Positive News for a Positive Planet; No 3

It's that time of the week where I round up the positive news stories from the week. There are lots of positive things happening from festivals banning plastic, to retailers needing to discuss sustainability more seriously! Enjoy...

Refill lunches to make a comeback #LongLivetheLunchBox - Numerous independent cafes and restaurants in the UK are allowing people to bring their reusable lunchboxes to help tackle single-use plastic. Places taking part will display a pink 'we accept containers here'. To find your nearest follow the map here

Water-free system dyes fabric with CO2 - Did you ever think it would be possible to dye clothes without water? I certainly didn't but a Dutch company have created a new dying technique using compressed CO2 instead of water. Check out the video in the link.

Glastonbury bans single use plastic - This year Glastonbury will ban the sale of all single use plastics. That includes backstage, dressing rooms or production. In 2017 a staggering 1.3 million bottles were used at the festival so diverting this many products from use is absolutely incredible!

Restaurants need to get on board with waste - A study has revealed that if restaurants invested £1 into cutting food waste they could make up to £7 profit. Proving that there really is a business case for all businesses to help reduce their food waste.

Etsy to offset global shipping emissions - Etsy have made the commitment to offset all of their carbon emissions from shipping its products which make up 98% of Etsy's total emissions.

Australia plan to plant 1 billion trees - Although Australia are doing some seriously shady stuff around the coral reef at the moment they have recently pledged to plant 1 billion trees by 2050. The scheme is part of a new National Forest Industries Plan to help remove green houses gases. 

Meghan Markle tackles race in University - Did you know that of the 19.000 professors recorded in Britain only 90 were black men and 25 were black women. TWENTY FIVE! The numbers are horrendous but Megham Markle is taking on the academic system and calling for change. 

Zipcar reach 250,000 members - Zipcar which has over 2,600 electric vehicles in the UK has reached over 250,000 members. With such success, especially in the cities who knows if shared services may be the future of how we use vehicles, bikes and electronics.

Retailers admit to needing to do more around sustainability - UK and Irish retailers have admitted there is "more to do" surrounding sustainability in fashion following the publication of the environmental audit committees report. And its about time!

5 foods you can regrow at home to cut back on waste - There are lots of reasons to grow your own vegetables, from reducing your food miles to getting to experience growing what you like. Here are 5 easy foods to regrow from your food waste.

Algae may be used in future construction  - French architech have designed a new tower black for the Chinese city of Hangzhou which uses algae to absorb CO2. The feature called biofacade is a little like double glazing but instead of air between 2 glass panes there is algae and water. The use should help offset the buildings environmental impact. Although the project is yet to be approved there is a similar one in Paris that has been given the go ahead. 

A fat rat got stuck 😊 - because sometimes you just need to see a little fat rat in Germany being rescued after it got stuck in a hole!

Hope you enjoyed this week. Do you have any positive news?

Erin