The Blog

Eco-friendly weddings are growing in popularity. We created a style guide using our boutique secondhand collection to inspire you to thrift your own wedding season outfits.

Give us a little background on yourself! Where are you from, what are your hobbies/passions in life? “I was born and raised on the Windward side of Oahu. I graduated from Kamehameha Schools Kapalama Campus in 2004 (I know all...

This month is Earth month! We're always excited to celebrate and honor the earth with our community. While we strive to take care of our Earth everyday, Earth Day provides us with an opportunity to get involved with the community - to come together, spread awareness, and work to preserve our local habitats.

Our “Quit Plastic” T-shirt series is a tribute to the animals in Hawaii that are severely impacted by plastic pollution. We love the T-shirts as a way to bring awareness to the issue, as well as to give back to organizations on island who are actively working to protect wildlife from the harmful effects of plastic pollution. For each shirt we sell, we donate a portion of the profits to local wildlife and environmental protection organizations.

March is Women's History month, and we want to highlight a few of the many inspiring female leaders in the sustainability and conservation movement. Women are at the forefront of the movement. Women are making change, and we need to talk about it more and celebrate it!

The massive amount of clothing we are buying and discarding each year has had a huge impact on the environment. Here are some facts about the fashion industry’s impact and what we can do instead.

When it comes to reducing our waste to help the planet, even small changes add up to make a big difference. If you're looking to live more sustainably in 2023, here are 10 easy zero waste swaps to help you reduce your waste this year.

Meet Kiana Otsuka, an O’ahu local, resident of Moanalua, and our Zero Waste Hero community member of the month! Kiana works with the Hawai’i State Energy Office to reduce the energy intensity of our transportation system. She was recently confirmed...

From the Protea Team to you and yours, we want to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all of the wonderful mothers out there! If you’re someone who’s looking for gift ideas for a special mom, we’ve put together a list of 9 sustainable & fun gift suggestions! Give the mothers in your life something they’ll love that’s good for the planet, too!

In our effort to provide refillable options for our customers, we do our best to close the loop and create as little waste as possible. This means that we bring some of our products to the store in 30 and 55-gallon barrels. The large barrels allow us to use fewer containers and to save reduce our carbon footprint through fewer shipments. 

We've been coordinating with local organizations, farms, and other businesses to give these plastic barrels new life once all of the product inside has been used. Here are some of the ways these barrels are being put to use!

All about the natural skincare product Witch Hazel, it's uses & benefits for your skin.

If there's one thing we've learned here at Protea Zero Waste, it's that everyone has a different journey to a lower-waste lifestyle, and living more sustainably can look different for everyone. That's why we love to share these Zero Waste Hero features, so we can show off some of the awesome people in our community, and the ways in which they fit zero waste practices into their everyday lives!

Welcome back to our Zero Waste Hero series, where we feature one of our community members and the ways they incorporate zero waste practices into their daily lives. We truly believe that each of you are everyday heroes because: "We...

With Earth Day just around the corner, we put together a short list of some of our favorite environmental documentaries that everyone should see!

Welcome back to our Zero Waste Heroes series, where we feature REAL people just like you and their transition to a lower-waste lifestyle. This month, we are so excited to feature Heather, also known as EcoMamaMade! Heather is a mother, a teacher,...

If you're someone who's on a journey to reduce their household waste, but doesn't live near a refill store, then this blog post is for you! Luckily, there are still a lot of great zero-waste options you can use to reduce your household waste without going to a refill store!

On the Day of Love, don't forget to show our Mother Earth some love, too!

Here's a list of some of our favorite sustainable V-Day gift ideas, both from Protea and some of our other local favorites.

This blog post is for those of us humans who menstruate. If you've been on the fence about whether or not to make the switch to reusable menstrual cups and/or pads, we're about to get into the nitty gritty! Hopefully this blog post can provide a little insight.

It’s the season of giving, celebrating, and spending time with our loved ones. It’s also the season of shopping, wrapping, parties, and decorations. If you’re trying to live a lower waste lifestyle, you might be wondering how to make it through this holiday season without contributing to the most wasteful time of the year. Here are 13 of our favorite tips for a more sustainable holiday season.

Here on Oahu, the rainy season is picking up and the mosquitos are OUT. Here's a simple, DIY insect repellant with all natural ingredients and essential oils that's super easy to make at home!