Table Of ContentOCT
17
YOUR GUIDE TO CONSCIOUS LIVING
little green steps
you can take today
from fashion to climate
change to wellness - we’ve
got you covered
www.greenisthenewblack.asia
CONTENTS page editor’s letter
We’re helping to carve the path less trav-
elled for the greater good, a guiding path to
HI TRIBE,
help people changethe world one
6 Green Is The New Black is Asia’s first con- #littlegreensteps at a time.
scious festival and platform. It ’s for people
earth We want to make conscious living the new
who want to improve the way they think,
CLIMATE CHANGE in a nutshell norm and to become the number one place
work and consume while doing more good in
host a climate conversation for sustainable brands in Asia. It’s all
the world. This is a place where fun and so-
a PLASTIC wave, it ’s coming for us about connecting with ourselves, others
cial environmental responsibility goes hand
understanding the HAZE and mother nature. Conscious living is about
in hand.
understanding how our choices not only im-
pact us, but our surroundings and the envi-
We’re on a mission to wake people up and
ronment.
empowering them to take positive action
18 so that we can leave the world in a better This digital action guide is focusing on
place than how we’ve found it. We like to
#LittleGreenSteps that all of us can take
CONSUMPTION think of ourselves as the Morpheus for all each day so that we can #LiveMoreCon-
JOURNEY T O Z ERO W ASTE you Neos in the world (any Matrix fans?). sciously. We want to leave you with tangi-
THE 4 11 O N F OOD ble actions you can do on a daily basis, and
FASHION, A D IRTY W ORLD show that sustainability and going green
RE - THINK, - DUCE, - USE can be fun and easy.
BEING A S OCIALLY R ESPONSIBLE S HOPPER
I hope you can learn something here so that
you too can live wide awake!
32
Stephanie D ickson
mind
Founder
BRINGING B ACK P AUSE
Green I s T he N ew B lack
NEW C ONVERSATIONS O N S EXUAL W ELLNESS &
LOVE
OUR VALUES
Here i s y our
l ittle d ose o f
PROTECT HEP LANET INNOVATION FOR GOOD
Awareness of our footprint leads to greater We are idea junkies and man do we love some of
understanding of the impact we have on our the awesome creative things people are doing.
planet, inspiring us to operate more consciously Inspiration,
and positively.
K nowledge a nd A ction
CRYSTAL CLEAR WELL-FOR YOUR-BEING
We like looking at life with both eyes WIDE open “Love yourself and serve the others”. Our con-
– you know, knowing where stuff comes from, scious journey starts with us – the choices we
who made it and how it got to us. make, how we show up in the world and take t o h elp y ou
care of ourselves.
l ive m ore
POWER TO THE PEOPLE PRO ANIMAL LIFE
Ethical/ fair-trade/ female empowerment – if This one’s for the animal lovers, vegetarians
you value the people behind your products this and vegans. Animals also have a conscious,
value is for you. People are the new profit. family and friends. Like us, they deserve to be consciously.
treated with respect.
earth
6 e a r t h e a r 7t h
little green steps
[takea ction]
climate
. Learn h ow t o c alculate y our c arbon f ootprint w ith A nimal A llies h ere a nd s ee h ow y ou c ompare t o n ational
and w orld average.
the problem
change [in stats] 9 to of ncnoe2 sper year 4 to of ncnoe2 sper year
. Tax y ourself: T o s olve c l imate c hange, g overnments n eed t o g et s erious a bout m aking polluters p ay f or
their c arbon e missions. Y ou c an m ake a p owerful s tatement b y p aying a voluntary “ carbon t ax” w hich g oes
. Approximately 2 /3 o f t he p ollution to p rotecting c r itically i mportant f orests a nd c oastal ecosystems.
in a nut that i s d riving c limate c hange i s f rom
the b urning o f fossil f uels: c oal, o il ,
and n atural g as, w ith a nother q uarter . Know y our f acts
of t he p ollution c oming f rom deforesta-
tion a nd a griculture. . Conserve e nergy a nd s ave o n y our b ills
shell - before the flood, karl burkart -
director of Innovation a
Fnodu nTdeacthinoonlogy, L eonardo D iCaprio . Start l ooking i nto s witching t o S olar e nergy
. Change y our l ightbulbs
“Climate c hange i s r eal, i t i s h appen- . 1-2 a cres o f r ainforest a re c leared
ing r ight n ow. I t i s t he m ost u rgent bevaesricya ls leyc loinkde. o (n Rea io nfo rt ehste Rp ellaiefn e) tws hl iucnhg si s. . Unplug y our g adgets a nd s witch o ff t he p ower s ockets
threat f acing o ur e ntire species,
and w e n eed t o w ork c ollectively . Use a f an i nstead o f a n a ir c onditioner
toget
Lheetr u a sn n do s tt t oapk p er tohcirsa p sltaineat i ng... . Climate C hange c ould c ause t he d is- . If y ou d o u se a n a ir c onditioner, t ry t o k eep i t a bove 2 50C
placement o f 2 50 m illion p eople a cross
for g ranted.” the w orld b y 2050 d ue t o a n increase i n . Purchase e nergy e fficient a ppliances ( check t he e nergy l abel)
natural d isasters. I n 2 012 a lone o ver
T he o ne a nd o nly L eonard D i C aprio a t h is O scars a ccept- 32M were d isplaced. . Use n atural l ight a s m uch a s p ossible
ance s peech # doitforleo - The U N R efugee A gency -
. Use p ublic t ransport o r c arpool o ptions l ike g rabshare
and u berpool
pOruorv p elna t noe tb ei sf rh oema tp ionlgl u tpi of na a stn,d w n ohtic hs oi mse s n caietnutriafilc aplhley- . 1/2 of tfhoer weosrtlsd’s
nomena. A pproximately 2 /3 o f t he p ollution t hat i s d r iv- have a lready d isappeared, a nd o nly 2 0%
ing c l imate c hange i s f rom t he b urning o f fossil f uels – of w hat r emains i s intact. must see
coal, o il , a nd n atural g as – w ith a nother b ig p art c oming executive direc-t olrin, drsaeiynf aolrleesnt -action network documentaries:
from d eforestation a nd a griculture.
before the flood
By b urning f ossil f uels w e a re h eating u p t he p lanet a nd
melting t he a rctic - w hich i s ‘ the a ircon’ o f t he world. B y
cutting d own o ur f orests, w e a re e ffectively k illing ‘ the
lungs’ o f t he p lanet, a s t hey p roduce much o f t he o xygen
we b reathe. C ombined - t h is m eans m ore e xtreme w eather
globally, m ore f loods, more d roughts.
8 earth 9
a PLASTIC wave,
host a
climate conversation it’s coming
“We s till h ave t ime t o a void t he w orst, u nacceptable c onsequences o f
c limate c hange, b ut w e need t o g et b usy r ight a way”.
for us
the problem
- F ormer V ice P resident A l G ore - [ ins tats]
“We n eed t o p rotect t he o cean l ike . By 2 050 t here w ill b e m ore p lastic i n t he
we w ould p rotect o ur o wn c hildren. ocean t hat f ish b y w eight.
You a re r eading t h is. S o y ou p robably g et t hat These c onversations a re m oving a nd f ulfilling a s Our v ery s urvival d epends o n i t.” - Ellen M acarthur Foundation -
there i s n o p lanet b a nd a ll o f u s a re p laying a you a nd y our f r iends r each a d eeper understand-
dpaonr’tt. B s uete w t hoa g te a tb oi tu to ra lc la t lhlo y soe uf ra ie np edas cw hhyo h s iptpiliel wingh ao tf y ow uh c aatn y d oou t c oa c raer ea f booru to ui nr et nhvisir ow nomrelndt, , a o nudr C raig L eeson, D irector o f A P lastic O cean . More t han 8 m illion t ons o f p lastic a re
when y ou t ry t o b r ing i t u p? O ur f r iends a t C l i- families a nd o ur f uture. dumped i n o ur o ceans e very y ear.
mate C onversations h ave y our b ack. R ead o n t o
f ind o ut m ore. - Nationala Cnedn S tyenrt f hoers iE sc ( oNlCoEgAicSa) l- A nalysis
We’ll s end a t rained v olunteer f acilitator t o j o in To s ay t hat p lastic i s ‘ d isposable’ i s o ne o f t he b iggest
We k now t hat m any p eople a re c oncerned a bout you a nd y our f r iends a nd g u ide t he d iscussion. Our deceptions o f o ur t ime. E very p iece o f p lastic t hat was
oclri mk antoew c w hahantg et ob ud to .d W onit’th of uete la l d ikee pt u hnedye c rasnta a ncdt- hfaocwil c itlaimtoart e w c ihlaln gh ee lc po ne nveecrtyso t noe t t hoe t u hnidnegrss t ahnadt aevneort hm eard. eI t i si s s t timilel o t on t o uurrn p t lahen et ti dt eosd i any t i hne s w omaer f aogramin o srt . Annually a pproximately 5 00 b illion
ing t hroughout s ociety o f h ow c l imate c hange af- we c herish, a nd h ow w e c an a ll b e a p art o f p ro- plastic. A nd t h is i s w hy. plastic b ags a re u sed w orldwide. M ore
fects u s a nd w hy w e m ust a ct, w e c annot h ope t o tecting t hose t h ings. than one million b ags a re u sed e very
effectively a ddress i t. minute. -p lastico ceanf oundation-
Social research tells us that fr iends are one of the
mostt rusteds ourcesf ort h isi nformation.W hy not . Packaging i s t he l argest e nd u se m arket
organise a c onversation w ith u p t o 1 0 f r iends? segment a ccounting f or j ust o ver 4 0%
We k eep t he g roups s mall s o t hat e veryone has a of t otal plastic u sage
chance t o s peak a nd t o h ave t he d eep d iscussion -p lastico ceanf oundation-
that’s n eeded.
. One m illion s ea b irds a nd 1 00,000 m a-
rine m ammals a re k illed a nnually f rom
plastic i n our o ceans.
Go t o climateconversations.sg a nd
c lick o n H ost t o o rganise y our c onversation. -E cow atch-
10 earth 11
tips for being a more
little green steps
[take action]
sustainable eco-tourist
“As s omeone w hom t he b each i s n ot o nly a h oliday d estination, b ut a h ome,
. Adopt a t ote b ag t o d o y our g rocery s hopping. I c an t ell y ou t hat i f we d o n ot c hange t he w ay w e l ive,
the f uture g eneration w ill n o l onger h ave a g limpse o f w hat i t is l ike t o
. Get y ourself a p retty r efillable w ater b ottle play i n t he s and w ithout f inding b roken p ieces o f p lastic i n i t, o r s wim i n
an o cean without s eeing t rash f loating r ight n ext t o t hem.”
. Avoid u s ing s traws a s m uch a s p ossible.
- Jamie M onmaneerat, P roject L ead T hailand, M anta T rust -
. Buy y our f ruits a nd v eggies l oose i nstead o f p acked
. You c an a lso m ake y our o wn j u ices i nstead o f s tore b ought b ottles u s ing r efillable b ottles
Who d oesn’t l ove t he i dea o f a b eautiful h oliday
. Avoid s kin c are p roducts w ith m icroplastics on a d reamy i sland w ith w hite s andy b eaches?
News f lash - p lastic a nd t rash i s s lowly r u ining
. C heck o ut A vani E co’s l arge r ange o f s ustainable a lternative p roducts t o p lastic that d ream. L uckily, l ike a l ot o f t he p roblems
facing t he p lanet, w e c an d o s omething a bout i t.
To t ell u s m ore, w e h ave J amine Monmaneerat, t he
Project L ead T hailand o f M anta T rust t o t ell u s
more.
From a p erspective o f a p rofessional w ho w orks
closely w ith e co- t ourism, t here a re a ctually
many m ore t h ings y ou c an d o t o b e m ore e nviron-
mentally c onscious d uring y our n ext t ropical va-
must see cation. H ere a re 5 t ips t o g et y ou o n y our w ay t o
become a m ore s ustainable e co- t ourist:
documentaries:
a plastic ocean
12 earth earth 13
“R-E-S-P-E-C-T” Just t ake p ictures, “Not y our
and I a m n ot o nly t alking a bout t he p eople h ere. I
1 amt alking about t he marine l ives t hat y ou s ee ( or 2 leave o nly 4 e ntertainer”
maybe d on’t s ee) . a f ootprint It i s h ard t o s ay n o t o a c hance t o c uddle a b aby m on-
You m ight h ave h eard i t b efore, y et w e s t ill s ee people key, k iss a real l ife F l ipper, o r h ave p icture t aken w ith
Marine e cosystem i s v ery d iverse a nd c omplex. I f walking o n t he b each c ollecting s ea s hells. such a w ell b ehaved t iger!
you p ay e nough a ttention y ou w ill n otice t hat al-
most e verything i s a l ive i n t he o ceans! E ven t hose It i s h ard t o r esist t he b eauty o f t hose s ea s hells People f orget t he f act t hat t hese a nimals a re b e ing
rocks y ou s ee l ying o n t he b each m ight have s ome lying o n t he b each l ooking p urposeless, o r thosea l- taken a way f rom t heir f amily a nd h ome t o b e in t he
amazing o rganisms l iving i n t hem. r e a dy m a d e i n t o ac c e s s o r i e s o r c o n t e m p o r a ry h o m e d é - photo w ith y ou a nd/or g ive y ou a s how. T he p rocess
cor.B utt heb eautifult h inga bout nature i s e verything of a nimal “ training” o ften i nvolves torturing, s tarving
S o r espect t he h ost a nd k eep y our h ands t o your- was d esigned a nd h as i ts p urpose e ven w hen t hey a re and e ven s edating t he a nimal, s o t hey a re a ble t o d o
self! N ot o nly w ill y ou n ot h arm t he a nimals, b ut dead. S eashells a re very i mportant t o c oastal e co- what t he t rainer w ants. This k ind o f b usiness m akes
you c an a lso s ave y ourself f rom h arm a s well system: t hey p rovide a s afe h id ing f rom p redators f or money f rom e xploiting p eople’s g ood i ntention a nd l ove
(there a re s ome o rganisms o ut t here w ith v enom- fish, t hey a re home f or a lgae a nd o ther m icroorgan- to s tart with. D o n ot f all v ictim t o t hese b usinesses,
ous s t ing w hich c ause p aralysis a nd e ven respira- isms, b irds u se t hem a s p art o f t he m aterial t o b u ild say n o t o a nimal s hows a nd a nimals i n c aptivity.
tory a rrest, s o k eep t hat i n m ind b efore y ou r each their nest, a nd t hey a re v ital t o p rotect t he b eautiful
those h ands o ut t o t ouch s omething o n the b each shoreline f rom e rosion. S o l eave t hose s hells where
or i n t he s ea!) you s ee t hem s o w e c an a ll s hare t he b est b enefits o f
these b eauties t ogether.
You a re w hat y ou e at “There i s a lways a
3 i tto i sy oi murpo t ratbalnet. t o k now w hat i t t akes b efore t hey g et 5 perfect t ime f or a
l ittle R &R”
Overfishing i s a nother m ajor p roblem a ffecting o ur When y ou a re e njoying s ome R &R, remember t o R educe-
oceans w ith f ish p opulation a nd s pecies declining r ap- Reuse-Recycle a long t he w ay. I t i s n ever t oo l ate t o
idly e ach y ear. T o m ake t he m atters w orse, d estruc- refuse a nd r educe single u se p lastic.
t ive a nd u nsustainable f ishing methods a re b e ing u sed
to s erve o ur s eafood d emand n ot o nly a ffecting f ish People f orget t he f act t hat t hese a nimals a re b e ing
population b ut i ts habitat a s w ell. S o n ext t ime y ou taken a way f rom t heir f amily a nd h ome t o b e in t he
get a c raving f or s eafood, c hoose a s ustainable s pe- photo w ith y ou a nd/or g ive y ou a s how. T he p rocess
c ies f or t he area y ou a re i n . T hanks t o m odern t ech- of a nimal “ training” o ften i nvolves torturing, s tarv-
nology y ou n o l onger n eed t o m emorize t he n ames o f ing a nd e ven s edating t he a nimal, s o t hey a re a ble
the s pecies a nymore. T here a re n ow m any a pps y ou to d o w hat t he t rainer w ants. This k ind o f b usiness
can d ownload t hat w ill s how y ou t he ‘green l ist’ makes m oney f rom e xploiting p eople’s g ood i ntention
(sustainable s pecies t o b e c onsumed) a nd ‘ red l ist’ and l ove t o s tart with. D o n ot f all v ictim t o t hese
(species t o b e a voided) a ccording to t he l ocation y ou businesses, s ay n o t o a nimal s hows a nd a nimals i n
are i n . captivity.
from our friends at
14 earth earth 15
the problem
[ins tats]
. More t han 2 .6 m illion h ectares o f f orest, p eat,
Understanding and o ther l and h ave b urned i n 2 015, a n a rea
4.5 t imes t he s ize o f B ali .
-w orldb ank-
the H aze
. D aily e missions f rom I ndonesia’s f ires i n O cto-
ber 2 015 e xceeded t he e missions f rom t he en-
tire U S e conomy, t hat i s m ore t han 1 5 .95 m illion
In S ingapore w e h ave a b ig i ssue w ith t he H aze e ach y ear. tons o f C O2 e missions p er d ay.
This i s c aused l argely b y t he s tate o f S umatra in I ndone- -w orldb ank-
s ia w here t hey b urn f orests t o c lear t he l and, f or t he
production o f p alm o il . M any o f t hese f ires are i llegal
and d one w ith a bsolutely n o r egard f or n ature o r w ild . I f I ndonesia c ould s top t he f ires i t w ould m eet l ittle green steps
life. its s tated t arget t o r educe G HG e missions b y [take action]
29% b y t he y ear 2 030.
Once t he h aze i s o ver, m ost p eople d o a c lean a ired s igh whacta usehsa ze? -w orldb ank-
of r elief a nd g o b ack t o t heir l ives. B ut w e a re a ll re- . Look o ut f or h aze-free p roducts.
sponsbile f or p roecting t he c lear a ir w e b reathe. W e In I ndonesia a nd M alaysia l arge a reas o f r ainforest a re . S$700 m illion i s t he e stimated c ost o f 2 015
need t o c hange w hat w e b uy. W e n eed t o e ducate our- burned t o m ake r oom f or t he p roduction of p alm o il . P alm haze t o S ingapore. T he e stimated c ost t o Indo- … Roundtable o n S ustainable P alm O il ( RSPO) i s a
selves o n w hat t h is i s a ll a bout. W e n eed t o v ote w ith o il i s t he m ost c ommon o il u sed i n r estaurants a nd f ood nesia w as U S $ 16billion, a bout 1 .8% o f i ts G ross not-for-profit o rganisation w hich helps i den-
our W allets a nd d emand f or s ustainable p alm o il . chains i n S ingapore but a lso i n m any b reads, m argarines, Domestic P roduct. tify p roducts w ith C ertified S ustainable P alm
Here a re s ome s tats a nd s ome l ittle g reen s teps y ou c an ctenrerasl sa , nc dh soocaopla p treosd, ug cutms., w ashing p owder, f abric s of- -P MH AZE- Owilit h( Cr SePdOu)c, edw hn iecgha tgivuea ri mapnatecets o na t hc eu le tnivvairtoionn-
take f rom o ur f r iends a t P M H aze. ment a nd the c ommunities.
… Can’t f ind t he R SPO l abel? L ook f or t he G reen
Palm l abel t o p urchase p roducts that s up-
port t he t ransition t o c ertified p alm o il .
Proceeds f rom G reen P alm certificates h elp
growers f und t he t ransition t o s ustainable
palm o il .
. Inform y ourself a nd p eople a round y ou.
… Haze-free p roducts a re s t ill l imited o n t he
market b ut y ou c an h elp i ncrease awareness
on t he m atter a nd t herefore t he d emand f or
those o n t he m arket.
16 earth earth 17
consumption
1 8 c o n s u m p t i o n c o n s u 1 m 9 p t i o n
