When a person researches topics related to How To Go Green In The Home, the #1 search result typically reveals something directly related to electricity (use LED lighting, for example). But what many people do not realize is that there are several other ways to go green. We’ve highlighted three that we think you might enjoy learning more about.
Grow Local, Share Local
LEO reached out to Pineal, whose mission is to use nature to increase the health of our planet and everything that’s living on it. Founded in Louisville, KY by Noah Curtis, Pineal offers assistance in building raised beds for veggie and herb gardens and also helps the local community in creating trade stations, which essentially are plant stands that community members put outside their home, school, small business, church, etc., as a swap point to share and trade homegrown produce, seeds, houseplant cuttings, plant starts, backyard chicken eggs and other gardening goodies. Curtis started building them in his dad’s driveway, and now stations are available nationwide and are helping grow healthier, more sustainable communities.
Curtis believes this movement can change the world by working with the community rather than waiting on someone else to fix the problem. Issues such as limited access to healthy local produce, the amount of waste that modern agriculture produces, the decreasing biodiversity in our communities due to lack of habitat, and just the lack of local networks and the community-helping-community way of thinking and operating. Curtis noted, “There seems to be a lot of hate in the world today. I think it’s very hard to hate someone who helps feed our family and I am hopeful that Pineal trade stations can bring a little more love into our lives today.”
He further commented, “If we start growing our own fresh produce and trading and growing flower gardens as much as we did grass, we could really do amazing things in uplifting the community and our planet. I also believe that working with our community just brings a little more joy to our lives as humans, and I think that is something we all need in what seems to be a revolving door of negativity everywhere you look.”
While it may not fit the traditional going green way, with grocery prices skyrocketing and taxes at an all-time high, growing your own produce, veggies, and herbs can make a huge difference in the bottom line over time, and if you happen to have more than you need, use a trade station to better someone else’s situation! The Louisville Pineal Community Facebook group is a great group to join to learn more about this unique and vital service being offered to the community.
The Dangers Of Fast Fashion
Fast fashion is a business model that encourages low-cost, high-volume, and low-quality products with the idea that trendy clothing will be accessible to all people but will be discarded just as quickly due to being out of fashion (or poorly made), counting on the need to be replaced with another low-cost but fashion-forward item. Some of the popular fast fashion companies are Shein, Temu, Zara, and even local stores such as H&M and Forever 21. This isn’t to say that some of the clothing purchased from these companies isn’t decent or needed clothing, but the business model is built to outsource to low labor areas, mass produce for cheap, and sell with the intent that it won’t last long. (Sounds familiar to our appliances that are built to break in 4-7 years.)
Landfills are being overwhelmed by clothing that is being tossed out. According to earth.org, the average US consumer throws away 81.5 lbs of clothes every year. And if you think that you’ll order the item and just return it, that’s not going to save the planet. Most of the items returned to retailers from consumers end up in landfill. This is mainly because it costs more for the company to put them back in circulation than to get rid of them. Retailers often dispose of returned items in landfills because it’s more cost-effective than reintroducing them into the market.
So what is the solution? If you are a fashion and trendy fan and like the concept of fast fashion because it is on-point with the latest trends, sign up with companies such as ThreadUp, The RealReal, or even Stitch Fix, which does require a subscription, but you receive a virtual personal stylist. These companies allow you to receive tailored boxes of clothing and accessories that fit your style, wear them for a brief period to keep up with the trends, and then send them back into the fashion rotation to be passed on down the line. The more feedback you give, the better the boxes are, so you typically end up receiving high-quality, good-fitting, and fashionable clothing in the end. If you are looking just to empty the 10% of your closet that you never wear but still want to make a few bucks, try selling to a local vintage or flea market consignment store. Are you a UofL student or employee? Visit the UofL Free Store, which is open during semesters and is staffed by volunteer students and interns, which promotes the ongoing free exchange of clean, functional, durable items like clothing, shoes, accessories, housewares & kitchen items, linens, bath/beauty/cleaning supplies, electronics, small appliances, books, school & art supplies, and more.
Regardless of which direction you go, tossing old clothes is not the green solution – so jump off the fast fashion trend and try a resale store instead.
No-Waste Groups
There are innumerable amounts of no-waste groups that can be found on the internet, trading kitchen appliances to clothing items to unwanted snacks that might otherwise go to waste. But the result is the same: no-waste groups exist to do just that, limit their waste to avoid unnecessary landfill contributions. Whether the items are gently used, new, or broken and just wanted for parts or scrap, everyone is looking to accomplish the same goal. Many groups are free to swap or take and actually make it part of their rules. The old idiom, One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, is tried and true with these groups. Take a look and see how you can improve your sustainability by joining in on the fun. Do be prepared to do some scrolling and searching though!
While these are just a few options available to the public on other ways to go green this year, there are many other solutions out there. A basic internet search will reveal top 10 lists from several companies. You don’t have to invest a lot of money to get started. You can begin with basic recycling and then see how you can further lessen your carbon footprint as you jump on the go green bandwagon.
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This article appears in Mar 28 – Apr 3, 2025.