If you’ve ever found yourself eyeing that buttery-soft leather bag and wondering, “Can I do better—for the planet, for the animals, for my values?”—you’re not alone.

When I first started my sustainability journey, I started to get curious not only about the ethical aspect of wearing leather, but its environmental impact. I used to think real leather was just a byproduct of the meat industry, so I didn’t question it much. It wasn’t until I dug a little deeper that I realized how much more there is to the story. Spoiler alert: conventional leather is far from eco-friendly.

When most people think about littering, they picture plastic bottles bobbing in the ocean or fast food wrappers tumbling across the sidewalk like tumbleweeds of shame. But there’s one sneaky little pollutant that often flies under the eco-radar: the cigarette butt. Let’s talk about why cigarette butts are a big environmental problem and why, if you're a smoker, it’s time to quit the flick.