SPONSORED BY DESERT ESSENCE
“If we cannot envision the world we would like to live in, we cannot work towards its creation. If we cannot place ourselves in it in our imagination, we will not believe it is possible.” ~ Chellis Glendinning, author of My Name is Chellis and I’m in Recovery from Western Civilization
Your living space tells a story about you. Photos capture moments in time, books offer insight into hobbies and passions, and even the color scheme in your room adds a layer of texture and flavor. But what does your home say about your relationship to the planet?
All too often we select furnishings, bedding, and decor based purely on look, without any consideration of the environmental impacts of these items. With a couple weeks of PGC under your belt, you know that when purchasing a notebook, bed linens, or a desk lamp, you don’t have to sacrifice the wellbeing of our planet for function or aesthetic.
Even when living in a dorm, you have the choice to prioritize environmental sustainability over cheap goods.
In addition to making informed choices about what you buy, greening your space involves an intentional mindset: recycle, repurpose, upcycle, source sustainably, and learn to live with less. Doing these things will not only reduce your impact but will also allow you to create an exceptional space that is uniquely you. By the end of this challenge, we hope you’ll be ready for your living space to tell a new, healthier story.
Here’s one aspect of your space to seriously consider. So much of our time is spent in our beds, whether sleeping, studying, reading, or hanging out. In fact, we spend about 25 years of our lives sleeping. There are harmful toxins hiding in conventional mattresses that emit gases over time, releasing dangerous chemicals into your body and the air of your space. Not to mention, if you’re sleeping on sheets/blankets/pillows made with conventionally grown cotton or synthetics like polyester, you’re increasing use of and exposure to toxins. Though conventional cotton only accounts for 2.4% of the world’s cropland, it is responsible for 24% of global pesticide sales. Organic cotton is grown without pesticides or herbicides and is not genetically modified.
Upload a PDF document with your responses and a screenshot of your post. Please include your name (or team name), username, email address, and school.
Submission Guidelines
Now that you’ve started digging into your space and thinking about its impact, let’s take it to the next level and look across all of the choices and decisions that are made when curating your space. We often prioritize aesthetic and price over quality and impact. However, with forethought, you can find tons of affordable and environmentally conscious items to rethink your home.
Download PGC’s Dorm Room Checklist template here
Save your excel spreadsheet as a PDF document and upload it. Please make sure to include your name (or team name), username, email address, and school in your document.
Submission Guidelines
Now that you’re getting a sense for the health and environmental impacts of your home, we want you to create a resource to share your wisdom. We are calling it the Conscious Living 101 (CL101) packet.
Note: We want this to be comprehensive and nicely designed, so we are incentivizing up to 150 points (based on the discretion of our judges) for this Greenest challenge.
Upload a PDF document of your letter. Please include your name (or team name), username, email address, and school.
Submission Guidelines
