social marketing & corporate responsibility (CSR) & business and human rights
Celebrating Valentine’s Day in an environmentally friendly way can be a thoughtful and sustainable choice. Previously, we wrote about what to do when you are single on Valentine’s Day. This year we are all in and bring you ten environmentally friendly gift ideas for a green Valentine’s Day:
We are at a turning point and it often seems that not enough is being done, especially by Governments at all levels. Elected Government representative should be spearheading social and environmental issues. Instead of doing that, the law and it’s implementation safeguarding our natural world are lagging behind, not just a little bit either, a lot!
Saving the world one plant and animal at a time is not rocket science and it looks like it’s up to us to lead the way. It involves taking individual and collective actions which contribute to the conservation and sustainability of ecosystems.
Here are some practical steps you can take to make a positive impact:
It’s this time of year again. Are you searching for last minute Christmas presents that don’t cost the earth?
Here are 10 ideas for last minute presents which don’t cost the earth, boost local, small businesses and won’t end up in landfill within a short time after Christmas and might even be good for the planet.
We love inspirational quotes! A great quote is priceless to get an idea across, for credibility or to break the ice to relate to an audience – large or small.
Quotes are often found on postcards, posters, in speeches, on social media accounts – to name just a few. There seems to be a quote for every occasion. Quotes are like music: reflecting a mood and relating an experience – without the music!
It’s this time of year again. We search for last minute Christmas presents.
More and more people celebrate the ‘Festive Season’ formerly known as Christmas: a holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who, in the eyes of Christians, is the son of God.
Why is Christmas so popular and reaches beyond religious boundaries? Because it sells just about everything and is therefore loved by business owners around the world AND it allows us to express our love for each other. This makes for a great consumer festival where everybody wins – except the planet!
It’s February and you know what that means – advertisers trying to sell us more stuff – cards, flowers, wine, gimmicks, experiences and the idea that we are lacking in some way if we don’t have a significant other or have and don’t wish to take part in Valentine’s Day spending.
Or can it? The saying ‘money can’t buy happiness’ isn’t always true…
If you live below the poverty line money will ensure you can buy yourself physical security and feel emotionally better due to the reduced stress that lack of money brings with it.
Disposable income can also be used to help others. Research suggests people who help others are happier than people who spent all of their money on themselves. Spare income allows us to donate to causes close to our hearts and leads to happiness.
Once we pass a certain threshold, namely $75,000US according to Economists Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton, we won’t be any happier when we earn more and upgrade existing and add more possessions to our own private empire.
The things that bring long-term satisfaction and contentment can’t be bought with money, on the contrary, instant gratification particularly can actually have the opposite effect. [Read more…]
Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy crap we don’t need.
Buy Nothing Day commenced in Canada in the early 90ties to protest consumerism*. The day is currently held in about 65 countries either on Black Friday (end November) or the day after. It offers a 24 hour detox from shopping as opposed to Black Friday which offers ‘the buy-everything-you-can-in-the-shortest-amount-of-time-whether-you-need-it-or-not’.
Happy 10th Anniversary Earth Hour!
Congratulations Earth Hour to one decade of persuading the world to turn the lights off for an evening or even the night. What commenced as a simple gimmick has turned into a world wide phenomenon stimulating debate about climate change and environmental issues.
Initially I viewed Earth Hour as a soft campaign making it easy and comfortable for people to indulge in a small gesture and feel good about themselves as they are ‘fighting’ climate change. [Read more…]
Some say that emphasising happiness actually makes us unhappy because we can’t be on a high all the time and might be putting too much pressure on ourselves. However, the definition of happiness is much broader than a particular feeling and relates to how content we are with our life.
“Happiness is about our lives as a whole: it includes the fluctuating feelings we experience everyday but also our overall satisfaction with life. It is influenced by our genes, upbringing and our external circumstances – such as our health, our work and our financial situation. But crucially it is also heavily influenced by our choices – our inner attitudes, how we approach our relationships, our personal values and our sense of purpose.” quoted from www.actionforhappiness.org
“Happiness is neither a frivolity nor a luxury. It is a deep-seated yearning shared by all members of the human family.” – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 2014
