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!