Angela Hamilton

I mean it is. But it shouldn’t be.

I wasn’t really planning to do any big “welcome to eco club” types of posts like some communities do. Which is why we’ve been live for two months and you didn’t see one. My last blog did more of that and I’m really committing to having less of this “here we are! Learn from us!” attitude and more of a here’s X talking about Y etc.

But if we were to have one, I guess this would be it.

I always feel a slight tinge of embarrassment when I do something like tell the bagger at the grocery store three times (do they get a kickback or something?) in earshot of other customers that, no seriously, I don’t need a bag. Like someone’s there saying, “Angela… Careful now, you’re eco is showing.”

I know I can be pretty self-conscious in general—add it to the list for when I finally do find a therapist—but let’s look at the evidence. As rapidly as our Insta-circles and conscious living communities seem to be growing, as relatively easy was it was for me to hunt down 200+ shops and counting for a guide I’m writing, as trendy as it is for brands to embrace eco—Madewell did just launch a line of semi-affordable sustainable swimwear, after all (which might raise a similar discussion to the one here, I think)—this whole green living thing is still pretty niche. Even the phrase “eco-friendly” is quite cutesy, no?

It’s the same foolishness I described here—it washes over me every time I mention “the environment” to people not immediately in my small circle of advocates. When a friend comes over and asks for paper towels but I point them toward cloth ones; when I go to a different friend’s home and ask them for their compost bin (at least they have them here in Seattle); when I ask if there are “for here” cups for a café’s iced beverages (it appears there is something wrong with putting ice in a mug)—I know that, at best, I seem a little quirky (the nicest possible term for “a bit of a joke”) and at worst, a little privileged, stuck up. But I am privileged. I am privileged enough to live in a society where I can choose not to waste. I can choose the materials I use. I can choose to ask for the things I want. And what am I, if I’m a privileged person who chooses not to make the better choice? I’m something far less cute than quirky, I think. I’m a great big part of a great big problem.

Further, if I’m passionate, motivated, and resourceful enough to share this, I can’t stop there. I can’t blame someone else for how I feel—which is in a way, a lack of confidence in voicing my values, in really, just being me, something that I’m aware is, like, the teeniest version ever of feeling like this part of me isn’t valued in society. I can get over that, truly.

It wasn’t until I was working on another piece, three days before launching our website, that it occurred to me that eco club is kind of my way of owning my quirks. Of taking back this feeling of judgment and saying, give me whatever weird hippie, tree-hugging, granola, snowflake label you want. Stick it all over me. I’ll wear it like a badge of honor. After I upload it to Photoshop and make it way cuter and add some pink.

And you know what I’ll do next? I’ll start a club.

So if you see yourself in any of this (like the guy I described our concept to while co-working last fall who said, “yeah, like you’re standing there thinking, how much longer am I going to spend scraping this jar of peanut butter, what difference is it really making”—especially when there’s actually too much recycling, and hey, isn’t it being diverted to a landfill here in Seattle, anyway?), I’m here to encourage you to lean into it. Maybe one day the quirk will become cool—we can all only hope advocating for a living planet becomes trendy, honestly—and maybe then it will become the norm… there are so many steps to it becoming the norm.

Ultimately, I wanted to create a place where we could not only teach others all the big things we learn on all our different journeys to a more sustainable lifestyle, but also go and talk about all the little quirks that go into it—and have a good laugh about it. Selfishly, I wanted a place to laugh about the time I chased down a flying napkin only to find out it did more harm than good, chat about why any sane 26-year-old would ever start building a tiny house in Montana in the dead of winter, and interview a rad new brand about making sustainable fashion more colorful.

I figured there must be enough of us by now who light up when we hear about hemp finally getting the respect it deserves, or are overcome with rage when we think about palm oil, that we could sit around and talk about it.

Even if you’re not totally there yet, and you’re clicking these links like wait—what?, It’s kinda nice you can do that all in one place, right?

And I mean, if there really aren’t enough yet, and we stay small, that’s okay too. At least now we have a place to go. Welcome to the club.

Happy May, all! In the last month, a lot of us have been adopting several small, positive habits to reduce our impact in our communities and at home. Our own contributors are also doing everything from building a tiny home (it’s not a contest, but yeah, she wins) to creating a conscious closet. Now, it’s time to see what the rest of our region, country, and world is doing. Here are a few of our favorite wins for the environment from the past month. I think the fourth one is my absolute fave positive news story!

1. In April, NYC passed the Climate Mobilization Act, which includes 10 bills and resolutions dedicated to combating climate change. It’s the largest effort that a single city has ever put forward for carbon reduction.

2. California took a stand on conservation. Last week, they denounced the administration’s cruel plan to strip protections from gray wolves. These wolves have been saved from the brink of extinction only because of over four decades of conservation efforts, including ESA protections. This species has only recently returned to California, and now the federal government poses a threat to its livelihood. Luckily, California Fish and Game Commission and lots of passionate CA citizens are stepping up where they fall short.

3. Oregon’s House Bill 2883 narrowly passed, and heads to the state Senate. This bill would ban polystyrene takeout containers, AKA styrofoam, statewide. Many cities have similar bans already, including Portland, but this would bring the rest of the state forward. We’ll keep our eyes on this one to see if it becomes another positive news story!

4. London Marathon runners hydrated with edible water pods instead of plastic water bottles in last weekend’s Marathon, which saw more than 41,000 participants. These pods are made of seaweed extracts contained by a thin membrane that is edible and biodegradable. It’s an innovative product created by London-based Skipping Rocks Lab.

5. Another plastic bag ban. If you didn’t catch this news at the very beginning of April, New York became the 2nd state (after California) to ban plastic bags, though it won’t be enacted until next spring. There are over 350 city-wide plastic bag bans in the US, but this is still a significant move. While a plastic bag ban is in no way a complete solution (I lived in California during this time frame), the CA ban saw positive results pretty much immediately. It’s also worth noting that while Hawaii doesn’t have an official statewide ban, all counties have actually banned it. Byeeee, plastic!

Do you have a positive news story about the environment to share? Let us know in the comments below! And if you come across any positive news during the month of May, be sure to DM us on Instagram to get it added to the list!