Planet Earth CALLING!!!

World Environment Day has arrived and we all become good citizens, or at least that’s what we think. It’s not exactly news, in fact it’s been around for years, but many people have yet to scratch the surface of what it really implies.

What do you do for the environment? And many of us answer: Me? I recycle! When we should really say: I separate waste. And that’s it?

At TiTANA, our commitment to the environment is in our DNA, because planet Earth is crying out for us to act responsibly. We’re going to share some tips and encourage you to practice new habits and behaviours:

• ELIMINATE. We need air outside, but we need it inside the house too. On the other hand, we are machines for accumulating things. It’s so hard to say goodbye to the quilt your great aunt gave you and which has been in the wardrobe for 5 years, the waterfall mug souvenir of the end-of-year trip, the collection of painted fans, the CDs, the magazines… We are not saying that you have to throw it all away, just think about the emotional attachment we have to material things and how much it ties us down. These things lead us straight to “don’t even think about opening this cupboard”. The first foray is painful but we can promise you, it’s also curative.

>>> Get a bag, take a walk around your house and fill it with things. Then you decide whether the contents are to be given away, recycled or, really, thrown away.

• REUSE. For those of you of the “better dead than plain” persuasion, there is the option to reuse. Turn the bedspread into a vintage cushion, plant a cactus in the little jar, make a mural with the CDs… Imagination is power!!!

>>> Come on, give your little homemade art project a title.

• REDUCE. Do you really need so many clothes? So many books? Even that much food? The next time you “throw away” an “old” T-shirt (let’s not mention the barely-used, and as  for the ones which still have the shop labels, I’m sorry, but there are just no words….), think about whether you really have to buy another one, whether you can go without replacing it. Before buying a book, ask if it is available in your circle of friends or in the library. There is no need to buy so much food or even eat so much. Reduce everywhere: clothes, books, food, energy, electronics, noise… plastics!!!!

>>> Make a list of things you can reduce and watch with amazement as it grows.

• SHARE. This is your room, this is his mobile, this is my car…. What’s ours? We adults can sleep in pairs, but children can’t? Ah! It’s just that they each need their own space… and we confuse it with needing their own room. This rampant individualism distances us from ourselves, from the collective world. Sharing is difficult, it requires effort because it implies collaboration, organisation, respect and acceptance. How awful! Have you ever thought about sharing your car? We do it around here and it works!

>>> Choose something to share that challenges your daily life and look for the right partner. It’s worth it.

• INVEST: What’s keeping you from finally getting round to changing the windows at home? And that air conditioner from the last century (literally)? And the organic clothes? The organic food box? We struggle to recognise the necessity of investing in improvements or in selecting higher-priced products which, in the long run, provide better performance in energy consumption, or that respect the production process with natural rhythms or that use organic, recycled, recyclable raw materials. Choose well today to live better tomorrow.

>>> Select your next investment and justify the positive effects, and if you can look for options that also offer social and environmental improvement.

• RECYCLE. Finally, the thing we always put first: recycle. If you have eliminated, reduced, reused, shared and invested, your waste management will be on a downward curve. You will have less waste and more awareness.

>>> If you still don’t have a bin for glass, paper, plastic, organic, oils, batteries, electronics, old furniture… what are you waiting for?

PLANET EARTH HERE, please DO something!