I’m fired up today. No pun intended. The wildfires in Australia have had me feeling emotional all week. Initially, it didn’t cross my mind to write about it, and I had several other things planned for today. But, this morning, I saw a photo of a small kangaroo clutching a fence, burned alive. I’ll never unsee that. I’m not going to show it to you here, but I’m not going to hold back on my opinions because being afraid to offend anyone doesn’t matter anymore.

I’m not an openly political person in that I generally keep my views to myself, so I’m not here to argue about global warming. I’m here to express my personal belief that we are destroying Earth, and it’s our job to fix it immediately.

This week, I’ve really pondered what my part in that can be. Sure, donating money absolutely helps. But I’m thinking about preventative measures. In the world we live in, we rely on Walmart, Amazon, UPS and other MASSIVE corporations that are quite literally destroying our resources and the natural habitats that also rely on them. I even think about my business, and what part I play in it. While since day one, it’s been important to me to source small batch artisans to purchase products from, it’s now not only a want, it’s a need.

I think ALL THE TIME about why someone would choose to shop my website for a $26 soy candle that they can’t even smell, when they can go to Bath and Body Works and get 5 candles for that price? Or why would my customer spend $8 on a vegan apothecary soap, when they can spend $4 on a giant bottle of body wash? Well, I like to believe that my shoppers understand what happens when they shop natural and shop small. They know they’re supporting businesses that care about the product they’re putting out and care deeply about the end user as well as the world we all live in. Shopping small and shopping natural DOES MEAN SPENDING MORE. It’s just a fact. My makers and I don’t have 100 Chinese factories producing boards and candles. We don’t have 1000 Indonesian children putting packaging together and shipping orders for next to no pay. Major corporations do. And it’s these practices that save us a few bucks day to day, but cost the world and humanity one hundred fold.

Listen, I’m not ignorant to the reality of the world we live in. I’m not going to act like my high horse of the day is going to stop the fires and fix Mother Earth. But I am going to pledge to reduce my personal reliance on big business in 2020. This past week, I sourced a small company in Joplin, Missouri that produces art resin, as well as mica pigment and other materials that I use to create my boards. I will be relying on them going forward for minimum of 50% of my art supply needs. This week, I will source a local ceramics maker to purchase my ring dishes from in order to support locally as well as reduce my Amazon orders. I also pledge to switch to reusable silicon mixing materials and invest in an artists’ tarp instead of disposable plastics for my personal production.

It’s not about moving into a cabin in the forest and renouncing all ways of modern living. It’s about being aware. Be aware that what you do SPEAKS. If you think for one second that your every single move isn’t being tracked online, you’re wrong. It’s up to us to tell big business what we want. And regardless of our views, I think we all want a safe, healthy planet for all. We have to stand up for our Earth and the dozens of people and half a billion animals that have already lost their lives in the Australia Wildfires.

I implore you this year to look hard at your life and find just ONE way to reduce your carbon footprint or better yet, help regrow the planet. Donate, plant trees, shop farmer’s markets, recycle candle jars into planters, do just one or two things that work for YOU.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, it literally means the world to me.