Tomorrow is World Earth day, an event that aims to “diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day in 1970, EARTHDAY.ORG is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 75,000 partners in over 190 countries to drive positive action for our planet.”- so you just know this is a movement where are 100% behind here at Little Soap. This year, the theme is Restore Our Earth, with an emphasis on supporting local communities and helping out in areas that are disproportionately affected by environmentally issues. So this week we’re looking into the history behind World Earth Day, how natural soap bars are better for the environment- and how you are too are doing your bit by supporting us.
51 years of action
Last year World Earth Day marked its 50th year anniversary, a celebration of the day back in 1970, when 20 million activists in America got together to campaign for a better future for us all. 190 countries were involved in the mission to bring environmental issues to the forefront and by 1990 the movement had become global. This meant that 200 million people were now supporting World Earth Day, with 141 countries fighting to raise awareness of the need to protect our planet. Today, World Earth Day engages more than 1 billion people each year, all united in a common purpose.
“Now, the fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more and more apparent every day…
The social and cultural environments we saw in 1970 are rising up again today — a fresh and frustrated generation of young people are refusing to settle for platitudes, instead taking to the streets by the millions to demand a new way forward. Digital and social media are bringing these conversations, protests, strikes and mobilizations to a global audience, uniting a concerned citizenry as never before and catalyzing generations to join together to take on the greatest challenge that humankind has faced.”
https://www.earthday.org/history/
Where does soap come into it?
World Earth Day has a very clear message: change starts with action, no matter how small. And those small changes can snowball into bigger and bigger movements that will lead to bigger changes. We all have somewhere to start, and these ‘small acts of green’ are always appreciated, no matter how small or insignificant they might seem. The small changes that you make each and every time you choose which products to invest your money into can actually have a huge impact on our planet- here are just three ways that bar soap is making a difference, thanks to you.
1 Our bar soap encourages less waste. Quite simply, bar soap lasts a lot longer than liquid soaps and means that you spend less on unnecessary products with excessive packaging (and ingredients that potentially cause harm to the planet… but more on that later!). Here at Little Soap we actually have a 100% plastic-free supply chain, which means that the only time we use plastic when packaging up our orders, is if we’ve received it from somewhere else and are re-using it. We use cardboard for our outer cases and online orders are sent out in boxes, paper wrap and shredded or zigzag paper- all of which are biodegradable.
2 Our bar soap is made using only natural and organic ingredients. We never use synthetic fragrances or additives that can be harmful to you, or to the planet. We do not test on animals and are certified cruelty free. We are also accredited by the Vegan Society and all ingredients for each soap bar can be found clearly on our website. You know what you’re getting with Little Soap, and you know that it will not contribute to the destruction of our planet.
Our natural body soap
We’re very proud that all the ingredients we use in our soaps are of the highest quality, non-toxic and biodegradable. Our soap doesn’t impact marine life and it’s just as safe to use it to wash in a jungle. Every bar is proper soap (not detergent) with no nasties- it has always been that way, and it will always remain that way too.
3 The carbon footprint of a bar soap is much lower. The energy needed to produce liquid soap packaged in a plastic bottle and transported after manufacturing is much higher than compared to our bar soap. Quite simply, liquid soap is heavier than bar soap due to the water content, making it more difficult to move around. This means that when it comes to liquid soap, the impact of getting the product from factory to shelf alone is much more damaging to the environment- never mind the impact that unnatural ingredients can have on the planet too.
We’re not saying that using bar soap alone is enough to make a huge impact on the environment- but remember we’re talking about small, achievable steps we can take to illicit bigger changes overall. So, starting with soap is a great place to start, don’t you think?
