There is power in numbers.
And the Sierra Club, with
its 3.5 million members
and supporters, galvanizes
them through campaigns
and organized lobbying
for sustainability and
environmental change.
As Sonya Lunder, senior
toxics adviser for the
organization’s Gender,
Equity & Environment
program, explains,
“Generally, we’re thinking
about changing the laws
at the state, national, and
even the local level.” But
that doesn’t mean every
change has to go through
Congress. “With online
activism, suddenly that
loop is closing and
an individual person can
communicate directly
with a company and say,
‘We’re watching you,’”
says Lunder. “With Twitter
and online organizing,
so many more people can
participate and petition
and put them on action.
People can alter purchasing
practices in their school
district or in their city.
Actions can pressure a
retailer to change the way
something is packaged or
to change the products
they sell.” See suggestions
on sierraclub.org, which
has a petition to eliminate
plastic bags at Safeway
and Albertsons as well as
instructions on how to
call your senator and ask
them to support the
Green New Deal (more on
that next).
Eleven years. That’s how long the world has to limit global
warming, according to a report by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change. If that sounds medieval in its
horror, then meet the crusaders: In February, Representa-
tive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Edward Markey
presented a Green New Deal resolution to help support
change. Their plan prioritizes net-zero greenhouse-gas
emissions and securing clean air and water by decarboniz-
ing electricity, transportation, and industry; restoring natu-
ral ecosystems; and upgrading buildings and electricity
grids for a more sustainable future. As with any proposal, it
needs support to get anywhere—and that’s where you
come in. Calling your representatives and being specific
about the issue or bill in question, making your voice heard,
and voting for people who advocate for issues you believe
in are the best ways to enact meaningful change.
THE
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ
AND EDWARD MARKEY
Because online activists or not, we have to get
the government on board.
T
H
E
SONYA LUNDER,
SIERRA CLUB
Because you should never
underestimate online
activists and grassroots
campaigns.
You can’t commit to loving the climate without three crucial words:
mixed-material objects. We’re talking about things like lotion pumps made of
both plastic and metal coils. Collecting and sorting these materials costs
more than the items themselves. So TerraCycle takes objects that cannot be
categorized into a standard sorting bin (toothbrushes) or even things nor-
mally tossed in the garbage (cigarette butts, candy wrappers) and makes it
happen. “When we think about recycling,” says Rhandi Goodman, the global
vice president of Zero Waste at TerraCycle in Trenton, New Jersey, “most peo-
ple just think of what they collect curbside. In reality, everything can be recy-
cled; it’s just a matter of being able to sort and separate. At TerraCycle, we
have a team of scientists to develop the recycling process for these items.”
Step one: providing packaging recycling for companies (some of them
beauty brands) that use mixed materials. Two: showing them how to use sus-
tainable materials in their products. Three: achieving zero waste through a
new program called Loop that refills existing durable packaging. For instance,
TerraCycle worked with Bausch + Lomb to implement a recycling program for
its contact lenses and blister packs. Admittedly, this process is expensive. But
companies who have joined TerraCycle (40,000 and growing) have worked
not just to make their own products recyclable but also to fund their catego-
ries. “Our national free recycling program is funded by major brands and
allows consumers to collect and send their waste to TerraCycle for recycling
at no cost to the consumer,” says Goodman.
THE
RHANDI GOODMAN, TERRACYCLE
Because everything can be recycled.
PLANET BEAUTY
89 , 333
PEOPLE AND
COUNTING
HAVE SIGNED
THE SIERRA
CLUB’S
ONLINE
PETITION TO
SUPPORT
THE GREEN
NEW DEAL.
90 ALLURE MAY 20 19
GETTY IMAGES (3)
