Photo Friday | National Skip the Straw Day

I'm a sucker for those random 'celebration' holidays that pop up all over social media, so of course I'm here today to say Happy National Skip the Straw Day!

Will You Accept This Skip-the-Straw Challenge?
Will You Accept This Skip-the-Straw Challenge?

Today at lunch with my coworkers, I went with my usual "Water, no straw please" order and the waitress obliged with no issues at all!


0

Photo Friday | Environmentalism

The warm weather and actual sunshine that's been around in South Louisiana for the past couple of days has definitely gotten me longing to be outside more and ride my bike around my neighborhood. Sitting inside is definitely not helping any post-Mardi Gras sluggishness!

So today is short and sweet. Give a Shift About Nature shared this sentiment on their Instagram yesterday and it really resonated with me. So simple, yet so hard to get across.

Photo courtesy Give a Shift About Nature

As you take advantage of this springlike weather this weekend, take some time to go outside and see what you can clean up. Most likely you'll be cleaning up after someone else instead of yourself, but either way, our planet will benefit from someone cleaning up.
0

Mardi Gras Festivities

How is everyone hanging on this Lundi Gras? The weather has certainly not been friendly to the festivities this year, but it seems like everyone still has that Mardi Gras spirit going strong!

My favorite parts of Mardi Gras this year have definitely been the unique sustainable initiatives of Krewe de Canailles and Project Front Yard.


0

Photo Friday | Vegan Fashion

Because of my background in advertising, I've always enjoyed watching the Super Bowl for the entertaining commercials. Now I love just about all of it - the game itself, the commercials and the halftime show.

I actually loved Justin Timberlake's performance this year (apparently not the most popular opinion, but oh well!), but what I did not love at all were his outfit and the backup dancers' outfits. They could have been done so much better, and with better color choices.


A day or so later, I learned on Instagram that at least Justin's outfit was made of vegan materials, and that it was designed by Stella McCartney.

Y'all know I love some sustainable, vegan and fair-trade fashions, but I still can't get behind this styling. I'm not very educated on Stella McCartney as a brand, although I know they are very committed to vegan materials and sustainability in general, and that's something I deeply respect from a more mainstream brand.


I dearly hope that sustainable fashion becomes more mainstream, but what I'm afraid of is that people are going to equate sustainable fashion to ugly fashion. And that's simply not the case! There's so much beautiful fair-trade, vegan-material and recycled-fabric clothing available, and the fact that it's kinder to the environment and the workers makes it all even better.

What did you think? Were you a fan of Justin's Super Bowl performance and style??
0

Krewe de Canailles: A Sustainable Mardi Gras Parade

Mardi Gras is now less than a week away, and this weekend is packed with events around Acadiana. Unfortunately, the weekend also looks packed with some rain, so you better break out the rain jackets, ponchos and rubber boots.

With Lafayette's usual Friday night kickoff parade being moved to Lundi Gras, it opened up an opportunity for a group of determined and creative Lafayette residents.


Krewe de Canailles is Lafayette's newest parade, and it was made possible through funding from Civicside's 24 Hour Citizen Project, an event held last July. Since then, Krewe organizers have brainstormed, worked out the logistics, and enlisted sub-krewes to take part in a unique walking parade.
0

Photo Friday | Project Front Yard + Krewe of Rio

Since January 6, Mardi Gras season has been in full swing, with balls just about every weekend. Lafayette's first parade rolls this Saturday, as Krewe of Rio kicks off the parade schedule.

This year, Krewe of Rio has teamed up with Project Front Yard to help make their parade a little less wasteful. Last weekend, Skyra and Lisa with Project Front Yard visited the krewe's float staging space and helped collect cardboard boxes and plastic bags as krewe members loaded up their beads for throwing.

The cardboard boxes were saved for recycling collection, and the plastic bags will go toward Project Front Yard's school project Plastic Bag Roundup.

Collecting the trash at the start will make a huge impact on the amount of waste left behind by the floats.


Tomorrow evening, Project Front Yard volunteers will serve as the final float, walking the parade route to pick up recyclables and waste. The cleanup aims to help divert parade waste from becoming litter on our streets, in our yards and in our waterways, and to help divert recyclables into the recycling stream.


“The Krewe of Rio is proud to partner with Project Front Yard to set an example of how to have fun and also be environmentally-conscious. “We recognize that Mardi Gras is an important component of our community culture and a huge tourism asset. We want to maintain the beauty of our neighborhoods and streets as well,” said Larry Comeaux, Krewe of Rio President. “We hope that our example creates a domino effect for other parades and events in Lafayette to follow.”

“Project Front Yard was founded on the principle of community pride and we are excited to work with Rio to create a sustainable approach to Mardi Gras. We love when community members take ownership and pride in showcasing a clean and fun way to ‘Laissez les bon temps rouler,’” said Skyra Rideaux, Project Front Yard Coordinator.

Three years ago, Project Front Yard held its inaugural Krewe of Rio parade cleanup, which I really enjoyed participating in. (Head into my archives for that recap blog post!)


We got a great workout, in addition to saving a ton of trash from becoming litter, and collecting a ton of beads to donate to LARC for their resale program (check out my blog post on LARC's efforts).


If you're heading out to the Krewe of Rio parade or any other parade in Acadiana, make sure to pack food and drinks in reusable containers and pick up any waste you may have before you leave!





0
Back to Top