Purchasing produce that is in season means that it’s at its peak of freshness and flavor, which not only makes you healthier but also better for the environment because it reduces transportation costs.
Additionally, buying local food supports local farmers; they're able to keep their farms sustainable by growing what people want rather than relying on large corporations or big-box stores to dictate what they grow.
Composting is a great way to reduce waste. It's easy to do at home and can be done without much space or expense. Composting also reduces the need for fertilizer, which can harm the environment if it ends up in water systems.
The first step to eco-friendly gift wrapping is to minimize the amount of wrapping paper you use. One way to do this is to use a reusable fabric, such as a scarf or blanket, to wrap your gift. This way, you can reuse the fabric for years to come.
Another way to be eco-friendly with your gift wrapping is to use natural materials, such as leaves, pinecones, or flowers. These materials are not only beautiful but they are also biodegradable.
One of the most eco-friendly ways to wrap a gift is to use a handmade paper. This way, you can avoid using any plastic or other materials that are not biodegradable. You can also use recycled materials to make handmade paper.
You can even use old newspaper or magazines to wrap your gifts. They are not only eco-friendly, but also one of a kind.
Finally avoid using plastic - instead, you can use cloth or paper based alternatives.
There are many eco-friendly ways to wrap gifts this holiday season. So, if you want to give the gift of sustainability this holiday season, be sure to try some of these tips!
The reason why plastic does not biodegrdable is due to the chemical bonds in them being too strong to be broken down by natural forces like sunlight or bacteria. Plastic is also made mostly from non-renewable resources like petroleum and natural gas. This creates two more problems - one being this final resource will run out and secondly, it causes a lot of greenhouse emissions.
There are many ways to reduce our use of plastic and help the environment. One way is to use plastic free products. Usually these products are made from sustainable materials like bamboo, hemp, wool, recycled cotton, and organic cotton. Another way to reduce our use of plastic is to practice zerowaste living. This means that we try to reduce our waste footrprint by reducing overconsumption and opting for reusable products. For example, we can bring our own water bottle with us when we go out, or buy produce that is not packaged in plastic.
There are also biodegradable products that can replace plastic. Biodegradable material can be made from natural materials or synthetic materials that break down naturally.They break down quickly when they are discarded and do not create the same environmental issues as plastic. Our range of phone cases, airpod cases and card holder is fully biodgradable and offers an alternative to plastic.
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Instead of giving too many gifts, try to think of ways you can be more thoughtful with the gifts. Sometimes even the smallest gifts can have the biggest impact.
If you're sending gifts in the mail, send them in bulk! This will save on shipping costs and packaging materials. It's also better for the environment because it reduce emissions.
If you're buying gifts for someone who lives in your area, try to find a local retailer. This is a great way to support your community and stay eco-friendly. To send gifts to those live away, you can shop from retialers in their area online to reduce emissions.
Instead of giving someone a physical gift, give them an experience. This can be anything from a cooking class to tickets to a show. Experiences are a great way to give someone something they'll remember for years to come.
Homemade gifts are a great way to get creative and make someone feel special. You can make them yourself or get your friends and family to help out. It's also a great way to teach kids about recycling and the environment.
If you're giving a gift that doesn't need wrapping, like a home-grown plant or baked goods, that's the easiest thing of all! You can even give something like a gift card!
If you're going to give a physical gift, try to find something that has a purpose. This is a great way to make sure your gift is used and not just thrown away.
If you do decide to give a physical gift, make sure it has less packaging. You can do this by using recycled materials and buying products without excess packaging.
Try to find something that's reusable and offers an alternative to single use plastics such as tote bags or water bottles. This is a great way to reduce waste and save them money over time.
Things made out of plastic do not biodegrade at all (500 - 1000 years), and even when it does, it just breaks into smaller pieces known as microplastics which goes on to cause more pollution. When you shop for some one this holiday season, buy gifts that are compsotable or biodegradable. These breakdown naturally at the end of their life typically in 6 - 36 months.
All the products here at Redhan are fully biodegradable. It includes phone cases, airpod cases and card holders,
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All the iPhone 12 and 13 series have the same dimensions (height and width), but other aspects of it make it not possible to use 12 cases on 13 series devices.
Here are the dimesnions of the new iPhones.
Device |
Height / mm |
Width / mm |
iPhone 13 Mini iPhone 12 Mini |
131.5 |
64.2 |
iPhone 13 / 13 Pro iPhone 12 / 12 Pro |
146.7 |
71.5 |
iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 12 Pro Max |
160.8 |
78.1 |
iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 are slightly thicker than the 12 mini and 12. The difference is only 0.25 mm and is barely noticeable visually. However, as most phone cases are designed to fit snugly to the phone, a thinner iPhone 12 mini and 12 cases will not fit the respective 13 counterparts.
iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max have bigger camera modules compared to the 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max. As a result, the camera cutouts of the 12 pro cases will be a lot smaller for the 13 pro versions.
You can see the difference in the camera cutouts of 12 pro and 13 pro on Redhan phone cases in this picture.
On the left side is a Redhan iPhone 12 Pro Turtle Case and on the right side is a Redhan 13 Pro Manta Ray case. Notice the difference in the camera size of both phones.
Unlike last year, where iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro cases fit each other perfectly well, this year’s iPhone 13 cases don’t fit iPhone 13 Pro. This again comes down to the difference in the camera modules.
]]>We started with only 2 designs and 3 supported phone models. Despite the initial set back due to the unexpected start to the year, with your support we have made it here.
Today our collection has grown to support 30 phone models with 14 designs and we have had several new product launches. Our collection now includes sustainable alternatives to Airpods cases, phone grips and card holder wallets.
Our little family has grown to include many amazing diverse people from different parts of the world (29 countries to be specific)!
Here is a little summary of the impact we have been able to create together, although small in the grand scheme of things, it is a positive one for sure!
We have planted 1443 trees to date (and counting). As the trees continue to grow this will make all the emissions of getting the product to you net zero, and will eventually reverse it.
Something we are extremely excited about was being able to symbolically adopt a baby hawksbill turtle, named Ash. Redhan community was able to support her treatment, while in the care of the Olive Ridley Project. She is now happily swimming in the reefs!
We worked with several Non-Profit Organisations and charities to give back 5% of all sales to the planet. These include environmental cleanups, marine life conservations and corona relief among others.
Here is a breakdown of how the donations were split:
There is still a lot of work to be done and for this year we are putting these Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) at the forefront of everything we do. Thank you for coming along on this journey with us and we have some very exciting things we will be announcing over the course of the year.
Cork leather is an eco-friendly material that is made using the bark of cork oak trees, which lives for up to 300 years. It requires minimal processing and has a very low carbon footprint!
A harvested cork oak tree - Photo via Canva Pro
Cork oak tree primarily grows in the south-west Europe and northwest Africa. The cork is commonly harvested from regulated forests in a sustainable way, that does not damage the trees. This extraction has also been shown to prolong its life.
The removed bark is air-dried for half a year and steamed to further increase its elasticity. After this, it is pressed into sheets.
Harvested barks of cork oak tree - Photo via Canva Pro
Cork trees need 9 years between harvests. Also, when the bark is removed, the cork trees absorb more carbon and live longer.
Because cork leather is an organic product, it is completely biodegradable. It biodegrades on a similar time scale to other organic materials like bamboo or wood.
It is also completely cruelty free and vegan unlike animal leather. Faux leather is a vegan leather but it is fossil fuel based and takes around 500 years to biodegrade!
Cork leather is extremely light and very resilient making it the better leather replacement.
Also, it has a unique and recognizable earthy look and feel. On top of this, the patterns on each product made from Cork Leather is completely unique!
Microplastics are tiny (<5mm) pieces of plastic that are designed for commercial use like in cosmetics (primary) and those that break off from bigger plastic waste like bottles or clothing (secondary). The main sources of microplastics are summarised in the figure below.
Credit - Encounter Edu
Naifaru was the main test site where the team recorded levels between 55 - 1127.5 microplastics in every kg of seawater. This is roughly 5x higher than the densely populated Tamil Nadu, India!
The threat isn’t just limited to marine ecosystems (although this alone is bad enough) but this could affect us, humans, directly too.
The problem with this is that the particles are small enough to be eaten by the smallest fish. This means that there will be an accumulation of more and more microplastic up the food chain. The researchers are now looking at the stomach content of coral reef fish to see if they have bellies full of microplastics in a follow-up study.
Credit - Flinders University and Phys.org
The simple answer is we should be very concerned! Given that Maldives has one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems and on top of this, the people rely on this rich marine life for food, export and tourism. All of these are in serious threat if these levels of microplastics persist, let alone increase!
The study suggests that this is mainly due to the country's heavy reliance on imported goods (mainly in plastic), poor waste management systems in place and land reclamation activities.
“The most effective approach for improving waste management is reducing waste production" (Willmott and Graci 2012)
On an individual level, it is dire that we evaluate our habits and work to reduce our waste footprint. It begins with the most important 'R' of sustainability - refusal! Refuse what you don't need, especially plastic that can persist for hundreds of years.
On a corporate level, sustainability needs to be put at the forefront of business and innovation.
On a national level, the cause of this surge need to addressed while taking immediate action for the reversal of this before it's too late!
Paper referred in this article - Toby B.Patti, Emily K.Fobert, Simon E.Reeves, Karen Burkeda Silva, Spatial distribution of microplastics around an inhabited coral island in the Maldives, Indian Ocean, Science of the Total Environment, Pre-Proof
Here is a link to the paper.
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We are a country at the front lines of the battle against climate change. Rising Sea level, Adverse weather patterns, loss of biodiversity (remember “dhondhooni / dragon flies”) you name it.. We are situated perfectly to have front row seats to all of this.
It is about time we stopped hoping someone will fix things. We can no longer afford to sit idly by. So we asked ourselves, WHAT IF ?? WHAT If!
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We are a country at the front lines of the battle against climate change - rising sea levels, adverse weather patterns, loss of biodiversity (remember “dhondhooni" / dragon flies) you name it.. We are situated perfectly to have front row seats to all of this.
It is about time we stopped hoping someone will fix things. We can no longer afford to sit idly by. So we asked ourselves, WHAT IF ?? WHAT If!
We were left wondering what two researchers can do about all this. First, let me tell you a bit about us.
Growing up we too felt that the world we live in is too huge to be affected by any one person's actions.
Our story starts on the beach of the island where I was born - We were visiting it last year after 5 years. To my horror, it wasn’t at all what I remembered it to be. The pristine untouched beaches were replaced by tell tale signs that the island was “developing”. The beaches were littered with plastic bags and bottles. I am sure this is something that is relatable to many of us as it isn’t happening on just this one island.
The punchline was when we saw a little boy throwing his used “life” water bottle into the "magoo" trees. We asked him:
Looking very surprised he said “No, that stuff comes floating here from India and Sri Lanka”. And the scary thing was that it was clear that he believed it.
If this is our mindset, who is to say that our beaches, reefs and the wildlife it contains will endure for another 20 years.
Never before in history have we lived in a global civilisation that was capable of changing the climate of the planet we live on.
We began thinking about how we can contribute. It started with the little things like "R" words that we are all so used to hearing.
Do you remember when you first learnt about the coral polyps and algae? Two vastly different lifeforms that coexist in perfect harmony in a nourishing, symbiotic relationship. At the moment most of human consumption is mindlessly driven only by profits and how much it adds to our comfort and ease of living.
One important thing we often fail to see is that we need the ecosystem and the planet to be healthy for us to continue to survive. If any of the delicate balances of our world is upset beyond the tipping point, the consequences could be dire. It is true that there is currently no planet B!
Imagine a world where every human life has a net positive effect on the planet. Where we not only take from the environment and the creatures that live in it, but we also give back. A world where purchasing choice depends also on the impact on the planet!
We are proud to launch the first product, “Redhan Bio-Case” a zero-waste, climate positive phone case that balances performance and style.
Our first phone cases feature artwork done by us to embody our mission.