Start Small

Two wheelbarrows holding bundles of flax: long, thin grass, at a Nova Scotia farm.

Fashion & Beauty Plants & Animals

Bringing Local Linen Back to Nova Scotia

Everything old is new again as farmers and weavers attempt to revive a local textile industry.

Kat Tancock

October 17, 2024 - 5 min read

Piles of dark peat stacked along the edge of a deep, curved cut in the peat-filled ground. A low hill lies in the background.

Climate Change Home & Garden

Peat Has an Important Role Beyond the Garden

The story of peat is the tale of a significant carbon sink under threat from human exploitation and climate change.

Jennifer Cole

September 11, 2024 - 7 min read

A raptor with dark brown wings, white speckled belly and striped tail flies above a woman and 2 kids.

Plants & Animals Start Small

To Save Raptors, They Focused on Their Neighbours

The founders of the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre found local support when they supported local needs.

Carol Patterson

June 27, 2024 - 6 min read

At night, a large burgundy wood-paneled house is loaded onto a large yellow trailer for relocation.

Cities Home & Garden

Builders and Cities Seek Alternatives to Demolition

Meeting the need for new homes doesn’t mean old ones belong in the landfill.

Caroline Dobuzinskis

June 12, 2024 - 5 min read

Climate Change Economy

What Does it Mean to be Certified CarbonNeutral?

Know Logo helps you navigate today’s greenwashed marketplace, one logo at a time. Next up: CarbonNeutral certification.

Jadine Ngan

May 29, 2024 - 5 min read

A Lionel Richie vinyl record sitting atop a box filled with record sleeves next to an iPhone streaming the same album.

Art & Design Science & Tech

The Decider: Physical Media vs. Streamed Tunes

Is one way of playing recorded music greener than the rest?

Rebecca Gao

May 15, 2024 - 6 min read

Aliya Abbas sits on a stump at a park. She wears a blue hijab, a floral print shirt and jeans, and works on her laptop.

Human Rights Start Small

Influencers Use Social Media to Educate New International Students

Students use video to warn against scams, share beauty tips, and welcome those following in their footsteps.

Baisakhi Roy

December 07, 2022 - 6 min read

Silicone kitchen tools arranged in a fan shape sit on a blue background, with silicone cupcake liners scattered above them.

Food Plastic & Pollution

Is Your Silicone Spatula Sustainable?

The story of those colourful kitchen accessories starts in a surprising place: a sand mine.

Tina Knezevic

November 28, 2022 - 5 min read

A wooden bed topped with soft-looking yellow, white, and checkered green bed sheets.

Home & Garden Plastic & Pollution

The Decider: Bedding

Your pillowcase comes with an environmental price.

Zeahaa Rehman

November 01, 2022 - 6 min read

A person uses their phone to take a photo of airplanes sitting on tarmac through a large airport window.

Know Logo Start Small

Can We Certify Our Way to Sustainable Travel?

Know Logo helps you navigate today’s greenwashed marketplace, one logo at a time. Next up: the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

Sun Woo Baik

October 20, 2022 - 7 min read

Art & Design Fashion & Beauty

Oona Clothing Finds Fashion in Textile Fragments

Indie designer Tina Ozols repurposes textile waste to make treasured, long-lasting fashion.

Odette Auger

October 18, 2022 - 5 min read

A fuzzy grey butterfly with black spots and black wingtips perches on a tight bunch of white flowers.

BC Plants & Animals

Can We End this Endangered Butterfly’s Losing Streak?

The Behr’s hairstreak could go extinct in Canada if we don’t protect the rare desert ecosystem it depends on.

Amir Aziz

August 11, 2022 - 6 min read

Makeup brushes in a roll-up case, small containers, nail polish, and flowers spread out on a grey table.

Fashion & Beauty Know Logo

Clean Beauty Standard?

Know Logo helps you navigate today’s greenwashed marketplace, one logo at a time. Next up: EWG Verified.

Zeahaa Rehman

June 07, 2022 - 8 min read

On a wooden desk, a laptop displays an e-book of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, next to a print version of the book.

Art & Design Science & Tech

The Decider: Print or E-Books

Most people have a preferred format for book reading. But is one better for the planet?

Helen A. Lee

April 27, 2022 - 7 min read

6 soybean pods hang from their leafy stems in a golden sun-lit field.

Climate Change Food

Soy’s Rise is Causing Ecological Downfall

The story of soy and its current boom has little to do with tofu — or human food at all.

Kevin Jiang

April 21, 2022 - 7 min read

A worker adds a board to a stack of lumber under a canopy in a forest in Uaxactun, Guatemala.

Know Logo Plants & Animals

Cutting into the Controversial World of Forest Certification

Know Logo helps you navigate today’s greenwashed marketplace, one eco-label at a time. Next up: FSC and SFI.

Kevin Jiang

November 16, 2021 - 9 min read

Murals of giant people on 6 silos at a waterfront concrete facility. In the background are a park and apartment towers.

Climate Change Science & Tech

Can We Reduce Concrete’s Environmental Impact?

The story of concrete is complex: it’s an affordable, easy-to-use building material, but also an environmental nightmare.

Rebecca Gao

November 02, 2021 - 6 min read

6 Hangama Amiri quilts hang on a white gallery wall. They each depict different Afghan foods.

Art & Design Gender

Fiction Tells the Truth: A Q&A with Hangama Amiri

In the wake of the Taliban takeover, an Afghan-Canadian artist reflects on family, migration, and identity.

Sun Woo Baik

October 29, 2021 - 6 min read

A calm lake in Bangalore with a large apartment complex along its shore. Another apartment complex lies in the distance.

Art & Design Cities

In This Game, Bangalore’s Lakes are at Stake

An interactive theatre game aims to inspire people to save lakes in India’s tech capital.

Shailaja Tripathi

August 05, 2021 - 7 min read

A person strains almond milk through a cloth into a glass bowl next to a jar of almonds, a metal bowl, & a mortar & pestle.

Food Start Small

The Decider: Plant-based Milks

Not all non-dairy milks are created equal, so which one is right for you and the planet?

Katharine Reid

July 30, 2021 - 7 min read

Canopy tents of various brands in a crowded plaza. A pull-up banner reads “Meet the businesses building a better world.”

Economy Know Logo

Are B Corps as Beneficial as They Claim?

Know Logo helps you navigate today’s greenwashed marketplace, one eco-label at a time. Next up: B Corp.

Rebecca Gao

July 21, 2021 - 6 min read

A large array of solar panels on a flat field under a bright blue sky with wispy clouds.

Energy Science & Tech

A Closer Look at Solar Power

The story of solar panels is one of innovation, low-carbon energy, and a complex disposal process.

Glynis Ratcliffe

June 30, 2021 - 7 min read

A small outdoor pantry with doors opened to show to a fridge and a shelf of canned goods.

BC Cities

Community Fridges Support Neighbours and Fight Food Waste

Volunteers are confronting food insecurity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rebecca Tucker

May 27, 2021 - 6 min read

Jeans in various colours hang on a chain link fence in front of a red brick building.

Fashion & Beauty Human Rights

Are Fair Trade Clothes the Fairest of them All?

Know Logo navigates our greenwashed marketplace, one logo at a time. Next up: Fair Trade USA-certified clothes.

Emma Rubin

April 07, 2021 - 6 min read

Bees in and around their hive oozing with honey, visible through a rectangular hole in a wooden box.

Food Plants & Animals

Why the Downtown Eastside is Buzzing

Hives for Humanity is bringing bees—and community—to Vancouver’s most disadvantaged neighbourhood.

Carolyn B. Heller

March 25, 2021 - 5 min read

A dab of purple and white toothpaste on the bristles of a pink toothbrush, on a yellow background.

Health Start Small

Should We Worry About Fluoride?

Sink your teeth into the story of fluoride and how it affects our health and the environment.

Erica Gerald Mason

February 24, 2021 - 8 min read

A grey cat with yellow eyes and a red bowtie with white stars licks its nose.

Food Plants & Animals

Lab-Grown Meat is Coming… to the Pet Food Aisle

Your kitty could soon enjoy meat without harming the environment.

Kevin Jiang

February 10, 2021 - 6 min read

Rows of Christmas trees on a field blanketed in a thin layer of snow.

Plants & Animals Plastic & Pollution

The Decider: Christmas Trees

Real vs. artificial: Which option is better for the planet?

Mariana Zapata

December 06, 2020 - 6 min read

A wide, wedge-shaped four-storey building with wrap-around glass walls sits on the south shore of Vancouver Harbour.

Cities Energy

Get to Know the Global Scheme that Promotes Green Building

Know Logo helps you navigate today’s greenwashed marketplace, one logo at a time. Next up: LEED.

Barry Rueger

November 04, 2020 - 6 min read

Three cora balls—blue plastic balls with ring-shaped protrusions that mimic coral that capture microplastics in the laundry.

Home & Garden Plastic & Pollution

I Tried the Cora Ball

The bright laundry accessory offered to protect marine life from my clothing’s microfibres. But would it work?

Glynis Ratcliffe

September 23, 2020 - 5 min read

3 avocados on a wooden table. In the foreground, a cut avocado half shows light yellow-green flesh and a round, brown pit.

Food Start Small

Who’s Really Paying for Your Avocado?

Served with deforestation, toxic chemicals, and water waste, the story of avocado could leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Lauren Kaljur

September 15, 2020 - 7 min read

Two brown cows graze on a vast grassy field.

Food Plants & Animals

The BC Dairy Where Cows are in Charge

Vancouver Island’s Morningstar Farm prioritizes a happy herd and a healthy ecosystem.

Linda Barnard

September 01, 2020 - 6 min read

A fridge door shelf holding three large, brown glass bottles of beer, staggered with two tall beer cans.

Food Plastic & Pollution

The Decider: Cans or Glass Bottles

Does it matter to the planet how your beer or soda is stored?

Francesca Fionda

August 12, 2020 - 6 min read

Several multi-sided game dice spill out of a grey cloth bag onto a white tabletop.

Art & Design Plants & Animals

How a Gaming Podcast Promotes Marine Conservation

Meet the scientists using Dungeons & Dragons to teach people about their work.

Tanya Nielsen

March 05, 2020 - 6 min read

An infant wearing a onesie patterned with animal faces lies on a table beside a plastic bag of folded disposable diapers.

Kids & Parenting Plastic & Pollution

The Decider: Diapers

Cloth. Disposable. Which system is actually better for the environment?

Lauren Kaljur

February 05, 2020 - 7 min read

A bronze sculpture in the Northwest Coast style of circular faces overlapping each other in Whistler, BC.

Cities Indigenous

Decolonizing the City: A Q&A with Ginger Gosnell Myers

Vancouver’s first Indigenous relations manager reflects on the urban Aboriginal experience.

Wawmeesh Hamilton

January 15, 2020 - 6 min read

Stacked cans of Gold Seal wild sockeye salmon. Each can has a blue MSC label bearing a small white emblem of a fish.

Food Know Logo

Choosing Sustainable Seafood Amid a Sea of Eco-Labels

Know Logo navigates our greenwashed marketplace, one logo at a time. Next up: the Marine Stewardship Council.

Francesca Fionda

January 09, 2020 - 6 min read

3 crumpled balls of wrapping paper topped with a bell, a star & a ribbon on a sheet of wrapping paper with swirls & stripes.

Plastic & Pollution Start Small

Is Wrapping Paper Worth It?

The story of wrapping paper starts in the forest and ends in the dump, guzzling water and energy along the way.

Alia Dharssi

December 18, 2019 - 7 min read

A shopping cart rolling down a brightly-lit grocery store aisle.

Know Logo Start Small

Get to Know North America’s Oldest Eco-Certification

Know Logo helps you navigate today’s greenwashed marketplace, one eco-label at a time. First up: EcoLogo.

Marianna Ciccia

October 16, 2019 - 4 min read

A large, long-necked white bird with a yellow beak wades through murky water in a mangrove forest.

Economy Plants & Animals

Protecting Forests by Building Schools

A California non-profit protects island ecosystems like Sri Lanka’s mangroves by funding local infrastructure.

Nithin Coca

September 18, 2019 - 5 min read

Three people sit at bar seating in a dimly-lit , modern restaurant.

Food Start Small

This Seattle Restaurant Makes Filipino Food with Local Ingredients

A commitment to sustainability led Archipelago to replace SE Asian staples with NW Coast stand-ins.

Megan Hill

September 10, 2019 - 6 min read

5 palm fruits. They’re oval with a red-to-black gradient peel. One is cut, showing a orange flesh with a waxy white core.

Food Plants & Animals

Palm Oil is in Everything, and It’s Hurting More than the Orangutans

Inexpensive, often-invisible, and the source of environmental destruction: this is the story of palm oil.

Helen A. Lee

August 22, 2019 - 7 min read

White towels, sheets, and socks hang to dry on a line in front of a big green shrub.

Home & Garden Start Small

Why Line-Drying Sheets is Better for You and the Environment

For fresh, crisp sheets, thread count matters far less than how you dry your bedding.

Rosanna Nafziger Henderson

August 01, 2019 - 4 min read

A man wearing exercise clothing rubs sunscreen into his forearm.

Health Plastic & Pollution

The Decider: Sunscreen

How to choose sunscreen that protects both your skin and fragile marine ecosystems.

Glynis Ratcliffe

July 16, 2019 - 6 min read

T-shirts and bed linens hang on a line stretched between two old buildings, under a bright blue sky with fluffy clouds.

Home & Garden Start Small

The Decider: Laundry and Detergent

The Decider looks beyond greenwashing to help you make sustainable decisions.

Alia Dharssi

April 03, 2019 - 8 min read

Jagged chunks of chocolate on a white surface.

Food Start Small

The Decider: 5 Ways to Choose Sustainable Chocolate

The Decider looks beyond greenwashing to help you make sustainable decisions.

Alia Dharssi

December 13, 2018 - 8 min read

A roll of toilet paper on a yellow background.

Home & Garden Start Small

The Decider: Toilet Paper (and Other Tissues)

The Decider looks beyond the greenwashing to help you make everyday sustainable lifestyle decisions.

Alia Dharssi

October 18, 2018 - 5 min read