Now I am sure many of you must have heard of the term “eco-conscious” or “eco-friendly. “ If you are unfamiliar with the term, you must have been born yesterday. Here’s a bit of a backstory on this term. The 1970s saw numerous steps to clean up the environment: the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the founding of Earth Day, the banning of DDT, the Water Pollution Control Act, and the Endangered Species Act (which the Supreme Court upheld in 1977). This led to more people being more “environmentally aware,” and this is how the term sprung up.

We’ve been hearing so much about climate change recently, and the statistics don’t look good. Thanks to anthropogenic activities, global temperatures are rising, and it’s becoming hard to survive under these conditions. We are bombarded with scary stories of what’s happening, but that is not enough, right? Enough of the backstory. Here are some ways how you can actually help become more environmentally conscious.

The first step to developing ecological awareness or consciousness is to become aware of your existing attitudes and actions. Through this awareness, you can then begin to make changes that can benefit the natural world all around you. Many of us do not even realize how our small acts are impacting the planet, so last time you plugged in your phone, did you leave it overnight? Did you switch off the lights before leaving your room? Did you segregate your waste? Did you close the tap today morning while brushing? Such actions are not noticeable, but they leave a large footprint on the planet, and they have long-term consequences. 

Here are some small changes you could make to your daily lifestyle that could help.

• Eat local food which can help reduce the carbon footprint, do not overestimate your diet, and say a big no to food wastage.
• Walk more! I am sure most of us are sick of the nonstop and heavy traffic on the roads. Just take this as an opportunity to walk!
• Try using all-natural things. Avoid getting plastic containers and start getting steel or glass cutlery. 
• Never!Never! Leave the house to get groceries without a reusable bag, and this is where we come in. Bags by the ocean provides you with one-of-a-kind unique bags which are not only fashionably advanced but also good for the environment. Here’s why we make our bags out of upcycled industrial wastage and strengthen the women’s community by hiring women seamstresses to carefully handcraft the bags.

Make sure to try all of this at home and tag us @BAGSBYTHEOCEAN on Instagram to share your progress!