Eight Earth-Friendly Tips for Kids this Earth Day

If you want to learn more about how to save the earth, ask your children. More than half of parents surveyed felt that their children know more about sustainable living than they do, and nearly three quarters have been reprimanded by their kids for not supporting sustainable practices.

Earth Day is April 22

Earth Day began with the younger generation in mind. It originally started in the United States as a movement on college campuses, and the day – April 22 – was strategically chosen to maximize student participation between spring break and final exams. Earth Day has since grown into a global movement, engaging more than 1 billion people across 193 countries.

Sustainability is a Year-Round Effort

While Earth Day is a galvanizing event that shines the spotlight on what we can do to help protect the earth’s resources, there are things companies are doing every day to support a sustainable planet.

At Carnation Breakfast Essentials®, we are:

• Working on sustainable packaging initiatives. Our goal is to have 100% of our packaging be recyclable or reusable by the year 2025. Recently we have changed over the packaging of our Original, High Protein and Light Start® nutritional drinks to Tetra Pak®, a paper-based carton made from responsibly sourced wood fiber that meets the environmental and social standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). By moving to Tetra Pak® cartons, Carnation Breakfast Essentials® helps eliminates over 3.8 million pounds of plastic per year while still providing the same serving size.
   
• Sourcing sustainable ingredients. For example, the cocoa used in kid-approved Rich Milk Chocolate and Cookies n’ Creme flavors is 100% sustainably sourced and certified by the Rainforest Alliance.

What You Can Do

By changing packaging and ingredient sourcing, companies can make a big impact on promoting a sustainable planet. But change happens at home, too. If every person or family did just a little bit to support sustainability, the benefits to our planet could be huge.

Here are eight Earth Day tips you and your kids can do at home or in your community right now to protect our planet:

1. Recycle at home. Learn what can be recycled in your neighborhood and sort those out from the regular trash. See if your family can reduce the amount of landfill waste you generate each week by sorting out what can be recycled instead.
    
2. Use reusable shopping bags. In addition to toting our groceries home in reusable shopping bags, we can also use mesh bags for produce or reusable containers for bulk items. Keep a stash of bags in your car for unplanned shopping trips.
    
3. Sip through a reusable straw. Single-use straws are a landfill nightmare. Get in the habit of carrying around your own reusable straw so you can sip your drink stress-free. Many can be collapsed and placed in their own carrying case that you clip to your backpack or belt loop, or toss in your purse.
    
4. Bring your own reusable cup for coffee and fountain drinks. Take sustainable sipping one step further by getting in the habit of bringing your own refillable mug or tumbler when you need a refresher. Some places even give you a small discount for your efforts!
    
5. Take part in a cleanup effort. Picking up litter will give you a whole new appreciation for how much waste there is and what we can do better to conserve our resources. Get involved in a local cleanup effort, or simply pick a day and a nearby spot, don a pair of protective gloves, grab a bag and see how much trash you can collect.
    
6. Reduce food waste. It takes energy and resources to bring food to your home – it’s a shame to have that food go to waste. If you have leftovers from a meal, you can eat them as a lunch the next day or make them into something fun! For example, last night’s chicken breast can be used in tomorrow’s tacos. And instead of throwing food scraps away, turn them into compost, which helps create nutrient-rich soil for plants.
    
7. Turn off lights. Electricity is a scare resource, too. Be sure to turn off lights when you leave a room and use timers when you are travelling but want your home to look lived-in.
    
8. Take shorter showers. This may be a hard sell for teens, but shorter showers save water. Another way to save water is to turn off the sink when brushing teeth or lathering your hands with soap.