Beauty and Well Being chatted with me about all things eco for their green focus this month! Read on for more of my story and top picks…
by Lani Allen
A young “ecoRenaissance” woman and co-founder of Turning Green, Erin Schrode is this generation’s advocate for sustainability. Having grown up in Northern California in a family that valued treating their bodies and their planet well, it was not difficult for Erin to recognize her calling.
Her passion for the environment started in the womb. “My mom read a book when she was pregnant with me that changed her life,” she tells us.
She didn’t wait long to pursue what was important to her. In 2005, when Erin was just 13, she realized she wanted live a healthier life and co-founded Turning Green. Six years later, in 2011, the organization launched Project Green Challenge, the seed that started the tree of projects that now inspire people to eat, breathe, walk and talk sustainability.
“We get people hooked,” Erin admits, “so we can then teach and mobilize our ideals: Inspiration, Education and Action.”
The “Eternal Optimist,” as she dubs herself, doesn’t stop there. Erin is now recognized as an expert by numbers of organizations and publications such as the New York Times, National Geographic, CNN, BBC, FOX, Sundance and more.
Not only does Erin advocate for a healthy, eco-friendly lifestyle, but she also embodies it in her everyday routine. She uses an organic cotton sheet, sleeps on a naturpedic mattress (which contains only natural latex), drinks water from a stainless steel bottle and brings her own Mason jar to Juice Bars, opting for environmental, not wasteful habits.
We use so much, so try to use less. Use and reuse; swap all those single-use items for sustainable ones; use bamboo utensils, totes over plastic bags.
Some of her personal tips include drinking lots of water, eating unprocessed food, and always removing her makeup.
“Simplify your life,” she tells us. “We use so much, so try to use less. Use and reuse; swap all those single-use items for sustainable ones; use bamboo utensils, totes over plastic bags.”
It’s so important to Erin that her message reaches her contemporaries. She and her company have travelled all over the nation to teach college students how important it is to develop a sustainable lifestyle.
“We make it relevant, fun, high impact… We just did our Summer Summit in California and we saw thousands of student lives change.”
This month at BWB we are “going green.” Here are some of Erin’s favorite green products she recommends we use, too:
- RMS Beauty: she is “obsessed” with this all-natural makeup line, especially products like “un cover-up”.
- Jane Iredale eyebrow kit: Some of the best advice given by her grandma was ‘if you are wearing makeup well, no one should see you are wearing makeup’
- Pangea Organics: lipbalm
- Dr. Bronner’s soap and in-house cleaning products: They’re “amazing.”
- Dr. Hauschka mascara in dark brown: “I love wearing it.”
- Acure Orgnanics: “They make a beautiful argan oil.”
- Her bamboo utensils
- Mason Jar: “It’s what my grandma used to use. Just fill it up with smoothies or use it for shampoos… it is a big piece of my ‘green living’ identity.”
- Hand sanitizer, EO Products: “They make the most divine sanitizer, and it requires just a little spray; it’s great for on-the-go.”
- Priti NYC nail polish.
- Coconut oil: “I use it on my body and skin, and I can cook with it.”
- Essential oils: “The Goddess Line is so gorgeous, all made in Manhattan, sustainable and eco-friendly (I use Paravati).”
Erin Schrode understands eco-friendly, she gets sustainable, and she’s doing all she can to make us get it, as well. She knows that our lives, and this earth, depend on it.
Have you tried any of my top picks? Have more? Share with me here or on Twitter @ErinSchrode!