As part of our its annual Earth Month fundraising, we have partnered with our Aveda Ambassador Elyse Knowles to design a limited-edition tote bag with 100% of the purchase price donated to charity partner WaterAid clean water projects– focusing on nutrition, improved access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene in developing nations. Aveda chatted with Elyse about the design process, which she chose to partner on this project and all things sustainability!

AV: What does Earth Day mean to you?

EK: Earth Day has been around for a while which is really special. I feel as though NOW is a really important time to get involved and learn what this day is truly about. We desperately need to make sure that everyone is aware their carbon footprint and what we can do to lower our individual carbon emissions, our waste and our contribution to landfill. We need to learn what we can do in our everyday lives to protect and preserve our beautiful Australian country and the whole world as a whole. We live here on earth together. We need to support and teach one and other as much as we can so that we can nurture our land and enjoy all it has to offer for millions and millions of years to come. 

AV: Why did you chose to create this tote with Aveda? 

EK: I was so excited to collaborate on this tote with Aveda! We share so many of the same beliefs and ideas around how we can better educate others about sustainability and living an eco-friendly lifestyle. I’m grateful to be a partner of Aveda and I'm proud to be working alongside a company who is both active and reactive. Their innovation alone in terms of their products and packaging is amazing, so this tote bag initiative has been such a pleasure to work on. We invested a lot of time and planning into the tote in terms of what we want it to look like and how we'd like people to react to it. We want people to see it and want to act. We want to people to want to get involved. 

AV: Why this design? 

EK: It’s such a practical design which was the goal from the start. It's not about the bells and whistles, it's about the purpose and the meaning behind it. This is a bag that people can actually use time and time again. People can take it to the market, to the grocer, to the beach, to the gym... virtually anywhere and ANYWHERE. When you read the bag, it'll stop you and make you think! This initiative is about educating others and passing the message on as many times as we can. If you're walking down the street holding the bag and someone passes you - we want them to stop and think, "how can I get involved in that?!" 

AV: Why is WaterAid so important so importance to you? Why did you choose to partner with them?

EK: WaterAid are on the ground, all over the world healing villages. They are going into the various slums, meeting the families and children and working out how they can best help and provide access to clean water. I can't stress enough how simple it is - we just cannot live without clean water. We cannot raise healthy children without clean water and we cannot build and sustain healthy, productive ecosystems and communities. Expecting people to live with dirty water is inhumane and unacceptable. WaterAid are doing everything they can do fix this crisis - they're incredible.

Our aim at WaterAid is to spread awareness and open their eyes to what is going on in counties beyond their on. We need them to see this so that they can become involved and hopefully donate their financial resources or their time (which is just as helpful). Traveling to India with WaterAid and Aveda late last year, we saw firsthand how unwell and malnourished the children were and how sick many of the communities were as a result of drinking dirty, contaminated water out of stagnant puddles on the ground. 

In Australia we are so lucky to having running taps and flushing toilets. We take it for granted which is exactly why I work with WaterAid. I admire their purpose and I want to help spread awareness and increase solutions and care.

AV: How are you sustainable in everyday life and why is it important to you?

EK: Forward thinking is the key when making the change to sustainable living. You don't have to do it all at once and turn your life upside down – you simply need to plan ahead. When your plastic bottle runs out, perhaps then buy a glass bottle. When your cling-wrap is all out, maybe consider beeswax wraps. When you're next thinking about watering the garden, jump online and check out the recommendations in your area i.e. what time of the day you should be watering the lawn in order to conserve water. It's about being thoughtful and thinking twice. 

The Aveda tote bag is an incredibly easy way to get eco-friendly! Taking your tote bag to the market, the shopping centre or the green grocer is the best thing you can do. I always keep at least 3 bags in my car at all times as you never know when you'll need them and I refuse to use a plastic bag just because I wasn't organised. I have a reusable drink bottle and a reusable coffee cup with my at all times! They're in my bags, in my car - everywhere! 

A few other ideas for people to thing about in terms of the home and everyday living ... beeswax glad wrap, reusable Tupperware containers, bamboo or metal straws, compost bins, decomposable bin liners and of course making sure to use your recycling bins at home properly!

Pre-planning meals for the week is also a really great way to increase your "eco friendliness" as it minimises your needs to purchase packaged food.  Also on the topic of food, shopping at your local farmers markets is such an incredible way to shop! Fresh produce (meaning it tastes amazing!!), grown locally. What could be better! If you can, make a weekend out of it! Walk or ride to the markets, or carpool with friends if they're too far away. 

Last of all, there are the quick and simple things that people tend to forget about too easily; 
• Pick up rubbish if you see it! You see a lot of Josh and I doing this on social media, because it's something we are committed too and we think everyone else should be too.
• Turn everything off at the wall if you're not using it.
• Try your best to buy products if the packaging is made out of PCRP (Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic), and even then, think before you make the purchase. Do I really need this?
• Try to ensure the product is clean of chemicals and instead full of naturally derived ingredients, just like Aveda!