Travelling Sustainably For The Earth’s And Your Health
You have always used your time of travel as a way to get away from the mundane life of your 9-5 job.
No matter how much you like or dislike your job, the action of putting it all behind you and flying to a far-reaching destination for two weeks has always been a highlight of your year.
Have you noticed how you push all the positive day-to-day things you do at home to the side, whether it be going to therapy for your mental health or using a reusable shopping bag at your grocery store?
It doesn’t have to be this way.
There are things we can do to help to keep ourselves in a good mindset and treat the earth with the respect it needs to survive for the next generations to come.
Below are three changes you can make on your next trip to travel more sustainably and leave a smaller footprint on your vacation.
Choose A Climate Certified Luggage Brand
Before you book your ticket for your next trip you need to buy travel luggage that is durable, fashionable and is made with the earth in mind. Monos Travel and Luggage is a climate-neutral certified brand that also is part of 1% For The Planet, a philanthropy cause started by Yvon Chouinard the founder of Patagonia. Each Monos Carry-On and Compressible Packing Cube is made sustainably.
Reduce, Reuse & Recycle
Just because you are in a foreign land that speaks a foreign language, does not mean you need to forget everything you do in your regular life. Such things as working out, eating healthy and following your morning routine should follow you on your trip and be implemented in a form that is close to what you do at home. This is for the benefit of your mental health.
While on your travels you should always remind yourself you do not need to stock up on products and food because you will not be using them for months on end. Buy only enough to last you for the entirety of your trip.
And instead of buying one single-use water bottle each day, as you go sightseeing and take in all your new city has to offer, pick up a reusable water bottle that will be easy to carry with you each day. By doing this you can save around 10-15 water bottles a week from filling the landfills.
Finally, take a second and find out how the society you are in uses recycling and the best way to do it. The recycling bins may be different colours or shapes and the ability to recycle certain products may vary from where you are from. Just because it is ‘different’ doesn’t mean you should stop caring for the time you are away and throw away every single piece into the trash.
Take Public Transit
A beneficial way of lowering your carbon footprint when travelling is to use the local transit system and walk. No one country or city is the same in how they have built up their transit infrastructure, where a major town like Shanghai China has a vast system that is easy to use and quick while a small rural town in Idaho will most likely leave you with not many choices.
By using the system each city has, you will be able to take in more of the culture and see what the locals see, most likely giving you a break from the tourist attractions and high costs around them. But this will also cut down the use of single-serve Ubers and Taxis that pollute the air and leave a large carbon footprint.
As you can see from above, the value from thinking of sustainable travel doesn’t only help the plant, but it can add so much value to your trip on a mental and physical level.
So as you prepare for your next trip, grab that sustainable piece of luggage, pick up a reusable water bottle and plan your sightseeing using their transit system.
You will be glad you did!
