When it comes to climate change and environmental sustainability, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the doom and gloom. As consumers, we often feel powerless to have any real impact. I’m a big believer in the power of small steps, so today I’m sharing some of the little wins and green innovations I’ve seen over the last few months.

My goal in sharing these ideas is to inspire you to support businesses that are making an impact, and to seek out similar innovations in your area.

Disclaimer: This is not a paid endorsement of any of these products or companies.

Celebrating small wins and green innovations

Living in Canada, I’m often dismayed that other countries seem to be far ahead of us when it comes to green innovations. Every once in a while, I see something that gets me excited and gives me hope. Let’s look at some of the things I’ve seen recently.

The return and expansion of BYOC programs

I’ve written before about how Bring Your Own Container (BYOC) programs are a great way to reduce our household plastic use. Sadly, many BYOC programs were put on hold during the pandemic. Over the last few months, I’ve been excited to see these programs reinstated, and even expanded. Here are some examples I’ve seen.

• The Body Shop has finally brought their Refill Program to Canada, letting customers purchase aluminum containers and refill them with their most popular products.
• Bulk Barn has introduced Sustainable Sundays, giving customers using their own containers and bags a 15% discount on all regular-priced products.
• Starbucks and Tim Hortons—two of Canada’s most popular coffee chains—have again started letting customers bring in their own mugs. As an added bonus, they offer a $0.10 discount for customers who using refillable mugs. McDonald’s has also recently started allowing refillable mugs again, also giving a $0.10 discount.

Puppy poop power

Creating energy out of dog poop? That’s exactly what our neighbours in the city of Waterloo, Ontario are doing.

A puppy poop collection program put in place in 2017 has diverted 41,000 kilograms of dog waste—that’s close to 100,000 pounds—from local landfills. That’s enough to power 25 homes for a year.

Now that’s what I call green innovation!

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Recycling ink cartridges and office supplies

In my quest for a green home office, I refilled my printer ink cartridges for years. As there are fewer refill options available these days, I’ve had to start buying ink cartridges again. When I went to Staples recently, I was thrilled to see they collect many other plastic items for recycling, including pens and markers.

Now I keep a bin on my desk to collect my pens, markers, highlighters and ink cartridges for recycling.

Creative uses of recycled plastic

Much as we’d like to, it’s unlikely we’ll ever eliminate all single-use plastic from our lives. That’s why I’m always so excited to see innovative uses for recycled plastic. Here are a few cool examples I’ve seen that are made from recycled plastic bottles:

• Sakroots makes wallets, purses and bags out of recycled materials. I have a couple of wallets made by this company and they are awesome.
• Rothy’s was the first example I saw of clothing items made from recycled water bottles. I have a pair of their shoes and I can’t believe how durable and comfortable they are.
• Fast fashion gets a bad rap, and for good reason. However, you have to feel encouraged when you see brands making sincere efforts toward sustainability. During a recent trip to the supermarket, I noticed that Joe Fresh is making t-shirts out of recycled plastic. Definitely a step in the right direction.    
• Finally, my friend Cher over at The Chicago Files, told me she recently bought shoes with shoelaces made from recycled plastic.

Kudos to these companies for taking steps toward a more sustainable future. As consumers, we can choose to accept the status quo, or we can speak with our wallets and support businesses that make a difference. If enough people choose green, other companies will have no choice but to get on board!

Have you seen any green innovations lately? Please tell us about them below.