I recently had a much needed reminder at a child’s birthday party.
You know, the kind of parties where the kids are off playing their games while the adults enjoy the refreshments?
My friend’s daughter, who we’ll call Elsa because this was a princess party, came storming over to the adult circle with her hands in tight fists.
“It’s not fair!” She shouted.
Curious what the fuss was about, we asked her.
“I only got three chocolate coins. They got ten or more!”
See, the kids were having a treasure hunt in the yard, and she had only uncovered a few coins because she was late to the game due to a bathroom break. Hey, the girl couldn’t help it. It was unfair the other kids had a head start.
In all of our adulting, we had missed a head in the count before launching the game.
As her mother tended to the situation for the sake of fair-ness, my head was flashing with imagery of my children, grown, but facing a similar conundrum.
I could paint lots of detailed pictures here, but it can be summed up quite simply.
It’s not fair that our children and theirs will be left with the remnants of earth’s resources just because we got here first.
Of course I “know” this—it’s the reason Ricardo and I started The Parent Diary—but Elsa’s shouts of conviction and tight little fists tugged at my heartstrings in a new way.
Our children and the next generation don’t have the voice to speak up right now, but that doesn’t mean their voices don’t matter.
So, what do we do? The oceans are full of plastic and pollution is in the air.
It can seem hopeless at times, but as parents, the fact is that our dollar is our vote.
So as you approach the holiday weekend, keep in mind that you have the ability to shift the market toward more sustainable options with every reusable shopping bag and plastic-free Easter basket stuffer you choose.
Here are 7 of our favorite tips for a plastic-free Easter from our friends at the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
- Choose wicker, wood, fabric, or bamboo over plastic for Easter baskets.
- Skip plastic faux grass in your Easter baskets and use raffia or shredded colored paper.
- Instead of plastic eggs make beautiful felt Easter eggs.
- If coloring real eggs, use natural food dyes. Wrap your eggs with fern and other types of leaves using thread. Color your eggs, unwrap, and enjoy your natural rococo designs.
- Fill Easter baskets with books, clothes, or art supplies instead of cheap, plastic toys.
- Instead of buying them, make your own chocolate Easter eggs.
- Get more ideas from the Plastic Pollution Coalition, including ideas for Greek Easter and Passover here.
And in case you didn’t know, we've recently launched our Kickstarter Campaign, for our new design silicone lunch box.
You can support our efforts against plastic dependency plus get an all silicone eco-lunch box with a pledge of just $12 to our Kickstarter campaign.
Wishing you a happy, safe and sustainable holiday weekend.
Michele, Ricardo, Amber & Meka
PS - Earth Day is Monday, April 22nd! Celebrate by making sure all holiday festivity trash and recycle has been properly sorted and disposed of. This is a great opportunity to teach your kids earth-friendly habits.