5 Tips To Be More Sustainable

Whether you’re already a sustainability champion searching for new ideas or you’re just starting out for this year’s Earth Day looking for sustainable living tips, being more sustainably-minded has never been simpler. Contrary to beliefs that sustainable living can be difficult, overwhelming, or too drastic, we’re here to tell you the opposite; The smallest and simplest changes made actually have the potential to have the greatest impacts.

The types of clothes we wear, the types of food we eat, and the type and frequency of transit we take all have the chance to either contribute to or reduce our global environmental footprint. Instead of focusing solely on which larger-scale action items to tackle to reduce your carbon emissions, we believe that honing in on the small choices in our day-to-day lives has massive potential to not only affect those around us but also impact the environment. That’s why for Earth Day 2022, we want to share our top 5 easy sustainability tips.

1. 1. Look for reusable alternatives.
2. 2. Donate your unused or gently used items.
3. 3. Be more intentional about your water usage and conserve water when possible.
4. 4. Opt-out of driving and opt-into electric bikes.
5. 5. Conserve energy.

Now, given that we are in the electric bike industry, our list of tips for living sustainability wouldn’t be complete without some real-world use cases of how ebikes and ebike accessories also come in handy when learning how to be more sustainable. Let’s go into more detail!

1. Look for reusable alternatives.

Single-use products, especially single-use plastic products, more often than not end up in landfills and the ocean. According to Plastic Soup Foundation, plastic is a non-biodegradable material that does not decompose. This is to say, all forms of plastic that have ever been produced and not properly recycled are still present in the environment today, in one form or another.

Some of the most common reusable alternatives to single-use plastic products include reusable water bottles, reusable straws, and reusable grocery bags. Making a conscious effort to use even just one reusable alternative over the plastic option is still a win! Whether you’re committing to carry your own reusable straw in your purse or pocket or making sure you grab your reusable shopping bag anytime you need groceries. If you’re just beginning to switch to sustainable living, especially remember that sustainability is not synonymous with expensive. So while you could spend upwards of $100 on a branded name reusable water bottle if you wanted to, you don’t have to! For those of you who are already avid bikers, consider even using your bike water bottle both on and off your electric bike!

2. Donate your unused or gently used items.

Did you know that textiles make up about 5% of all landfills and that 99% of those textiles are in fact reusable? Being sustainable, i.e. giving new life to your old items, has never been easier! Whether you’re hanging onto clothes that are out of style or furniture that has sat unused, the process of donating household items is generally a quick one. It could even earn you back some money if you’re able to resell them!

A large part of sustainably sourced fashion is straying away from fast fashion and instead reselling and donating whenever possible. Here is a quick breakdown of both reselling and donating unused clothing:

• Reselling clothing online has never been easier thanks to a variety of smartphone-compatible apps.
• Alternatively, consignment stores will consign clothes, shoes, handbags, and even jewelry for you, paying you once your item(s) sell.
• If you don’t want to wait for your item to sell in order to be paid, there are also stores that will offer you cash on the spot for your in-season items. Any items they don’t buy from you, they may likely offer to donate on your behalf.
• The simplest of all sustainable tips with the most potential to help someone in need is donating your unused items. A quick Google search will populate any number of charities near you so you may find one with a cause that’s dear to your heart.

While on the topic of donating clothing to cause-specific charities, there are also a number of non-profit organizations out there that collect bicycles and bicycling gear, including apparel. So, if you’re a cyclist who's also searching to become more sustainable and you have unused or gently used cycling apparel sitting around, consider donating them! You’d be supporting organizations like The Bicycle Tree in Santa Ana, CA.

3. Be more intentional about your water usage and conserve water when possible.

Saving and conserving water is crucial, especially if you live in an area like California where the water drought is ongoing. But saving water doesn’t mean you have to make big, drastic steps; This sustainable tip can require any number of small changes! From remembering to turn your faucet off when brushing your teeth, taking shorter showers, or even waiting to run the dishwasher when it’s solely a full load. Being more intentional about your water usage can even be as simple as using any leftover water in your ebike’s water bottle to water your plants after your bike ride!

4. Opt-out of driving and opt-into electric bikes.

One of the most common recommendations you’ll discover when searching for the best sustainable tips is exploring alternative methods of transportation. Whether that’s walking or taking public transport to your destination instead of driving your car, if within reason. For shorter destinations, walking is both great for your health and a way to get active, while taking public transportation for further destinations is one way to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Even if that means you replace just one vehicle trip once a week, or every other week, with an alternative transport method!

Riding an electric bike is also another great solution if your destination is too far to walk to or is inaccessible by public transport. Electric bikes give you the freedom to go virtually anywhere a normal car would, without the hassle of sitting in traffic, paying for gas, and worrying about where to park. Not to mention, the extra pedal assist and throttle features on Aventon ebikes make arriving at your destination a literal breeze! Aventon’s fleet of products means there’s an electric bike for everyone and every need, whether you’re an urban city rider looking to efficiently run errands or a rugged soul craving a backyard adventure. A great sustainability tip is replacing one errand run per week in your car on an ebike instead!

5. Conserve energy.

Moving onto our last sustainability tip, energy usage has a direct correlation to emissions produced; So, consuming less energy on a day-to-day basis means you’ll be helping reduce carbon emissions! There are any number of small, sustainable changes you can make to save energy, whether you’re looking to be more energy-conscious at home or at work.

One of the quickest ways to start being more sustainable is to unplug or switch off unused or standby appliances. While most appliance plugs can be removed without resetting their programming, you may want to consult with the manufacturer for any appliances you’re unsure about. While on the topic of turning off appliances, remembering to always turn off all lights is an easy sustainability tip! Whenever an appliance, electronic, or item in the like in your home or office is not in use, the golden rule of thumb is to discharge once charging is complete (if applicable) and always turn them off! The same applies to your Aventon ebike; Our lightning-fast chargers fully charge our ebikes in little to no time to get you back to your riding. The moment your ebike has completed charging, always remember to unplug the charger. You’ll preserve your battery, save money, conserve energy, and reduce emissions all the while discovering how to be more sustainable.

Final Thoughts

Discovering tips on how to be more sustainable and implementing the sustainability tips you learn doesn’t have to be difficult or feel overwhelming. As we mentioned earlier, the smallest changes often yield the biggest impacts. That’s why for this year’s Earth Day and onwards, it’s imperative that we break those misconceptions of ‘going big or going home,’ and instead focus on the small and sustainable actions we can take on a day-to-day basis to help our environment when and where possible. Whether that means making small swaps like using a reusable bike water bottle for all of your hydration needs or aiming to use your ebike instead of your car for nearby trips. Small actions such as these still count as large sustainable actions, especially when implemented long term!

Before we finish up, we’d love to hear from our readers! If you’re already a sustainability champion, what’s your favorite sustainability tip to share with others? If you’re just starting out, which of our easy sustainability tips will you try out first? Leave a comment below!