Air pollution in cities across the globe are currently at their highest ever recorded. James Hansen (former director at NASA) reported that the the warming over the past 30 years was undoubtedly down to "human-made green house gasses. " According to the World Health Organisation, 91% of the population live in areas that exceed their safety guideline limitations. You can check out their interactive air pollution map on their website (http://maps.who.int/airpollution/). It's extremely interesting to see the countries that are most effected by air pollution. It is also a great way to educate yourself, and children, on the effects of air pollution and how it can be decreased by making small changes.
This was the main aim for the World Environment Day 2019 campaign. They choose a different area of focus each year and citizens across the globe unite against it to create and gain a better understanding of the issue. They also propose tips on how to decrease (this year for example) the air pollution produced by making better choices. People across the world of social media pledged how they propose to do their bit to beat air pollution. If you search #worldenvironmentday2019 on twitter or instagram it will surprise you how many individuals tied on their bandana and pledged. This example of solidarity is what we need to encourage more adults and children to get involved with the fight for a cleaner environment and future.
At ApparelXchange we did just that! Here are our top tips on how to #beatairpolution -
1. Use more public transport , walk or cycle as much as possible
2. Eat smaller amounts of meat
3. Follow the slow fashion movement- mend more and up-cycle where possible
4. Recycle all rubbish correctly. Steer away from single use plastics, reusable and bamboo products where possible. 5. Donate all unwanted garments (including non school uniform) to ApparelXchange.
Our volunteers put on their bandanna and pledged how they aimed to make a difference going forward. Each volunteer pledged individually, based on something they want to change for themselves and the planet. The post can be seen on our instagram page. Bandannas wore were handmade by MawBags, Glasgow. We start how we mean to go on and progress into the next year while making smaller changes with big impact.
Post you comments and tag us in your pledges!
Thanks for reading,
ApparelXchange.