Sustainability is a term that is tossed around often these days. But what does it mean? Basically – for consumers – sustainable consumption is the use of products and services that have a minimal impact on the environment. The more you reduce your carbon footprint, the better.

Earth Day has been observed every April 22 since 1970, and is a yearly reminder for us all to not only think about sustainability but make positive changes to protect our environmental resources for future generations. Everyone has the ability to do something to address our planet’s current climate challenges, but we can all still do more. What can you do?

The use of jute totes is a good example. It’s the responsible choice for shopping to cut back on the use of single-use polyethylene bags. Reusable and biodegradable jute or canvas tote bags are even more environmentally friendly than non-woven polypropylene bags, which are recyclable and sustainable

Announced near the end of 2020, the Pantone Color Institute released its official Pantone Colors of 2021: Ultimate Gray and Illuminating Yellow. The Institute usually only chooses one color each year, but 2020 has been a most unusual one, to say the least.

Pantone describes this duo as “a marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting.”

ARTnews.com compares the colors to “the gray of cloudy skies ... comfortable bed linens,” and “the bright yellow of lemon skin.” Could these colors also be signalling a bright new day (yellow sun) peeking out from behind gray skies? Warm sunshine and new possibilities? That’s what we’re thinking.

The two colors pair well together with the pop of bright yellow against a calming gray. Colors of the year come and go, so make sure you choose only the colors you like, of course, but the folks at Pantone really know their colors. We have some suggestions