Top Sustainable New Year's Resolutions

With the end of 2022 fast approaching, it’s time to reflect back on the past year and set intentions for 2023. For the year ahead, we’re moving the usual New Year’s resolutions to the side (you can go to the gym anytime), and instead focusing on small practices that are easy to incorporate into your daily life to help you lead a more eco-conscious lifestyle.

When you live on a pristine chain of islands that’s adopted the national slogan “Beautiful by Nature,” it only makes sense to do our part to protect and preserve our home. Here are our top sustainable New Year’s resolutions to inspire you for the New Year.

Shop with reusable bags

If you haven’t already started bringing your own reusable bags to Graceway Supermarkets, then now is the time to start. Studies have found that bans on plastic bags decrease the amount of plastic litter on land and in the ocean.

That’s why our charitable arm Graceway Communities launched the Staying Blue token program in 2019—to reduce single-use bags in stores and give back to our community at the same time. Donations of up to $10,000 are distributed every few months to different community causes, from school equipment upgrades to senior citizen care and more.

For every reusable bag you bring while shopping, you get a blue token at checkout to add to one of three causes, each of which has their own token boxes by the store exit. Graceway Communities donates 10 cents for each token for the first 100,000 tokens. What better way to reduce your carbon footprint and give to your community at the same time?

Store produce properly to waste less food

We’re all guilty of it at some point—buying fruits and vegetables that end up going bad before we’ve had a chance to enjoy them. The best way to avoid this wasteful scenario is to ensure you’re storing your produce properly to get the longest shelf life.

Some important storing tips to remember:

• Higher temperatures will cause produce to go bad quicker—and this is especially true when you live in a hot climate. Store produce in the fridge to make it last longer

• Fruit and vegetables need to breathe, too. So while that bowl of fruit may certainly look nice, you’re actually shortening each piece of fruit’s lifespan. Space them out, and never seal produce in an airtight bag unless you’re freezing it

• If possible, only buy enough produce you’ll be able to eat in a short period of time. Produce tastes better when it’s fresher anyway

Use a refillable water bottle

Just like reusable bags, refillable water bottles help us to reduce our own waste and the use of single-use plastic. Not only will you save money using a refillable water bottle, but you’ll be doing the environment a big favour.

When you can, walk instead of drive

It’s not always an option, but if your destination isn’t too far away, consider walking instead of hopping in the car. Choosing to walk will not only reduce carbon emissions, but you’ll also save on gas and get a workout in. And that’s a win-win-win in our book.