OUR COMMUNITY

24 | MAY 20 • 2021 

A

new Jewish subscription service 
is offering environmentally con-
scious kits that can help residents 
in Metro Detroit go green.
Featuring six different kits to be released 
throughout the remainder of the year, 
Hazon Detroit’s latest initiative aims to alle-
viate barriers people may face in transition-
ing to more sustainable lifestyles.
The Bloomfield Hills-based Jewish non-
profit organization, which focuses on envi-
ronmental awareness, hopes these kits can 
help build a sustainable, eco-friendly world.
“The sustainability starter kits are based 
on six unique themes,
” Hazon Detroit 
Director Wren Hack says. One kit supports 
a plant-rich diet, while another helps reduce 
household waste. “If we can create these kits 
and get them into people’s homes, we can 
give people the tools they need to help them 
make lasting changes.
”
Each kit holds supplies that can help 
people address different goals, like reduc-
ing household energy. For that kit, Hack 
says one item is a vampire power strip 
that allows items to use less energy when 
plugged in. Then, in the plant-rich diet kit, 
subscribers can find vegetable-based recipes 
created in partnership with Detroit chefs, 
plus all the ingredients they need for a 
plant-based diet, like oat milk.
“Our plant-based kit was created to 

address the industrialization of animals,
” 
Hack says. The kit, she says, can help edu-
cate people on this issue, while providing 
inspiration for easy dietary changes that 
won’t take much effort.
“We recognize people will make changes 
where they’re comfortable making changes,
” 
Hack says. “So, we looked at all the things 
that surround us that we eat every day.
”
Hazon Detroit and the national arm of 

the organization, Brit Hazon, built the kits 
around different areas that contribute to 
waste, such as plastic use and paper towel 
overuse. They assembled items like bamboo 
toilet paper, reusable and washable flannel 
cloths, homemade soap and laundry deter-
gent strips to inspire people to make little 
changes that amount to big gains.
“We’ve got to make change easy because 

life is hard right now for people,
” Hack says. 
Hazon Detroit offers the kits on a sliding 
scale from $70 to $200 per subscription, 
which includes all six kits. “We didn’t want 
to make a price barrier. Those who are able 
to pay the full price can also make a dona-
tion for those who are unable to pay.
“It can’t just be for the privileged,
” she 
says of helping the environment. “We’ve got 
to be able to make important changes to 
our lifestyles that aren’t based on what we 
can or can’t buy.
”
Hack says that people who subscribe 
now can still get the first kit (“Plant-Rich 
Diet”) delivered to their homes, while the 
remainder of the kits can be picked up at 
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit 
on future distribution dates. These include a 
“Reduce Household Waste” kit on May 23, a 
“Grow/Eat Local” kit on July 11, a “Reduce 
Food Waste” kit on Aug. 15, a “Reduce 
Energy Use” kit on Oct. 10 and a “Buy Less 
Stuff” kit on Nov. 21.

POSITIVE RESPONSE
So far, Hack says the response has been pos-
itive. “People are excited about the kits,
” she 
explains. “Because of the pandemic, peo-
ple are used to subscriptions. Oftentimes, 
they’re getting deliveries on a certain sched-
ule.
” This worldwide shift to subscription 
services and home deliveries leads Hack to 
believe there’s a market for products like 
the sustainability starter kits, and that their 
potential is only growing.
Hazon Detroit has also tried to make the 
kits fun and exciting to receive. The first 
kit, Hack describes, came in a bag made 
from recycled Luna Bar wrappers or denim 
scraps, among other items, that most people 
would have thrown out. Instead, subscribers 
can bring these bags back in to refill with 
the latest kits on future distribution days. 
Each kit also comes with a treat, like choc-
olates.
The sustainability starter kits also con-
nect with Jewish tradition, which teaches 
people to care for their planet in order to 
preserve the one created. Hack says that the 
organization includes information in each 
kit that explains how that particular theme 
represents different Jewish values.
“We want people to be interested,
” Hack 
says. “It’s just something different in the 
midst of the pandemic.
” 

Hazon launches new sustainability 
subscription kit service.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

HAZON
HAZON

These poducts 
help reduce 
household 
waste and 
energy use. 

The kit products come in bags 
made from recyled materials.

Go Green!

