“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”  – Anne Marie Bonneau

This year, in honor of Earth Day, we’re once again taking the opportunity to review our sustainability efforts and find ways to improve. The planet needs us and there are lots of ways that we can help. The problems and solutions can often seem overwhelming and unattainable. However, the reality is that small changes in our awareness, attitudes, and lifestyles can have huge impacts on our environment and make a world of difference. Movements start with people (and now our pets!), and we want to encourage everyone to join us in our efforts to reduce waste and become more sustainable in everything we do. Because the choices we make matter.

We’re also working on a new Sustainability page on our website, which will help keep track of our efforts and share everything we’ve learned to date. We’ve also a compiled a list of resources that have helped us reduce our waste and make choices that put the planet first. We are nowhere near perfect, but try to make  progress everyday, and are encouraged by all the wonderful information and resources available on low-waste living.

From a business perspective, we have a lot of exciting goals for 2019 and beyond. So far this year we have:

• Stopped using printed receipts in favor of emailed receipts
• Stopped offering single-use shopping bags in favor of reused boxes or reusable shopping bags
• Offset 100% of our electricity use with Xcel Energy’s Windsource program
• Continued to expand our partnership with Eco-cycle and Terracycle in responsibly disposing of our customers’ plastic pet food packaging.
• Significantly expanded our bulk food and treat options, including The Beast Feast, our own line of dehydrated treats for cats and dogs.
• Started working with the City of Lafayette and Boulder County to implement dog waste composting at The Great Bark Dog Park.

Stop by the store during Earth Week for special deals and stay tuned for our “Sustainability” page for a full list of our existing efforts and a list of our friends and partners. For now, we’re including a list below of some of our favorite sustainability-related websites and experts.

Lastly, we always welcome your input and commitment to helping us achieve our sustainability goals – let us know if you ever have any questions or ideas on how we can keep getting better. Happy Earth Day everyone!

OUR FAVORITE SUSTAINABILITY WEBSITES

• https://packagefreeshop.com/- Provides an eco-friendly solution to every category of life
• https://www.stasherbag.com/– Ziplock alternative
• https://us.whogivesacrap.org/ – toilet paper made from bamboo. 50% of the profit goes to building toilets for those in need.
• https://www.drawdown.org– 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming
• https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/- They recycle the “non-recyclables.” We use them for all of our plastic packaging
• https://simplybulkmarket.webs.com– Bulk Store in Longmont. Support this locally owned shop!
• https://www.therefillrevolution.com/- Bulk Bath, Body, and Home Products located in Boulder
• https://thelittleherbalapothecary.com/- Herbal store in Lafayette, with many wonderful products. Their loose leaf teas are absolutely delicious!
• https://thefairlylocalvegan.com/– This woman is an inspiration to her 52k followers. She has a nonjudgemental approach with lots of great tips and tools for leading a low waste life.
• https://www.thezerowastecollective.com/– Low waste lifestyle resource
• https://zerowastehome.com/–Bea Johnson is considered the leader of the zero waste movement