Hello, hello, Seasider. How strong is your snacking game?

The other day, I opened my pantry to grab a snack when an eye-opening, jaw-dropping, and relatively simple question popped into my head: “Are any of these pouches and bags…recyclable?”

Welp, they’re not.

You’re probably like, "Don’t you dare tell me I must give up snacks?" And I’m here to tell you, not exactly.

It actually isn’t that hard to find sustainable snacks that fit the eco-criteria and taste amazing, too.

Let’s get into it, yeah?

In this product guide, you’ll get:

• Important Stuff - Waterways Pollution

• The Solution - Snacktivism

• Add to Cart - Snacks Worth a Shop

• 🤝 Let’s Work Together

— Camila Hernandez

IMPORTANT STUFF

Food packaging is a toughie.

Our lifestyles are conditioned to feel convenient and to have instant gratification— and well, food packaging offers just that.

But this stuff pollutes our waterways faster than weeds growing in a garden.

DID YOU KNOW?

An estimated 33 billion pounds of plastic enter the marine environment every year— that’s two garbage trucks' worth of plastic entering the ocean every minute, according to Oceana.

This ocean pollution is wreaking havoc on coastal communities, too.

Plastic pollution threatens coastal tourism, a vital industry for many regions. Beaches littered with debris, marine life harmed by plastic ingestion, and the overall decline in water quality all take a toll on coastal communities.^[1][2][3]

There’s a ton of data and research on this issue. So what can you do?

SNACKTIVISM

Start by eliminating plastics in your pantry. I firmly believe that change starts at home, one area at a time.

We need to raise awareness, educate ourselves, and take action, no matter how small our efforts may seem.

CHANGE STARTS AT HOME

Think about all the plastic items you use in your daily life. JK, don’t try it.

But being aware of how you use plastic is a great starting point for reducing plastic waste.

Your pantry is one of the biggest culprits in inviting plastic-happy products into your home. These products eventually go out the door into the environment, polluting our waterways.

Habits are hard to change. I know. But hear me out:

Believe that even a ‘small’ commitment can make a difference. I always think back to the phrase, “I’ll never be able to make a difference— said 8 billion people” 🤯 

So, what snacks should you add to cart? 

ADD TO CART

The goal is to opt for relatively healthy snacks ethically sourced from sustainable food systems and contained in sustainable food packaging.

Would you agree?

Here are the five snack brands you should consider (avail to shop on Amazon):

THE ART OF NOTICING
Sunrise by the Chesapeake Bay.

Tag your coastal pic on Instagram or Threads @cozycoastalofficial for a spotlight.