Now that you understand what an ecological footprint is (see the article “What is the ecological footprint?” to find out more), you can try to reduce it with simple tips, tricks and tips. To maintain the greatest transparency, it is important to mention that obviously the efforts of a single household will not be enough to tip the scales overnight. However, one person's actions lead to another, then another, then another, and so on. Although you may not think you see change now, every action has an impact and taken together, these actions can make a meaningful change.

Reduce your ecological footprint at home

Gas emissions from Canadian household have been constant for several decades. It must be said that despite the global climate situation, no Canadian citizen has been informed of new measures aimed at reducing our consumption. In 2019, this consumption amounted to 43 megatons of CO2 produced by Canadian homes. The solutions to reduce this inglorious relationship are known and rather simple to implement in our daily lives: 

• Reduce your water consumption by taking shorter showers and avoiding taking baths as much as possible
•  Take slightly cooler showers to reduce household electricity consumption · Practice recycling and composting 
• Reduce your use of the dryer and hang out your clothes more often (Perfect for our Merino Wool Beanie - Thuya that doesn’t go in the dryer)
• Turn off lights in unused rooms
• Reduce the heating of the house and more particularly the heating of unoccupied rooms 
• Use simple-to-use products as little as possible such as paper towels, cotton buds, etc.à

Reduce the impact of your alimentary consommation

Although we can be proud of many things in Canada, our food consumption and especially our food waste are not one of them. Unfortunately, the average Canadian throws away 79 kg of food per year. That’s 20 kg heavier than an American! Our consumption, often focused on ultra-processed products and meat products, also contributes enormously to our ecological footprint as Canadians : 

• Reduce your consumption of red meat (beef, pork, lamb, etc.) and ideally replace it with plant products, white meats (poultry, pork, veal) or seafood (fish, seafood, etc.) 
• Reduce the purchase of ultra-processed products 
• Encourage food products from Quebec, or at least Canada
• Buy products such as grains, cereals, vegetables in bulk to minimize the use of unnecessary, plastic and disposable packaging

Pollute less with your travels

In 2019, transportation was the second largest source of CO2 emissions in the country. So high that they practically match the quantity of CO2 emitted by oil and gas exploitation. With an emission of 60 megatons for the transport of goods by truck, 51 megatons for the transport of passengers by light truck, 35 megatons for the transport of passengers by car, 12 megatons for the transport of goods by plane, train and boat and 18 megatons for the transport of passengers by plane, bus, train and motorcycles as well as for the “Other” category, there is room to find solutions: 

• Reduce your car trips as much as possible
• Encourage carpooling to avoid taking your car alone
• Consider buying a smaller or electric car, and therefore possibly less polluting 
• Use public transportation as much as possible when possible 
• Avoid air travel when possible

Reduce your ecological footprint when shopping

Every day we buy products of all kinds for the home, friends, children and also to treat ourselves. This consumption, which is even the basis of our economic system, is however very rarely eco-responsible. With international mass production and all the information that consumers ignore, it is easy to get lost and continue our harmful consumption habits :

• Use reusable bags when shopping, especially when going to the grocery store (Shipping bags from our partner, Another Land Nearby are meant for reusing them)
• Use bamboo or metal straws instead of plastic ones
• Give up plastic water bottles and opt for reusable ones 
• Buy reusable glass or plastic dishes for “lunches” as opposed to already prepared meals 
• Favor buying second-hand clothes that you can find in “thrift shops” or thrift stores
• Favor local products (Like Greener Locals?!)
• Encourage companies producing eco-responsible products (Like us?!)
• Favor products designed using eco-responsible raw materials (see the “Raw materials” section in the Greener Locals Newspaper to read more and the Greener Locals Shop to see more)