Canada's Environmental Voice
The world of eyewear is rife with mass-produced, label-driven brands, but if you search beyond the nearest chain or big-box store, you will likely find some truly remarkable glasses. As the buyer for Insight Eye Care, an independent optometry and optical boutique in Waterloo, Ontario, I have had the opportunity […]
H&M H&M was the first major retailer to establish a garment collection program to reclaim used clothes. Some donated items are currently recycled into yarn for new garments. H&M hopes to soon make clothing with 100-per-cent-recycled yarn.
Picture this: You’re out for an evening paddle on a clear, crisp night but it’s getting a little chilly, so you reach into your backpack and pull out 25 two-litre plastic bottles to wrap cosily around you. While this sounds far-fetched, it’s pretty much what happens when you pull on […]
New buildings, new roads and new bridges: In Poland, growth seems to be everywhere. The streets bustle with energy, purpose and the feeling of people striving for a better future – but the country’s need to safeguard its environment on its journey to prosperity is creating challenges Canadians will recognize.
THE FASHION INDUSTRY has a serious environmental footprint. Cotton, one of the most popular fabrics in the world, uses a significant amount of pesticides, while many textile preservatives and disposal methods cause pollution. Animals are exploited in order to help generate a profit, and many workers are placed in extremely harsh […]
This past June, while attending a food-related conference in Burlington, Vermont, I inevitably found myself looking for somewhere decent to eat near campus. After asking around a bit, I was surprised to hear how many people recommended the hospital. Hospital food generally evokes the same reaction as airplane food. It’s […]
At first it can be tricky to pin down what Sustainable Waterloo Region does. That’s not to say the volunteer-fuelled non-profit doesn’t share its own success story well. It’s that SWR’s influence is naturally understated, an unseen support beam to the goals and achievements of other businesses trying to cut […]
The mountain pine beetle has arrived in western Canada in what Canadian Geographic has described as “a slow-moving tsunami,” and Canada’s boreal forest is at risk of potential obliteration if the destruction continues to spread. An unfortunate perfect storm of climate change and decades of improved fire suppression have given […]
Summer is sadly drawing to a close and visions of leftover potato salad and backyard BBQs are fading away into the distant past – much like the toothsome memories of taut plastic wrap protecting my leftovers and potentially poisoning me with its unique mix of toxins and endocrine disrupters.
