How Black Millennials are Moving to the Organic Lifestyle
Kinky hair, coarse hair tied up in a bun, and natural hair that can be styled into endless patterns to rock those Ankara outfits are not just great, they look fabulous. All over the world black women are reclaiming their roots and redefining what it means to be beautiful. This generation of young black women is demanding a wider variety standard of beauty. We are letting the world know – “we get to be our own beauty standard, not someone else.” We can all remember a time in our lives where our hair had to be dragged and stretched after our hair strands have been deconstructed by relaxers. Now, organic hair is the standard, and this shows that we can decide what’s cool and what’s not. The millennial generation is a unique one, we are not just absent-mindedly taking in everything given to us by the media. We want to make an impact, and we are doing it in many ways, one of those ways is switching over to a more organic lifestyle, and here’s how we do it: The Water Challenge – The Life Challenge In an effort to drink more water, we bring to you the water challenge. Here’s what we do. For a chosen amount of days, (usually a month) we pledge to take just water or to take a stipulated amount each day. We ditch our favorite drinks, soda, release ourselves from the addiction of carbonated drinks and we like, okay, for this time, for just this stipulated amount of time we would take just water. It’s usually great to do pair up with a boss lady like you, what gets to remind you daily, have you drank your glass of water. Before you go buying tons of products and organics, flush out toxins in your system with water and watch that skin glow and pop. What’s fashion if we destroy the earth in the process? Can clothes be fashionable and sustainable? Can clothes save the world, or change the way we do things? Is it possible that a piece of item we wear can be made from materials that are renewable and do not take from our natural resources but give back? There’s a word for that, it’s called Eco-fashion. According to Stepin.org, Eco-fashion is about making clothes that take into account the environment, the health of consumers and the working conditions of people in the fashion industry. Young people are choosing to build businesses that promote ethical fashion and balances the impact of an industry that does not harm the earth. No plastics please, we’d rather save the earth More than 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans every year. How this is our problem? Plastics take thousands of years to decay, as these plastics particle break down, they are able to get into fishes and wildlife we eventually eat. Direct toxicity from plastics comes from lead, cadmium, and mercury which are overly dangerous to our health. A friend of mine arrived in a Tanzanian Airport and was shocked that she couldn’t get through with her plastic cups, all over the world, the government is tightening the entry of plastics in its borders and businesses are doing the same. Every action no matter how small can save us from the plastic tragedy. Here are a few habits that are fun and chic… We have our fun straw bendable straws We bring our bags from home when shopping, yes we are that cool Organic wraps instead of plastic bags, cool. Choose natural, one product at a time From natural hair care products to natural beauty products, we switching up those alternatives. The African beauty care industry is a billion-dollar industry and black women are beginning to take a fair slice of that pie. Beauty products made by black women for black women are emerging into the markets, they are not just a great way to support a MotherLand mogul in your community, they are better alternatives to the paraben filled products in the market. A beauty blogger, Sike Gbana reviews great products for skin and hair. You’d find a list of beauty entrepreneurs on our blog, which we have gone through the pains of listing out for you. Know what materials your products are made of And if it came from illegal poaching or through the effort of child labor, we don’t want any of that, we have our ears and eyes open and on the lookout for businesses who not only have great products but possess a good ethical standard to back it up. If you’re on the other side, are you thinking of making a switch? How can we support businesses and entrepreneurs who are daring to create a healthy trend? What ways are you switching your glow up? Is there a business in your community you know that is all about living an organic lifestyle? We want to hear from you. Give us a shout out on social media.