Saving the Planet…One Orvis Associate at a Time!

At Orvis Every Day is Earth Day
Photo by Orvis

Here at Orvis we take this Earth Day thing pretty seriously! When you belong to a company that gives 5% of its pre-tax profits to protecting nature, you pay attention to this stuff. When we starting looking for some simple things to do to show Mother Nature a little love, we began right here in our own backyard. Here are ten great, easy-to-do conservation tricks from Orvis Associates:

1. “Turn off the water when brushing your teeth. Just wet your toothbrush and rinse as necessary.”                                                                                         – Eric Green, Web Merchant Analyst

2. “When we mulch, we put down a double layer of newspaper first. After spreading out the paper, spray it with water to hold it in place and then spread the mulch evenly on it. The paper acts as a weed barrier and is usually good for 2 years. This keeps us from using weed killers (or having to pull weeds!) and it is biodegradable. Corrugated boxes cut open can be used in the same way for larger areas.” – Jane Bradley, Training, Development and Quality Specialist

3. “While I don’t think this will go over well with many people, getting rid of the all the cursed pod coffee machines that are not operated solely through a refillable cup or at the very least the new recyclable cups. Non-reusable cup use and disposal is killing our planet!!” – Shea Imhof, Retail Operations Coordinator

4. “One fun trick that my wife and I use is that we wrap all of our presents in reusable cloth wrapping paper. It is amazing how much waste it saves!” – Simon Perkins, Senior Manager of Orvis Adventures

5. “I’m composting food scraps! I re-use a LARGE coffee container (with lid) and keep it in the freezer, adding scraps throughout the week. The freezing process halts the breakdown – no odors – until it’s ready for the compost pile. When it’s full, and you’re ready to add it to your pile, soak it in some HOT water to thaw the bottom of the container. This should allow it to pop out in one frozen piece for the pile!” – Bryan Knights, Designer, Outdoor/Adventures

6. “Whenever possible, I use my clothesline rather than our dryer. Clothes dryers are amazing energy hogs! And there are very few things in this world that smell better than fresh, line-dried laundry!” – Daryl Kenny, PR & Corporate Marketing Coordinator

7. “Fun fact – It takes 16.5 gallons of water to make one 12 oz. can of soda. There are 31 grams of sugar in one can of cola. The world health organization recommends the average adult take in about 25 grams of sugar. Moral of the story: Drinking one can of soda is unfavorable to your health but it also has an unfavorable impact on the environment. Celebrate earth and do something good for yourself…..drink water and save the soda for a special treat. You’ll be saving water, improving your health, and you’ll get a double bonus if you use a refillable container. If you like carbonation, consider seltzer and add juice from concentrate (no sugars added). I won’t go into how much water it takes to make beer, wine, or liquor. Those numbers are even worse.” – Erin McEnaney, HR Generalist

8. “We’ve replaced all the light bulbs in our house with LEDs. Surprising how much of a difference it makes!” – Phil Monahan, Orvis News Editor

9. “Install outdoor solar lighting for walkway lights.” – Tucker Kimball, Social Media Manager

10. “Unplug power chords when not charging a mobile device. It still takes power even when not charging. They call that vampire power!” – Judy Van Wormer, IT Operations Project Manager

Let us know what you’re doing to save the planet. Remember – we’re all in this together! And, yes we’ve already heard “shower with a friend” and “drink beer instead of water” (see item #7).