Earth Day 2021: Restore Our Earth

April 22 is Earth Day, a day that typically is heralded as the largest environmental movement across the world. This is when we evaluate all of our sustainability goals and come up with new ways to ensure the protection of the earth. The theme of Earth Day this year is Restore Our Earth, which focuses on natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking to restore the world’s ecosystems. More importantly, Earth Day helps to keep the climate change conversation going and getting climate education added to curriculums to help the next generation prepare for the future.

It was interesting last year at this time to see the shutdown of industrial activity temporarily slashing air pollution levels around the world. In fact, there was a drastic change in nitrogen dioxide level as China had shut down all manufacturing. Even with this temporary change to help the climate, according to a recent NASA report, 2020 is tied with 2016 as the warmest year on record. NASA explains these results: 

Tracking global temperature trends provides a critical indicator of the impact of human activities – specifically, greenhouse gas emissions – on our planet. Earth’s average temperature has risen more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.2 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century.

Rising temperatures are causing phenomena such as loss of sea ice and ice sheet mass, sea level rise, longer and more intense heat waves, and shifts in plant and animal habitats. Understanding such long-term climate trends is essential for the safety and quality of human life, allowing humans to adapt to the changing environment in ways such as planting different crops, managing our water resources and preparing for extreme weather events.

While the global shutdown reduced particulate air pollution it also did allow for more sunlight to reach the surface producing a small but potentially significant warming effect. On the plus side, the shutdowns reduced the amount of carbon dioxide emissions.

Now is the time for us to consider our daily activities, what changes can we make to help slow climate change and restore our Earth. Essentia is proud to operate a GOLS and GOTS certified organic facility that keeps the highest standards of sustainability and consideration of our impact on the Earth in all aspects of our manufacturing process. 

Will you be doing things like going vegan or switching to green power where available? How about joining a cleanup or ditching plastic in your daily activities? However you choose to get involved, the most important thing to consider is climate literacy and continuing to explain why making these changes is so important and why teaching the next generation will be the key to restoring the Earth. 

Essentia Beyond Organic Sustainability Efforts

Here at Essentia, we believe that we need to practice Earth Day every day! This is why our Beyond Organic Standard is so important. Beyond Organic is a self-managed initiative that is at the core of all our product design and processes. Our mattresses at Essentia are and always have been far beyond organic. The products and components are thoughtfully designed and sourced for clean, ethical, and life replenishing sleep. Being true to our Beyond Organic values, Essentia products are always Vegan and Cruelty-Free, our old-world methodologies are not easy but they are the right way to assure the purest possible outcome to preserve clean and healthy indoor air quality while achieving the highest recovery performance and sleep benefits ever.

SOURCING:
Hevea Milk is the “sap” of the Rubber tree which is the nuts and bolts of our mattress. It’s used to make our natural memory foam and natural latex support foam. Our hevea milk is sourced from Indonesia and collected from rubber plantations with fair and ethical working conditions, pay, and no child labor.

SHIPPING:
We roll pack our mattresses for not only your convince, but it’s a huge win for the environment as well. Roll packing allows us to use 75% less space in a truck and 75% less packaging. Using less is always better but using boxes made from 100% recycled paper is just extra gravy. *(99% post-consumer, 1% post-industrial)

BIODEGRADABLE:
When you’ve decided it’s time to upgrade your Essentia mattress, you won’t be worried about your old Essentia living in a landfill. Your Essentia mattress will biodegrade in just 3 years when exposed to the elements; wind, rain, sun. Another healthy option for disposal is to find a mattress recycler in your area.

ZERO-WASTE FACILITY:
Waste not, want not as they say. In our factory, we shred all latex and memory foam offcuts and excess for other products such as pillows making us a zero-waste facility.

A FRIEND TO THE ANIMALS:
Sleep soundly knowing every mattress and pillow we produce is Vegan and 100% Cruelty-Free. We also never test on animals… although we know they’d love a nap on Essentia.