You can save the world! Actually, we all can, together. Each of our small actions add up to a big impact. Earth Day is Saturday, April 22 and we’ve put together a list of attainable changes you can make for a positive impact.
1. Biking to work or walking around town
The beauty of our landscape is that there is so much to see. Yet, we often zoom by too fast to notice. Biking to work or parking and walking around town is not only energy efficient, but good for our physical and mental health. Why not park your car and walk around while you run your errands rather than driving shop to shop? Or enjoy an afternoon walk on a trail like these ones here in Butte. You might see something you’d have otherwise missed.
2. DOUBLE UP ON ERRANDS
If you drive to work, stop for your errands on your way home instead of heading back out. Making fewer trips may require a bit more planning but in the long run it saves on fuel, reducing CO2 and saving a little extra in your piggy bank.
3. FIND YOUR LOCAL FOOD KITCHEN
If you find yourself buying more than you eat, see what you can donate. We have local food pantries here in Butte that benefit from non perishables and the local food bank who accepts donations of all kinds. Americans throw away 133 billion pounds of food each year – that’s 40% of our food supply.
4. TAKE IT HOME!
Leftovers from a restaurant make awesome lunches or snacks. Have ’em boxed up, and ask for biodegradable packaging instead of plastic.
5. CARRY YOUR CUPS
Did you know that at Headframe we give you a discount for bringing your own cocktail cup when you want a cocktail to go? In fact, many coffee shops and restaurants are happy to fill your personal mug or water bottle at less than normal price for doing your part to help the environment.
6. REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES
I know, I know you probably hear this one all the time but it’s true! Americans toss out 2.5 million plastic bottles EVERY HOUR! This can easily be avoided by being mindful of what and how much you are throwing away. Plus, not to boast, but Silver Bow County provides some of the best drinking water in Montana.
7. GO NAKED!
When picking out things like apples, bananas or other fruits and vegetables, don’t worry about putting them into those little plastic bags. This just creates more work for you and more plastic waste. And if the bag is important, you can bring your own produce bags. Reuse the ones you get from the store or dedicate some of your own for produce.
8. BUY LOCAL
Food that is produced locally means a shorter trip to the store generating less CO2 emissions compared to a long-distance truck, boat or plane. Many things like raspberries and strawberries grow great in Montana, so if you want you can even try growing them yourself and really reduce the CO2 emissions. And you can check out the good work of your local farmers’ market for a great source of locally sourced fruits, veggies and meats.
9. FREEZE INSTEAD OF SPOIL
Fruits and vegetables hold really well in the freezer. In fact, they are good for up to a year and a half if you freeze your produce at the peak of freshness. And those brown bananas in the kitchen? Hello homemade banana bread!
10. STAY NEIGHBORLY
Here in Montana, we know how to have each other’s backs. Why not borrow a tool from a neighbor before running out to buy a new one? Or check out one of our great thrift stores, yard sales or online used marketplaces. You’ll meet new people and be able to cherish those new relationships grown from old things.
11. Ditch single use plastic
Eight states have banned single use plastic bags. They’re damaging to our environment, taking 1000 years to break down into chemicals which continue to create hazards. By keeping reusable bags in your car, you don’t have to worry about forgetting them when you head to the store. Headframe’s Reusable Bags can hold four half gallons of milk and are almost impossible to overfill. They pack away nice and small plus, they’re made from 100% post-consumer recycled content fabric.
Reusable bags or containers for lunches and snacks keep more plastic out of our landfills.
Try to set goals for yourself every week that you can stick to. Maybe keep that reusable bag in your car, or connect with your local farmers to learn about what produce they grow. There are so many ways you can help the Earth while helping, and supporting, your neighbors. We’ve only got one planet and we’ve all got to do our part.
In 2023, Headframe will save over 1.4 million gallons of water and we’ll do it without sacrificing product quality. To put that into perspective, that’s over 2 olympic size pools, 5,600 hot tubs or 18,000 bath tubs.
Every day, Headframe looks for innovative ways to increase our sustainability and we’re proud to say we’ve found a big one, thanks to our T85 Production Team Manager, Greg Barnett.
But wait, there’s more!
Less water means less energy required to heat the water.
We get our water from the fresh Montana snowmelt and are proud to use it to make our award winning spirits – and we never want to take more than we need.
The water is not ours, it belongs to all the inhabitants of our ecosystem. Headframe is one small part of a giant ecosystem dependent on Earth’s most precious resource.
We work intentionally to be good stewards of our Community with a commitment to always be evolving in alignment with the United Nation’s Sustainable Water Goals.
Thank you for supporting our work.
On Saturday December 10, 2022 I got to give the Commencement speech at Montana Tech. I put a lot of love and effort into speaking and this one meant a lot in many ways. I framed the talk around one of my favorite quotes, by Gary Snyder, “Find your place on the planet, dig in and take responsibility from there.” In many ways I’ve built my life—and we’ve built our business—around this quote.
For me, public speaking is always an opportunity to dig in and practice one of my core values: Courage. Not just to talk about what it means to be courageous, but to practice it, real time. And not just practice it by simply reciting words in front of a group, but by using a talk to be vulnerable. To be honest.
I grew up thinking that badass, amazing people must have been born that way—that they were lucky. I’ve learned instead that badasses are made by our actions and our words. It’s a choice and it takes effort to live our values. I want to always model courage which I think is one of the most badass skills we can bring to the world.
I also love to share the things I don’t think we hear enough of in our lives: that success means being more like ourselves, not more like everyone else. That money isn’t Purpose and that a life full of Purpose will be a life well lived. That we’re capable of more than we could possibly imagine in this moment. I meant these things as I shared them with the students and I mean them for you, right now, in this moment, too.
I’ve made mistakes, I’ve failed at things. That isn’t what defines me. My Values and my sense of Purpose are what defines me. The way I use those things to dig in, to take responsibility, to take action, that’s what defines me. That’s true for each of us, I believe.
I’m honored that Butte, America is my place. That Montana is my place.
I’m also honored that a kid who didn’t graduate high school got to be the Montana Tech commencement speaker. No joke, that was the first time in my life I ever put on a cap and gown.
I wish each of us a clear sense of purpose and the knowledge that we have the power to dig in and take responsibility, whatever that means to us.
To our Grads and to the rest of us, let’s all go forth and be our rad-ass best.
Over the last 10 years, Headframe has made a point to be more than just a business in Butte. We are – at our core – a part of the vibrant, generous Butte Community. In every decision we make we aim to amplify the awesome impact we can have on our family, our friends and our neighbors. One of the ways we are able to help our Community is through free breast cancer screenings.
Many of us have been personally impacted by breast cancer. 1-in-8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime and, by the time you finish reading this, another woman will be diagnosed.
These women are members of our communities, but more, they’re our partners, our mothers and grandmothers, our children, our siblings and our best friends.
“Diagnosis comes from screenings,” said Theresa Dennehy of Montana Breast & Cervical Cancer Screening Program. “If [people] do not get screened, there is no diagnosis. Early detection saves lives.”
During the month of October, our Orphan Girl labels transform to increase breast cancer awareness and access to breast cancer screenings. $1 from each purchase is donated right back into our Community into the Montana Breast & Cervical Cancer Screening Program.
In the last three years, Headframe has provided 27 free breast or cervical screenings to women in southwest Montana. And we’ve done it because of your help.
“If women don’t have the funds and have no insurance, they don’t get screened. Times are tough right now,” continued Dennehy. “[Headframe] has raised enough money that we have been able to screen every woman that has called us.”
As a dedicated member of our community and a B Corp, our values here at Headframe drive everything we do. Two of those values are Community and Giving Back. With our Orphan Girl Breast Cancer Awareness bottles, we are able to give back thanks to our community.
To be part of the Good, purchase a bottle at our Tasting Room or at your local liquor store in Montana. You can also make any donations in our Tasting Room or on our website that go straight to the Montana Breast & Cervical Cancer Screenings Program.
Certified Benefit Corporations (B Corp) are businesses that use a their company as a force for Good. By prioritizing people and our planet over profit, we are one of a growing list of businesses in Montana that proudly wears this certification.
Here at Headframe, we understand the responsibility that comes with being a steward of the Community. That’s why we make sure we consider every impact our actions will have on the members within it.
In 2016, we received our B Corp status, using every decision as an opportunity to put our workers and our Community first.
Owner Courtney McKee says, “Our B Corp status reflects our values. Headframe consistently prioritizes our shareholder’s values over shareholder value. Doing what’s right isn’t always easy in the short term but in the long run, there’s no other way to work with integrity and we know integrity matters.”
During a discussion about B Corps in April 2022, she addressed the fact that smaller producers in the spirit industry often face challenges overlooked by larger companies.
“There’s no real (environmental) guidance for smaller spirits brands and distilleries; and there’s a good, long way to go (to figure that out),” she stated, according to an article in Sustainable Brands.
A message that was agreed with during a 90-minute virtual roundtable recorded by Distill Ventures.
“(We don’t know) what some of those lower expense-higher impact opportunities look like and what it looks like to plan for a future making more sustainable, more positive investments in what we do,” Courtney said.
Even still, Headframe continues to create a road map to sustainability. Looking for innovative ways where we can make a difference starting right here, in our community.
Click here to read Headframe’s Impact Report.