Eco Challenge Yourself

Most of us would like to live that little bit greener but sometimes we need a push. Some inspiration. A challenge.

For over three years we’ve been blogging about sustainable living. We’ve also published an eco tip each day for more than two years on our Facebook page to give you your dose of daily eco inspiration. Feedback on these has always been overwhelmingly positive, but several of you have expressed your desire for us to crank it up a notch.

We’ve listened to you and have created the Sustainababy Monthly Eco Challenge.

Over coming months we’ve set aside a different eco challenge each month for you to participate in. We also have a swag of awesome eco incentives to help you on your way to a greener lifestyle.

To take part in each challenge of your choice, simply request to join our closed Facebook Group here.

You can chat with other eco challengers in our forum about how you’re travelling and share your wins and difficulties along the way. At the end of each month, you have the option to choose to submit, via email, a brief summary of no more than 500 words documenting your journey. We will choose a winner whose summary will be published on our blog. The winner may not necessarily be the person who was the most “successful” in completing the challenge, but who best describes their journey and learnings along the way.

In addition to giving you the opportunity to showcase your blogging talent, the winner will also receive a fabulous eco prize. Sounds like something you’re interested in? Read on for our first eco challenge!

July Sustainababy Eco Challenge

The start of a new financial year, a time when many people can’t wait to spend their tax return, is the appropriate time for us to launch our first Sustainababy Monthly Eco Challenge.

This July, we challenge you to Not Buy Anything New.

Despite the reduction in consumption in recent years fuelled by the Global Financial Crisis, consumerism in the western world is still out of control!

For just one short month (not really, July has 31 days) you cannot buy any new goods such as clothing, shoes, appliances, gifts, furniture or electronics. This may require you to be a little more prepared at functions where you’re expected to give a gift. You may need to be more creative and make your own gift, give experiences, scour second hand shops or even restore existing items. Be mindful how you wrap it too!

You can buy groceries and medications of course, however try and shop with a different mindset and question your purchases. If you are buying nappies or wipes, consider investing in reusable versions. Perhaps this is the month to try making your own baby food?

I’ll be doing the monthly eco challenges too and will pop into the Forum to share my experiences and see how you’re all getting along. I anticipate some rough patches for me this month given I have some family celebrations to attend as well as a ‘nothing to wear’ meltdown anticipated given I’ve lost 13 kilograms of baby weight recently…..but that’s another story……

Keen to join me? This is what you’ll need to do:

• Request to join our closed Monthly Eco Challenge Group here
• For the month of July, try your hardest to not buy anything new.
• Write a short summary of your journey (500 words maximum) and email your summary and photographs with subject line “July Eco Challenge” to info@sustainababy.com.au before midday AEST Wednesday 7th August . Please ensure your summary is grammatically correct as the winning summary will be published word for word.
• The winner will be contacted by email and their summary will be published on our blog no later than 5pm AEST Monday 12th August 2013.

The winner will also receive the fabulous prize of a medium size, Australian made ecoChici reusable cloth gift wrap in Heirloom design.

ecoChici wraps are an innovative reusable wrapping system. There are a range of designs and colours, but the Heirloomwrap is by far the most popular. As with all ecoChici wraps it is designed to be used for many years to come, but includes a permanent fabric marker and gorgeous tag print design so you can record your family gift giving history directly onto the wrap. Once it fills up it becomes an heirloom in it’s own right – ready for framing, or perhaps incorporating into a quilt or cushion cover – let your creativity run wild!

It makes a lovely gift for new parents to use over the years with their little one, or use it only between yourself and a special person in your life.

Save wrapping paper while creating a new tradition all of your own.

So what are you waiting for? Eco challenge yourself today!

Laura Trotta

(Eco Mum, Environmental Engineer and Sustainababy Founder)

Terms and Conditions

1. The winning Monthly Eco Challenge will be chosen by Sustainababy management and no correspondence will be entered into.

2. Sustainababy retains the right to publish more than one submisssion, however only the chosen winning submission will receive the monthly prize.