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Posts Tagged ‘Earth Day’

Textile Waste: A fashion faux pas

Posted in Healthy People, tagged , , , , , on April 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

jeans

It’s always great to see folks celebrate Earth Day! While April 22nd is reserved as the official celebration, there are lots of ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle all year long.

One area that might not come to mind right away is your closet. Did you know that in 2018, over 11 million tons of textile materials ended up in the landfill? Discarded clothing is the primary textile in this municipal solid waste stream, though footwear, sheets, blankets, towels, carpeting, and furniture textiles are also included in the category of solid waste. In total, textile materials account for nearly 8% of all landfill material.

According to the Council for Textile Recycling, the average American throws away 70 pounds of clothing and other textiles annually. Only 15% of used textiles are recycled, while 85% go to the landfill.

If you want to set a goal this year to minimize your textile waste, here are some steps you can take:

  1. Reduce. Choose not to purchase new clothes and items that you don’t really need. Consider shopping at secondhand stores when you do need to purchase new clothes.
  2. Reuse. If there are clothes or other textiles in your closet, dresser, or house that are in good condition but no longer fit or that you no longer wear, donate them to a local cause or sell them to a secondhand store.
  3. Recycle. If there are clothes in your closet or items in your house that are not in good enough condition to sell or donate (e.g., clothing or other garments with holes, tears, stains, or significant wear), look for a textile recycling option near you. Some retail stores and clothing brands offer textile recycling in-store or online, and some donation centers will accept unusable items for recycling. Depending on their condition, recycled textiles may be repurposed as secondhand clothing, converted into materials such as wiping rags, or broken down into fiber for home insulation, carpet padding and more.

Whether you choose to reduce your clothing purchases or sell, donate, or recycle your used clothing, minimizing textile waste is a goal we can all work toward in 2022!

Sources:

Council for Textile Recycling. The Lifecycle of Secondhand Clothing. https://www.weardonaterecycle.org/images/clothing-life-cycle.png

Harmony Enterprises, Inc. The facts about textile waste. https://harmony1.com/textile-waste-infographic/

United States Environmental Protection Agency (2021). Textiles: Material-Specific Data. https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data

Written by: Jenny Lobb, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, OSU Extension Franklin County

Reviewed by: Misty Harmon, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, OSU Extension Perry County

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Get Out! Celebrate Nature on Earth Day and Every Day

Posted in Healthy People, tagged , , , , , , on April 19, 2021| 2 Comments »

A great way to celebrate Earth Day is spending time outside and connecting with nature. Time in nature offers an easy and inexpensive way to increase your happiness, improve your mood, and feel part of something larger than yourself. Studies have shown that getting outside can:

  • Improve your memory and attention: After just an hour interacting with nature, memory performance and attention spans improved by 20%. In workplaces designed with nature in mind, employees are more productive and take less sick time.
  • Heal: Patients in hospital rooms with a view of trees had shorter stays and less need for pain medications compared to patients with views of brick.
  • Improve psychological well-being: Joggers who exercised in a natural green setting felt less anxious, angry, or depressed than people who jogged in an urban setting.
Child running outside under flowering trees

We also know from research that children who spend time outdoors are more likely to develop positive environmental attitudes and behaviors as adults. One of the best ways you can take care of our planet is to encourage children and youth to get outside.

Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, has created an expansive list of activities to encourage children to spend more time outdoors. Here are just a few ideas you can try with your children or grandchildren:

  1. Maintain a birdbath, grow native plants, or build a bat house. For more ideas, read National Audubon Society’s Invitation to a Healthy Yard.
  2. Collect lightning bugs at dusk and release them at dawn.
  3. Keep a terrarium or aquarium and learn about the plants and animals you observe.
  4. Be a cloud spotter; build a backyard weather station. A young person just needs a view of the sky. Check out The Kid’s Book of Weather Forecasting for more ideas.
  5. Encourage a “green hour” every day. Give kids a daily green hour that includes time outside, unstructured play, and interaction with the natural world.
  6. Collect stones. Even the youngest children love gathering rocks, shells, and fossils. Read Rock and Fossil Hunter by Ben Morgan together.
  7. Learn about and raise butterflies. Consider purchasing a monarch rearing kit and growing milkweed so you can hatch and release your own butterflies.
  8. Hang up a bird feeder and watch birds. Have them close their eyes and just listen. For more tips, check out National Audubon Society’s Easy Ways to Get Kids Birding and Bird Sleuth Investigator from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

No matter what you do while you are outdoors, remember that simply going outside is the most important step. Despite all the positive benefits of being outdoors, according to the EPA, Americans spend approximately 90% of their time indoors. On this Earth Day, make a pledge to get out more and bring some young people with you. Nurturing the next generation of our planet’s caretakers is a perfect way to celebrate!

References:

Bratman, G. N., Daily, G. C., Levy, B. J., & Gross, J. J. (2015). The benefits of nature experience: Improved affect and cognition. Landscape and Urban Planning, 138, 41-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.02.005

Louv, R. (2008). Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Taylor, A. & Kuo, M. (2006). Is contact with nature important for healthy child development? state of the evidence. Children and their Environments: Learning, Using and Designing Spaces. 124-140.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511521232.009

Ulrich, R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224 (4647), 420–421. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.6143402

Wells, N. M. & Lekies, K. S., (2006). Nature and the life course: Pathways from childhood nature experiences to adult environmentalism. Children, Youth and Environments, 16 (1), 41663.

Written by: Laura M. Stanton, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Warren County, stanton.60.osu.edu.

Reviewed by: Shari Gallup, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Licking County, gallup.1@osu.edu.

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Earth Day & Arbor Day – two days in April to honor our Earth!

Posted in Healthy People, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 21, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Plant a TreeDo you remember planting a tree for Arbor Day?  Do you know the meaning of Arbor Day?  This day was set aside for tree planting back in 1872 by J. Sterling Morton. He was a pioneer who traveled from Detroit, Michigan to Nebraska. The pioneers missed their trees and decided to set aside a day for tree planting.  The trees were important for fuel, to keep soil in place, for wind breaks, for building supplies and to offer shade from the hot sun. Want to learn more & see pictures of this historical day? Check out this brief online book.  Arbor Day History

As a young child I remember watching our principal plant a tree in the school yard in honor of Arbor Day.  Every year a new tree was planted and a little ceremony held discussing the importance of trees. Check out this interactive map and find out when your state celebrates Arbor Day.

Did you know that Earth Day started in 1970 to raise awareness of environmental issues such as clean air, climate change and clean water? In four years, we will celebrate the 50th Earth Day. Both of these special days encourage us to increase our awareness of our environment and to honor and nurture a wonderful natural resource, trees.

What can you do to honor our Earth?

  • Plant a tree
  • Plant a garden
  • Plant herbs
  • Teach a child about Earth Day
  • Take a hike in nature
  • Take a few moments to enjoy the beauty of spring
  • Pick up trash along the roadways
  • Plan an excursion to a National or State park
  • Read a story about planting trees
  • Schedule a tree planting in your neighborhood
  • Organize a tree identification hike
  • Teach a child about Arbor Day
  • Volunteer with a local tree planting organization
  • Find out the state tree for your state. Hint: Ohio’s state tree is the Buckeye.

Arbor Day

Did you know that college campuses can meet standards to become a Tree Campus? I was happy to see that Ohio State University met the standards to be a Tree Campus.

Does your favorite university honor Arbor Day? 

Writer: Michelle Treber, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Pickaway County, treber.1@osu.edu

Reviewer: Carol Chandler, Regional Program Specialist, SNAP-ED, Ohio State University Extension, chandler.4@osu.edu

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