Hello Greenie! It's World Environment Day! Special Hello Sandwich Eco Giveaway!
In honour of a very special day today, World Environment Day, I would like to let you in on a little secret...I recently made a pledge through an eco initiative created by my company to make a difference for the better for our lovely environment and... as a result...I was selected to be in the final of 100 contestants and now have one in ten chance of winning a Toyota Prius!!
Here is some info from News Magazines website:
More than 100 One Degree of Action pledgers went to amazing lengths to cut their carbon emissions for 14 days during May..From transforming offices into “eco-havens”, going vegan, achieving zero car use, starting worm farms and becoming “Op Shop” fashionistas, over 100 people from across News Limited took the One Degree challenge and cut their carbon during May.
Ebony Bizys from News Magazines (Yay! That's Hello Sandwich!) is one of the “How eco would you go?” finalists.
Ebony started an eco-make over of the News Magazines offices, and began by engaging the help of Al Gore ambassador Liane Rossler. In her first 14 days, Ebony implemented a wide range of initiatives that will benefit all News Magazines staff – from negotiating a discount at a local coffee shop for employees who bring a mug, to starting a communal garden in the Alexandria business park.
I now have another 4 days to undertake further action to be in the running to win a low-emission Toyota Prius hybrid car! Wowzers can you imagine that!
I started a eco blog for our VOGUE Living Editorial team to track our progress and inspire. You can see My One Degree of Difference Blog here.
1 MILLION WOMEN
As another part of my pledge I would love to invite you to take part in the 1 Million Women Cutting Carbon Action.
1 Million Women - daughters, mothers, sisters and grandmothers inspiring climate action. Our goal is to collectively cut 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas pollutant triggering climate change. Every woman who joins has a personal goal to cut 1 tonne of CO2 from their daily lives within a year of joining. You don't need to be an expert on climate change, we will guide you every step of the way.
If you are a woman and would love to be involved pretty please join! It's a great step to improving our beautiful environment! Please let me know if you do join so I can add your name to a special Hello Sandwich 1 MILLION WOMEN list!
(Special Thanks to Angela from Three Buttons Blog for already signing up!)
SPECIAL ECO PRESENTATION AND TIPS
Today, as part of my pledge, I have arranged for Al Gore Climate Project Ambassador and Dinosaur Designs' Liane Rossler to give an Eco Presentation to News Magazines staff and as a special treat to attendees I have prepared some Eco Lucky Door Prizes (above).
Each prize will come complete with a note about how the prize will help you to save the environment but I think these tips can also help to inspire all lovely Hello Sandwich readers with just how easy it can be to be kind to our environment:
1. Eco Plant - Grow your own vegetables where possible! Delicious!
2. Heart Shaped Bento Box - The Naked lunch challenge! When packing your lunch, opt for reusable containers for food storage instead of wrapping the food with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Enjoy a special home packed bento lunch like the Japanese!
3. Floral Gloves - Turn off the Heater - wear pretty vintage gloves instead!
4. Russh Magazine - Many of us like to leaf through the paper or a magazine as we munch on breakfast, but consider reading the dailies in communal spaces like the office or coffee shops. However, if you prefer to have your own copy, make sure you share with friends and then recycle! Start a library or book club with your friends or team mates!
5. Vintage Pussycat Bag - Fall in love with vintage again and cut down on textile waste in fashion production with this super vintage cute bag - which, by the way, I am still not completely ready to part with but...
This prize is HELLO SANDWICH'S FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY! YAY!
To win, just complete one eco friendly action on WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY TODAY and leave your name in the comments below with a little note about what you did to help save our lovely environment!
This prize is open to anyone in the whole world! I will post little pussycat bag to the person with the best eco action!
Special thanks to my mum Sandie Bizys (who you might have seen here) for donating this bag and the other divine vintage prizes! Be sure to stop by her gorgeous studio in Annandale, Sydney!
6. Tiffany Blue Mittens - Turn off the Heater - wear cosy vintage mittens instead!
7. Stripy Scarf- Turn off the Heater - wear retro vintage scarves instead!
8. Vintage Stocking Dryer - When you are feeling at your laziest, don’t throw clean clothes in the hamper to avoid hanging them up! Wear jeans more than once…Wash your smalls in the shower with you.
9. Vintage curlers - Turn off the blow dryer and set your hair instead!
10. Candle lit dinner - As you leave the house, don’t forget to switch off all the lights and appliances at the wall unit (if you have this feature) and unplug chargers as they continue to consume even if they are not charging; saving energy helps reduce air pollution. Enjoy a night in with a candle lit dinner.
11. Napkins - Impress your dinner guests AND save the environment by banning the disposable napkin and getting out your Nanna's linen napkins!
12. Towel dry - Embrace the Japanese tradition of carrying a towel or handkerchief around in your bag and use towels for drying your face and hands instead of tissues that are used and thrown away. Also, hang your towels to dry so that they can be reused several times. You are after all clean when you use them!
13. Japanese vintage fan - Consider eco ways to stay cool - In the summer/warmer months, consider using an interior fan in conjunction with your window air-conditioner to spread the cooled air more effectively through your home. While you’re at it, in winter, lower your thermostat and put on a jumper. In summer, increase it and wear lighter clothes, you will also save money!
14. Vintage buttons - Learn to sew and make your own clothes cutting down on textile waste and reduce the carbon-emitting fashion production - and look super cute at the same time! Much better to make your own than clock up carbon-emissions by making road trips driving to op-shops! Visit Meet Me At Mikes for some crafty sewing tips.
15. Mug - Do you have a morning hot drink routine? Using a washable mug is an environmentally-friendly alternative to non-biodegradable styrofoam or plastic cups. See how our VOGUE Living team have embraced this challenge here, here and here.
Other prizes (not shown) are:
A set of playing cards - Build a community. Play charades. Have dinners with friends. Sing together. Enjoying each other costs the planet much less than enjoying its resources. Let's relearn to joke around and play in ways that cost nothing to our pocketbooks or our planet.
Handmade Recycled Notepad Handmade by Ebony (and Ebony's Dad! Thanks Dad!) - When you need a pad for lists and messages, turn over an old document and write on the back of that instead. If there isn’t an office recycling system, start one yourself! Recycling our trash actually contributes to reducing global warming emissions. And it is estimated that 75% of what is thrown in the trash could actually be recycled, though currently only 25% is.
Eco Cloth Bag - Don’t go anywhere without your cloth bag so you can just say no to plastic whenever you shop.
All of these special Eco Lucky Door Prizes come wrapped in floral furoshiki for re-use complete with Yayoi Kusama inspired 'Love Forever' eco badge handmade by Ebony and her Dad!
ECO WEBSITES
Some other sites you might find useful to help you on your eco journey are:
Be Green
Green at Work
Green Ups
Zero Waste
Sydney Flash Mob
One Hundred Months
Story of Stuff
Neco - Smart Green Living
THANK YOU so very much for reading this very long post! Our environment loves you for it!
Happy World Environment Day!
Love Love
Hello Sandwich (and) Hello Greenie!
xxx
Be Green
Green at Work
Green Ups
Zero Waste
Sydney Flash Mob
One Hundred Months
Story of Stuff
Neco - Smart Green Living
And...If you love our environment I think you will LOVE No Impact Man Blog. It's a blog by Colin Beavan about what each of us can do to end our environmental crisis, make a better place to live for ourselves and everyone else, and hopefully come up with a happier way of life along the way! Now doesn't that sound nice! You can see No Impact Man's Top Ten Eco-Lifestyle Changes Tips here.
THANK YOU so very much for reading this very long post! Our environment loves you for it!
Happy World Environment Day!
Love Love
Hello Sandwich (and) Hello Greenie!
xxx
Special thanks to my dad for the amazing photography, badge making skills and recycled notepads!