We care about forests for a myriad of reasons: Forests capture carbon, which helps offset dreaded global warming. The rich plant life in tropical rainforests does everything from curing diseases to regulating global water patterns. Loss of species biodiversity– including the sixth mass extinction– disproportionately affects rainforest habitats.

These are things that most reasonable people can agree on. The lungs of our planet are being chopped down for a new life as a 55-cent mailer or particle-board furniture destined for landfill. And chances are that you, like me, are heartbroken by this. 

The lungs of our planet are being chopped down for a new life as a 55-cent mailer or particle-board furniture destined for landfill.

Sustain initiative

But today, it’s time to move past the concern, alarm, and heartbreak to reach action. We are not helpless in the face of crisis. We don’t have to learn that our everyday decisions are causing the extinction of Bornean Pygmy Elephant or irreparable harm to indigenous cultures and go back to business as usual.

Want to stop deforestation? It starts with me, and with you. Here are some simple approaches with real impact. 

1. Manage your meat consumption

Agriculture is the primary driver of deforestation, including clear-cutting land for cattle ranching, and mass-producing soy (primarily as feed stock, including for pigs and chicken). But you don’t have to become a full-blown vegetarian to make a positive impact. Try reducing your meat consumption just a little– go all-in on Meatless Mondays, or use meat as a side dish rather than the main course a few days a week (chances are, this approach is better for your wallet and waistline as well). 

And when you do purchase meat, opt for local farmers (where you can ask directly about their animal feed) or grass-fed meat— which ensures that cows and other livestock are getting local pastures rather than soy imported from has-been rainforests. But watch the label! The “grass-fed” label can be a little misleading because technically, most animals at some point consume grass. To make matters more confusing, the term is no longer regulated by the FDA in the United States, and in the UK refers to any animal with a 51% grass fed diet. So your best bet is to choose labels that are “100% grass fed” or “grass fed and grass finished.” 

2. Look for the pretty green frog– aka, a Rainforest Alliance certification

Products such as coffee, tea, and chocolate flourish in rainforest regions… which is great for all caffeine loving people, myself included! But what’s not so great is when these products are often produced in recently deforested lands by workers subject to harsh conditions (chocolate with a side of child slavery? No thank you!).

This pretty green frog certifies that products (with just a few exceptions) are at least 90% sustainably produced in ways that protect human and environmental rights. And, lucky for us, more than 5,000 companies work to produce Rainforest Alliance certified products that are available in more than 170 countries. A fair trade label can also be a good indicator that products are produced in ways that are sustainable for both people and the planet.

The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has identified eight companies who are significant drivers of deforestation, including Kellogg’s, General Mills, Mondelez, Hershey’s, Mars, PepsiCo, Nestlé and Unilever. Recognize any of these from your weekly grocery list? Try switching to more sustainable alternatives. Or, if you’re really “in” to your Lucky Charms, try writing a quick e-mail to let these food giants know you care about protecting orangutan habitats, and, you know, the future of our planet.

3. Address the palm oil problem head-on

Palm oil— a product found in roughly half of all packaged foods, as well as hygiene products and cosmetics— is used as a preservative, a cooking oil, and even as a biofuel. But this do-it-all wizard comes at a high environmental toll. Widespread palm oil production on plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia exacerbates deforestation and threatens habitats for animals such as orangutans and the Sumatran tiger.

You could go the route of boycotting palm oil altogether. And I love me a good boycott, so friend, I am in your corner 100%. If you’re hoping to reduce your palm oil consumption, here are a few suggestions:

• Read product labels– and be mindful that “palm oil” often masquerades under other names including vegetable oil, glyceryl stearate, and stearic acid. Plus, vitamin A palmitate (found in many cereals), sodium laureth sulphate, and sodium lauryl suphate (both commonly found in soaps and other beauty products) are all frequently palm-oil derived.
• Replace vegetable oil with products clearly identified as 100% olive, canola, avocado, or coconut oil.
• Reduce your consumption of packaged foods, including breads, chips, and sweets in favor of homemade alternatives.
• Switch your shower products to palm-oil free brands. Ethique is my palm-oil and plastic-free answer to pretty much everything bathroom related.

But there is a persuasive case for just being more mindful of your palm oil consumption. Palm oil can be inexpensively produced with around 1/5 of the land requirements of other oils, and provides an income for millions of small farm-holders. So if you’re just hoping for sustainable palm oil, there are a few certifications to look for:

• The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil offers an RSPO label. (BUT this isn’t perfect. RSPO has faced criticisms of ignoring human-rights abuses and certifying plantations where land was clear-cut prior to being used for palm oil production).
• The Rainforest Alliance (green frog) also certifies sustainably produced palm oil– but because there are so few “sustainable” palm oil plantations globally, the green frog is used for any product with at least 30% sustainably produced palm oil.

You can also check the World Wildlife Fund’s Palm Oil Scorecard to see how your favorite brands are doing.

4. Cut your paper consumption

End your junk mail, yesterday.

Junk mail is a surprisingly significant– and unfortunate– contributor to deforestation. In fact, more than 100 million trees are cut down annually to advertise products we likely don’t need or want! Junk mail also contributes to greenhouse gases, to the tune of 50 million metric tons annually– the equivalent of around 9 million cars of the road. And to add insult to injury, most junk mail isn’t even recycled– just sent, unopened, into landfill.

Opt out of unwanted paper mail in a few simple steps:

1. Make sure to set your bills and bank statements to “paperless.” (I know you’re doing this one already!)
2. Start the process of opting out of junk mail with OptOutPrescreen, which lets you unsubscribe from credit card and insurance offers
3. Use DMA Choice to cut the catalog junk. (Regrettably, this one charges you to opt out of junk! But the $2 fee for 10 years is well worth the effort).
4. Painstakingly email every company that still sends you junk mail, begging them to remove you from their mailing list– or use Paper Karma to do the hard work for you.

Won’t I miss my coupons?! Rumor has it, we spend up to 8 months of our lives sorting out junk mail. I don’t know about you, but getting that time back is significantly more valuable than the $2 I might save on my favorite granola bars. If there’s a retailer you use frequently, try opting in for their emails or app coupons instead.

Opt out of paper receipts

These insidious litter-bugs are responsible for the destruction of 10 million trees annually (in the United States alone). Not to mention, they leach BPA, BPS, and other yucky chemicals– and aren’t even recyclable. How rude!

When possible, opt for an electronic receipt— and ask retailers to offer an electronic receipt option. Retailers want to keep customers happy– and chances are, we’re happier NOT lugging home a physical receipt with our groceries.

Use your paper sparingly

Use “scratch paper” for notes, kids’ coloring projects and to-do lists. Or, opt for a reusable notebook like the Rocketbook. When you really need paper to look fancy (like sending in your dreaded tax returns), choose recycled paper or FSC-certified paper from well-managed forests.

Clean up your bathroom act

What has colorful wrapping paper, tells its own jokes, and looks darn good on your porcelain throne? Who Gives a Crap! (toilet paper, that is). This certified B-Corp offers fully recycled or bamboo toilet paper and ships plastic free. Plus, they donate 50% of profits to build toilets in high-need communities around the world. 

If you’re even more ambitious, you could join the early-modern French aristocracy by installing a bidet. If you’re curious how the water consumption compares, 37 gallons of water is used to manufacture one roll of toilet paper, while using the bidet requires around 1/8 gallon of water. 

5. Look for the FSC Certification– or find your furniture second-hand

Furniture production generates an estimated $510 billion in revenue annually. As consumers face increased pressure to trade out end tables and patio furniture nearly as often as shoes, usable furniture is being dumped unceremoniously on the curb. And, that unwanted “curb furniture” (floral-pattered loveseat, anyone?) is being replaced with furniture that destroys forests across Central Africa but is designed to last only a few years.

9,680,000 tons of furniture was sent to landfill in 2018, versus only 2,150,000 tons in 1960.

EPA Report on durable goods

Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC, certification ensures that wood products come from responsibly managed forests and don’t contribute to rainforest destruction or habitat loss. This is particularly important because up to 1/3 the world’s supply of timber is the result of illegal deforestation. Much of this illegally-harvested timber makes its way into poorly-regulated supply chains through Chinese manufacturers (who are responsible for nearly 40% of furniture production worldwide), and is, in turn, sold to American consumers.

The FSC certification isn’t foul-proof. For example, Ikea recently came under fire for illegal timber in its supply chain. But, this certification is the best available metric for finding furniture that is environmentally-conscious. You can also search for products made from reclaimed wood, or purchase furniture second-hand.

I recently had the distinct pleasure of shopping for patio furniture. As I’m still recovering from the experience (can you tell I don’t like shopping much?!), I have just a few thoughts:

• You’ll probably have significantly more luck shopping online than in-person . You can find FSC-certified furniture at retailers like Pottery Barn and West Elm. Or, if you’re looking to support a smaller business, Conscious Life & Style has a wonderful guide: Furnish Your Space Sustainably With These 27 Eco-Friendly Furniture Brands.
• FSC-certified furniture is likely to be wood rather than lower-quality MDF or particle board. This means it may come with a higher initial price-tag, but will last substantially longer. And unlike MDF, solid wood won’t emit yucky chemicals like formaldehyde.

The world once held an estimated 6 million square miles of rainforest– less than half of which still exists. Worse, if deforestation continues at its current rate, rainforests will be gone altogether by 2100. As in, in our children’s lifetime. I’m not going to pretend that my decisions alone are all it takes to prevent environmental catastrophe– but our collective decisions, and some clever rainforest activism, just might save the lungs of our planet.