Why eco friendly

For this Earth Day I’d like to share my own story and how and why we decided to make our company as green and eco friendly as we can at the moment.
Doing something is better than doing nothing at all.

My story of saving the Earth started in the 90’s when I, as a heavy hairspray user at the time, learned that my hairspray is hurting our ozone layer. The news was confusing and I didn’t quite understand it, but it got me thinking about our impact to this place we call home. I didn’t want to quit using my hairspray but at the same time I didn’t want to be responsible for destroying life on Earth (yes, I was a child so that’s how I saw it). My mother explained to me that we can still use hairspray because the producers will change the way how it is made in order not to hurt Earth. So I bought a new spray that was made this way and life was good again, right? Well, not exactly. My biology teacher informed me about so many ways people are hurting and destroying Earth, which was, at the time, mind-boggling for me (why would you deliberately do something that is hurting you and your loved ones?)

Over the years I started to realise that many of the produce I like are really bad – bad for my health, bad for animals and bad for the environment. And yes, it took a long time to admit that some of my favourite brands are just covering up their wrongdoing by pretty ads and promises on their shiny bottles, pretty packages or nice looking clothes.

At the same time our streets were filled with more and more plastic objects of all shapes and sizes and our seas and oceans heavily polluted. It bugged me a lot.

For years I was picking up trash on the street and saving floating plastic bottles from our blue sea. I couldn’t understand how can you just throw trash like that on the street or into the sea (and I still don’t). But I was given strange looks of passers-by and my friends while doing so (it’s not your trash to collect, you’re not a garbage man, etc. they would say). So as I felt embarrassed in some situations, I had to choose when and where to pick up the trash I see.

Then one day more than ten years ago I found out about initiative called Take3 (take 3 pieces of rubbish with you when you leave the beach, waterway or anywhere, and you have made a difference). It was everything I needed so I don’t feel ashamed for actually picking up the trash. Now it had a name and a purpose and I could say to anyone who asks or mock me why I am doing it (like cleaning our Mother was not good reason enough for some people).

At first I didn’t take photos of my collected trash because I didn’t need any approval, I was feeling good just by doing it, but then I realised that sharing photos of that trash could actually engage somebody else to do the same, just like Take3 has helped me. Next initiative that I found, Five minutes beach clean-up took my trash picking to the next level.

But after awhile it wasn’t enough, I wanted to do more. So I did some research and learned about zero waste.

At first I thought that’s impossible to do. You have to sacrifice a lot of things you are used to use in your daily life and can’t imagine your life without it because they are all wrapped, bottled or stored in plastics. Loads and loads of plastics.
I’m not there yet, but I try to reduce my waste every day.

In order to help our dear planet even more, I’ve decided to incorporate my knowledge to the company. At first it was very difficult since people don’t really want to change doing things the way they are used to. So I’ve started with small things like using recycled printing paper, switching to natural dishwasher soap or recycled paper towels in the office.

While creating our own little business, Sailhunt, we’ve decided to make it as eco friendly as possible.

Now we are searching for new solutions every day in order to completely use plastic free, natural products without harmful chemicals and products that were not tested on animals.

We also try to cooperate with Croatian brands and small business that share our values in order to reduce plastic waste and stop releasing harmful chemicals to the sea.

We try to encourage our guests to be mindful about their impact while visiting our islands and beaches on shore by respecting its natural environment:

• not to pollute the sea by throwing waste overboard
  (biodegradable waste included)
• use natural cleaning products that we have onboard
• reduce, reuse and recycle plastic items that are brought onboard
• try to use products with glass, paper or metal packages instead of plastic ones
• reduce usage of plastic grocery bags
• pick-up the trash on the beach (let the BlueBag initiative be the inspiration)

What we use in our eco set

• natural dishwashing liquid from PeroZero
• dishwashing sponge made from agave plant from Rekord
• cotton dish towels
• recycled kitchen towels
• recycled paper bags for bio waste
• recycled trash bin bags
• natural bathroom cleaner from PeroZero
• PeroZero hand soap
• recycled toilet paper

Our boats are all cleaned inside and out with PeroZero natural products that are not harmful for the sea.

I hope someone readying this story gets inspired by doing something better for our Planet each day. Earth Day is not only once a year.

Your sales/marketing/receptionist/eco warrior,

Dalija