Last summer, we held the Green Challenge, a contest that allowed you to show your friends and family that integrating simple green actions in our daily lives is easy and effective. You participated in great numbers, but some entrants set themselves apart by their remarkable involvement. That is why we asked these people to give us an insight into their lifestyle by drawing up short portraits of themselves.
We encourage you to follow their example, and if you have ideas for simple green actions that you would like to share with the Simple Green Action community, please go ahead and submit your suggestions here.
Today we are happy to acquaint you with Caroline Théorêt.
Describe yourself in a few words.
I am a mother of two young children who tries to reconcile work and family while doing her part for the environment each day thanks to simple green actions.
You were among Cascades’ Green Challenge Contest’s most active participants. What was your favourite challenge? Why?
I think my favourite challenge was the one that had us donating our clothes to organisations that provide used clothing to the needy. I like knowing that our garments are getting a second go-around. Furthermore, this task helped us clean out our wardrobes and give away items we no longer wore. I try to make such donations (clothing, furniture and so on) at least once or twice a year.
What simple green actions do you practice daily?
There are many simple green actions that are now part of my day-to-day lifestyle. Here are the main ones: recycling by placing the recycling bin next to the garbage can, using recyclable bags, printing sheets on both sides, doing laundry with cold water and air-drying clothes on hangers, turning off the lights when not in a room, using recyclable containers for packing lunches, reusing gifts bags received at other occasions, turning off the car engine when standing, using a water filter and reusable water bottles, buying products made from recycled materials or that are phosphate-free, and using washable diapers.
Have you changed your consumer/buying habits in order to help take care of our planet? Do you use Cascades recycled products?
I try to do actions every day that have a minimum impact on the environment in order to hand down a “healthy” planet to our children and future generations. I mostly buy Cascades recycled products when they are on sale.
Environmentally speaking, do you consider yourself dark green or light green?
I consider myself to be somewhere in the middle because I do my part by living a greener lifestyle, but I know I could be doing more!
Do you have any green resolutions?
I would like to compost. Certain municipalities in Quebec collect food waste and I wish my city did so as well, the same way they collect recyclable materials. However this seems highly unlikely in the near future so I would like to compost at home, which will make for great fertiliser afterwards.
If you had to convince someone to embrace environmentally-friendly habits, what would you tell this person?
That good green habits often take less that one minute and that they allow us to hand down a cleaner planet to our children and to future generations!
