Sarah O’connell

New Year’s happened and within two weeks I was on a plane with my boyfriend and father for a month long vacation across Europe. The day after Valentine’s Day, my parents and I got on a plane to the Dominican Republic and my boyfriend to a flight to Texas for work. The original plan was to spend about a month waiting things out because of course things pass quickly, that’s how every big news story happens. During this, I longed to see my boyfriend again, I longed to hear my friends’ laugh in real life again, I longed to skate down the Beijing streets in the night-time, I longed to have my life again.

Often, vegan products that use vague details will use synthetic materials which, yes, are vegan, but overtime are horrible for the planet as most aren’t biodegradable or are made from oil. Ben & Jerry’s has the best ice cream, both vegan and non-vegan, so of course they have to make the list. Bee’s Wrap is probably the most common Bee’s Wax Wrap and is based in Vermont! Researching where the company sources its products, where the source their labour or how they treat their labour staff, finding out what their natural, vegan, or Paraben free ingredients are, and even simply taking another look at their packaging are easy ways to tell if a company is truly sustainable or not.

Currently, more than 300 million tons of new plastic is produced annually and less than 10% is recycled. Though, tap water still isn’t safe with more than 80% of water collected from five different continents containing microplasitcs. How to consume less microplastics: Begin by decreasing the amount of bottled water you consume or swapping for a reusable bottle. Other ways to reduce the consumption of microplastics include swapping to resuable straws, purchasing loose produce, dust a little more often, and don’t leave it to just yourself to fix the problem.

Tofurky used to have a pretty bad rep but it has totally reinvented itself into a new favourite and is usually on my grocery list. I promise this is the last Tofurky product for this list, but it is one you might want to add to your grocery list if you eat as many sandwiches as me. Not my favourite out of all the faux meats I have tried and won’t kick your bacon addiction but would be a good addition to your traditional breakfast. What you should try Out of this list, I would highly recommend checking out the UnCut spicy chick’n patties, the Tofurky Deli Slices, and the Tofurky Chick’n strips.