Happy Earth Day! Learn How We Celebrate Every Day (And How You Can Too)

Happy Earth Day! On this day, we reflect upon our consumption and practices that affect the planet. More specifically, many use this day to spread awareness about pollution.

Yet, every day is Earth Day for us–we’re always looking for ways to help lower our carbon footprint and decrease our negative impact on the planet. You may not see every decision that we make, but trust us, it’s on our minds 24/7!

And although we have taken quite a few steps in the right direction, we will continue to step forward in our commitment to the planet.

To celebrate Earth Day, let’s promise to BOTH evaluate our practices. We’ll start with ours and then move onto what you can do, too.

How Are We Doing?

First things first, our main job here at Purium is to provide vegan, organic nutrition to the masses – which is not just a health mission. Did you know that eating a plant-based diet is good for the environment? In fact, one study suggests this diet could help add 49% to global food supply while reducing emissions and waste (1).

Keep this in mind as you read along.

What You Already Know

You might have noticed that we have spoken quite a bit about our practices in the past few weeks. We want to be completely transparent about our actions. Here’s a quick rundown of our own practices that we’ve covered:

• We stopped shipping plastic scoops in our products and re-structured our measuring system to decrease our contributions to plastic pollution.
• We offer plastic-free alternative packaging for some of our best-selling products. We call them Terra Pouches and they can be composted and buried into dirt after use. You can learn more about them here in our Earth Hour blog.
• We discourage use of one-time-use plastic materials in our corporate office.
• We began an education campaign, motivating and inspiring others to recycle and repurpose their Purium containers after use. If you have tips, let us know in the comments.

And there’s also one super important thing that we do that is often overlooked. It’s our entire business of selling superfoods!

What You Might Not Even Think About

What?! You see, Co-Founders Amy Venner-Hamdi and Dave Sandoval kept environmental sustainability in mind when they first launched Purium.

They wanted to provide superfood nutrition to as many people as possible, but didn’t want to create a T-Rex-sized carbon footprint. So, they came up with a solution: superfood blends!

Let us explain.

When you receive your favorite product in the mail, you may not think about the journey that it took to your doorstep or how that affects the environmental at all. In reality, it adds up quite a bit–especially considering shipments are being sent to multiple people every day.

At Purium, most of our products are freeze-dried powders. Powdered blends are much easier on the environment for a couple of reasons:

• Our network of farmers harvest the fresh ingredients and then dry it and make it into a powder on site, before it is shipped – so no refrigeration is ever needed.
• These products last longer when compared to produce. That means you don’t have to throw anything away quickly and go out and replenish by buying more. They won’t last forever though, so check your expiration dates. Sorry, we don’t use binders or fillers!
• Shipping coconut water blends instead of liquids helps cut down on the plastic waste. (Have you ever thought about how much plastic could be wasted when shipping liquids, especially water)?

Plus, our dedication to non-GMO products was also a move to stay green.

Pesticides and Environmental Damage

To help illustrate, let’s take a look at our own products. Let’s say your favorite Purium product is Green Spectrum (good choice). Green Spectrum is made with the freshest greens, like organic kale and alfalfa leaf juice. We get ours from super cool farmers, who stay away from harmful practices.

Some of these practices include using harmful pesticides, like glyphosate. Both The Environmental Working Group (EWG) and The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) suggest these methods could contribute to emissions and greenhouse gases (especially in the meat industry). Having this kind of effect on the environment is not our style.

(If you’d like to learn more about this, The Scientific American published a great article here.) 

It was a really a win-win for us to turn our back on GMO’s.

What Else Are We Working On?

So, we said that there’s much more that we want to do. What does that include?

Well, we hope to offer Terra Pouches options for most (if not all) of our products. But that will depend on you. As Dave likes to say, vote with your dollars. If you like Terra Pouches and would like to see more, keep purchasing those options. Spread the word. Maybe even put your favorite on Smart Order. 

Secondly, we’re hoping to work on our shipping contents and system. We definitely see the discussions surrounding our use of packing paper when shipping pouches. Those papers help maintain the integrity of your items, protecting from punctures and other damages. We encourage you to re-use this material when gifting presents or as books covers for your children’s textbooks.

We’re actively searching for ways to decrease our waste, and of course, we’ll keep you updated.

But enough but us…it’s your turn. Here are some things that can help you make Earth Day, every day!

Tips to Celebrate Earth Day

Here are some ways you can celebrate Earth Day and protect the planet.

• Go meat and dairy free once a day. This may be the biggest thing you can do to help the environment. Meat and dairy products impact global emissions in a huge way. If we were to downgrade the demand of meat and dairy, it would force that industry to downgrade its practices or invest in eco-friendly ones.
• Use re-usable bags at the grocery store. Okay, this should go without saying…but somhow people are taking their time in adopting this practice. So, we’re saying it again!
• Don’t just go green with food, go green with all your purchases. Do your research and buy more earth-friendly products.
• Be kind to the birds and bees. Okay, we’re talking about the ACTUAL birds and bees. Bees are having a tough time right now, so plant some flowers for them! In your little garden, why not install a birdhouse? Encourage animal-life in your yard instead of contributing to their demise.
• Give your car or motor vehicle a break. Take the bus or use a bike to run your errands for one day of the week. It will help cut down on your emissions output.

Together, we can make a difference!