Eco-Friendly Travel: How To Travel the World Sustainably

Sneak Peek:

Luana Simonson:    00:00:00    You see yourself as part of the system and you start like questioning what can you do, you know, to avoid it. And then that's what I started asking myself, like, how can we change things here? How can we improve things? Because you have the voice to choose the, the world you wanna have in the future.  

Kristin:    00:00:17    So you had 10,000 people, locals, and tourists all coming together to clean this beach. And as a result, sea turtles come back to the beach for the first time in years. That just gives me chills.

Luana:    00:00:31    Right? <laugh>

Introduction: Welcome to Badass Digital Nomads, where we're pushing the boundaries of remote work and travel, all while staying grounded with a little bit of old school philosophy, self-development, and business advice from our guests. 

Kristin Wilson, Host:    00:00:53    Hello. Hello there. Good morning, afternoon, or evening, wherever you are today. Kristin, from Traveling with Kristin here. And welcome to episode 133 of Badass Digital Nomads. My guests today are a couple named Luana and Tom Simonson, the founders of a company called Lutom, an eco-friendly lifestyle brand that makes multifunctional exercising, traveling, and nomad clothing and products, and inspires people to buy consciously. Originally from Brazil, Luana is a former Cirque du Soleil costume designer who is inspired to quit her dream job and create her own company. After touring the world with Cirque and seeing all of the pollution that they generated and also witnessing it in the countries that she visited. I first found out about Luana's work in a local Miami magazine. And so I looked her up online and checked out some of the work that she was doing that led me to buy her book, the Eco Savvy Traveler Guidebook, which I read cover to cover in just one sitting.  

Kristin:    00:02:06    After reading this book, which gave me so many ideas for how to travel more sustainably, things that I have never thought of in 20 years, I reached out to her and asked her and Tom to come on the show and share their stories and advice. So in this interview, you'll learn some really easy and practical ways to reduce waste and live more eco-friendly in your everyday life. Also, how to travel more sustainably. You'll also learn more about some of the products that she makes and the creative and sustainable materials that she uses to make them all locally sourced from the places she's visited around the world, from toothbrushes to work, from home, lounge wear, you know, even though it often seems like saving the planet or saving the environment is a really overwhelming task and a job for someone else to do, a president, a government, an organization, a nonprofit. I hope that this podcast today is one small step in thinking a little bit differently about how we live, work, and travel and making some different small but very impactful choices in your day-to-day life. And as usual, you can find all the resources for today's episode in the show notes or on badassdigitalnomads.com. Enjoy.  

Kristin:    00:03:34    Well welcome Luana and Tom. You guys have a name like Beneffer? <laugh> LouTom <laugh>.  

Tom:    00:03:41    Yeah, right? Yeah, yeah. We didn't plan well. Yeah, it just kind of happened that way.  

Kristin:    00:03:47    I love it.  

Luana:    00:03:48    And then, yeah, we end up like creating a brand with our names <laugh>.  

Kristin:    00:03:52    Yeah. Well, welcome to Badass Digital Nomads. Uh, it so great to have you here. I wanted to bring you on because, well, I'll tell everybody how I found out about your work is I was reading The Edible Magazine, which a lot of us listeners will have heard of. 'cause they have it all across the United States. It's like this kind of like local magazine, gourmet magazine. And they have local info in there. And I saw an interview that you guys did on sustainable travel and your, your book, the Eco Savvy Traveler Guidebook. And I was so interested in your story and of course, being a traveler myself, wanting to know some actual ways that I can be a more sustainable and conscious traveler because I think it's something that sounds good, like a good plug or headline, but then people don't really know how to implement that in their lives. So I'm glad that you took a chance on us and <laugh>, you're like, oh, he was this strange person asking me on her podcast. And now here we are. 

Luana:    00:05:06    Yes, thank you very much. Yes, <laugh>.  

Kristin:    00:05:08    So tell us a little bit about your background. Um, I read that you grew up in Brazil. What was that like? And then how did you end up working for Cirque du Soleil?  

Luana:    00:05:19    First of all, thank you very much for having us here. It's honor. So yeah, I'm Brazilian and uh, I was born and raised in Brazil until 21 years old. And I always had this wheel to travel, you know. And, uh, my dream was actually to go to France and do, um, a master's there in fashion because I have a bachelor's degree in fashion design. But since it was very expensive, I found out about this all pair internship that basically you go to the place and you live with a family and you look after their kids. And I, I always love kids. And it happened to be the United States. I found a family here. They were from San Francisco, uh, the Bay Area. I took the chance and I I I moved it there back in 2009. And the family was extremely sustainable. They were very eco-friendly people.  

Luana:    00:06:17    They would shop at the local farmer's market and they, they would have, they would grow their their own food too. They would shop in secondhand shops, you know. So I learned a lot with them. And I also got to know about sustainable fashion, that there is something that I always like it. I, I, I always love it, like buying secondhand, but I didn't know that there was a thing until I moved there. And then I got the chance to travel to Las Vegas because that was something that, you know, every Brazilian who come to the States to do the American Dream <laugh>. Right. <laugh>. And, uh, I happen to watch one of Cirque du Soleil shows now. Hopefully it's gonna go back, uh, this summer. <laugh>. Yeah. Um, after the pandemic, I watch it and I was fascinated with the costumes and all the music, everything, the props and, uh, the automation.  

Luana:    00:07:14    And I put in my mind that I really wanted to work for the company. And, uh, things don't really work out with the family. I was supposed to live with them for a year. I stayed six months. So I came back to Brazil. And, uh, my boyfriend at the time, he, he really wanted me to stay in Brazil because he knew that I still want to keep on traveling because, you know, I had the taste <laugh>. And uh, he told me, oh, and you know what, that Cirque du Soleil is in town and they're, they're looking for people to, to work as local staff. Why don't you apply now that you can speak English and all, because that's one of the requirements. And then I applied because, um, as a parenthesis, like everywhere the circle goes to, they hire local people to help out with, for instance, for the wardrobe.  

Luana:    00:08:01    Uh, we, we do laundry, you know, we iron the costumes and we paint the shoes and so on. So I was lucky enough to go through the three interviews that I did, and I worked with them as their seamstress for a, a month. That was the time that they, they stay in Rio. And I made friends with the wardrobe team and one of them even stay in my place 'cause they were moving to Sao Paulo, but they wanted to see Carnival in Rio because it was February. So it was carnival. And they got the chance, you know, to go to the parade and everything. And, uh, yeah, we made friends. And then three years later when I was already like traveling around, 'cause after this experience in the United States, I came back to Brazil and then I went to Switzerland and France, you know, <laugh> and was traveling. So three years later they reached out to me through Facebook asking me if I would want to, to do another interview, but this time to work on tour with them. And I was like, wow. Yeah, that's a dream, you know? And that's how things happened. And I first started with them in Macon, Georgia, here in United States, and then I stay with them for six years.  

Kristin:    00:09:15    <laugh>. Wow. And how many countries have you been to total?  

Luana:    00:09:20    Uh, I've been to 53 countries total.  

Kristin:    00:09:23    Wow.  

Luana:    00:09:24    I think you, you travel to more or less? Yeah. How many again? 51,50, 

Kristin:    00:09:29    About 60.  

Luana:    00:09:30    Oh wow. Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:09:31    So, but I'm sure you've been to some really different countries from that tour because they go everywhere. I read a lot in your book about a lot through Southeast Asia and India. Yes. What were some of the favorite places that you traveled to during that time?  

Luana:    00:09:49    I love it. Greece. I know it, it can be very touristic, but I went to this island called Lindos that means beautiful in Portuguese. And indeed it was beautiful <laugh>. I love it. New Zealand, Israel was quite interesting too, that sea. It's hard, you know, because every place has something special, either if it's the food or the people, you know, or the style. 'cause yeah, I was always looking for secondhand stores too, or like, uh, small boutiques or organic cafes, you know. Um, and of course, like nature I would always look for  

Kristin:    00:10:30    Yeah.  

Luana:    00:10:30    A place to go, like a park to hike or you a beach to, to see. Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:10:36    And when was it that you started to notice the really incredible amounts of pollution, not just in the countries that you were visiting, but also that you were creating indirectly through traveling with this circus? I mean, any, any organization that's going on tour, anyone who's traveling, anything that's moving around, it's creating a lot of waste. But when did you start to notice that and when did you decide that you wanted to do something about it?  

Luana:    00:11:07    In fact, I started things I would say day one, <laugh> because, uh, as a matter of fact, I, I put on my book, my first experience when I arrived at to Macon, that I took a ride with a police officer, <laugh>, because the, the airport was such a small one that he, he thought that I, I was in the wrong airport, you know, I, he thought that I, I I need to take another plane to go somewhere else. 'cause he was like, I think you're the first Brazilian to come to me. And, uh,  

Kristin:    00:11:39    I've never been there. <laugh>,  

Luana:    00:11:40    Right. <laugh> do not missing anything, honestly, I'm sorry. People from me <laugh>. So he, he offered me a ride because he said that there was no cabs running at that time. And, uh, I was surprised to see, and quite happy to see that they would give fines. You know, there was signs on the road saying that they'll give fines if you liter. And then he was like, well, but look at around the, the road, you know? And indeed I was like, very polluted. And then when I got to the hotel, I saw him throwing his cup through the window, you know, out in the road. And I was like, no way. I should have spoken to him more, you know, the consequences of it. And yeah. But we can't blame ourselves for not being able to educate everyone that we can. You know, we try.  

Kristin:    00:12:30    So you're in sitting in a police car, getting a ride from the airport and talking about trash and litter and like the signs. 'cause they are very prescient in the us There's all of these signs that say don't litter. And I remember thinking that in elementary school and then seeing people littering on the highway and being like, they're gonna get arrested or they're gonna get fined <laugh>. And so you're talking about this, and then the same, the very same police officer just throws his styrofoam cup out the window on the way out. I mean, that's just so sad

Luana:    00:13:01    Exactly, frustrating. Yeah. And, uh, when I got to the show, I could see like the amount of waste we are creating too, right? Uh, we had the great program with Mac, the makeup supplier that we had, that they have, uh, Back to Mac. So basically, uh, for the, the listeners too, this is great. Like if you have six empty containers from Mac, you can exchange for a brand new lipstick, so you just have to bring to the store.  

Kristin:    00:13:30    Oh, right.  

Luana:    00:13:31    Yeah. But this was like very minimal <laugh> comparing to, to the other things that we produce, you know, and people, they just didn't care. And, uh, I think also, I, I mentioned this on the book, is that people, they're leaving the place so they don't really get attached to it. You know, you're in a hotel room, so someone's gonna come and pick up your trash in the end of the day. So we don't really see where that goes to. And you have like plastic bottles that are offered on a daily basis in our hotel. And if you're thirsty, you are just gonna open one by habits and drink, you know, instead of carrying and having your own reusable water bottle, I would go to the gym of the hotel if there there was one, or to the reception and try to fill out in the water fountain. So going back to your question, when we would leave the city, because we would stay a week city and we would pack all the road cases, you know, from the show stand, I would see like the amount of garbage that we were leaving behind. And that, that was really like hurting myself inside. You see yourself as part of the system and you start like questioning what can you do, you know, to avoid it. And then that's what I started asking myself, like, how can we change things here? How can we improve things?  

Kristin:    00:14:58    Yeah. I think that's part of the conflict that I know I feel internally. Like even when I was reading your book the other day, I, I got the e-book version and I was sitting at Starbucks reading it, and I brought my own, I have like my own refillable cup and water bottles and all that stuff. And then I was like, oh, I'm hungry. And then I went to look at the food and I realized like every single item is wrapped in single use plastic. And you, when you realize how integrated these habits are and how prevalent these materials are, and the amount of friction that it seemingly takes to not be a part of that, I mean, the stakes are really high. So I like what you came up with. So instead of reuse, recycle, you have this like rethink, reduce and refuse. Can you talk to us about that and why it's important to change the whole paradigm since only a lot of people don't know that only 8.6% of plastics are recycled.  

Kristin:    00:16:08    And people think that they're recycling, but they're really not. And, and that's something that my dad used to work in government and he used to tell us, like, even though the municipality wasn't really publicizing it, they were picking up the recycling, but all of it was just getting dumped in the, the landfill. And so I thought that's just so horrible that they're letting people think that they recycle and they're not, like, sometimes I just feel frustrated and I think, is it really gonna make a difference if I don't use a straw? But everybody else does. And you have this quote in your book that says, it's only one straw said 8 million people. And then when you think of the number of straws that people use, and, and it's not just straws, but you have all these crazy statistics in your book like that billions of cotton swabs, like plastic cotton swabs end up in landfills every year. And the number of toothbrushes that get thrown away, what is it, 1 billion toothbrushes a year in the United States alone, like plastic toothbrushes. And so one of my questions is on the one hand, like people will say, oh, it's not gonna do anything if you stop using straws or if you use a biodegradable toothbrush versus a plastic one. But it seems that people, if everyone's making these choices, that it really will make a difference. And is that what you guys see?  

Luana:    00:17:37    Yes, definitely.  

Tom:    00:17:38    Oh yeah, definitely. Yeah. Like I, I forget the documentary, but there was one that was all about how the wars, Plastic Wars, it was all about how recycling was created by the plastic industry to make it look like it's okay to use plastics and that it's, it gonna be recyclable when it in fact doesn't like,  

Kristin:    00:17:55    And they put the recycle symbol on all of the plastics, even though they're not recyclable <laugh> exactly. The chart.

Tom:    00:18:02    Or they came up with a number system and it's like, just yeah. To give you hope. It's not even there.

Luana:    00:18:08    Like  for instance, we were big fans of this specific brand of toothpaste. I don't know if I can mention, but <laugh>. Yeah. Uh, it's Tom's and, uh, we thought that they were really good friendly and everything. And on this documentary they mentioned that, you know, one of the questions from the, the reporter is like, why do you guys put the recycling sign on your toothpaste container if you know that it's not recyclable? You know? And the lid was like, well, in theory it is recyclable <laugh>, but how will the consumer be able to open it up and, you know, clean? So it's, it's not recycled. We cannot say that it's recyclable.  

Tom:    00:18:47    So, It's No, those companies start out as small companies and they're bought up by bigger corporations. Like Toms I think was built, like bought by a bigger corporation  

Kristin:    00:18:55    And Burt's Bees  

Tom:    00:18:56    Yeah. They start out, right. And I mean, we still buy Burt's Bees stuff, but Yeah. Yeah. It better some. But yeah, they would get thought bought up.  

Luana:    00:19:04    But yeah, when, when I say to rethink, it's exactly about it. You know, like instead of buying a plastic toothbrush, try to buy a one that's made out of bamboo because you know, it's biodegradable as you said. And in those small things, like try to carry a bag on you. So when you go to, to the grocery store, you don't need to get the, the plastic ones and know very small things. And as you mentioned, like the straws just, uh, the, it's the pick of the iceberg.   

Tom:    00:19:35    I think straws just use a habit like, like, wait waiters and they'll give you a straw and you don't, like you don't even ask for same with a bag. They put your stuff in a bag when you go shopping. And then you didn't even ask for, sometimes it's only one item, they put it in a bag and it's like, Hey, I don't need a bag for one item. You ask,  

Kristin:    00:19:49    Oh yeah, you could buy a pack of gum.  

Tom:    00:19:51    Yeah. And people are even scared to kind of like say like, oh, I don't need a bag. And like,  

Luana:    00:19:54    Exactly. So like,  

Tom:    00:19:55    Oh, it's no problem. It's like, yeah, I don't need it.  

Luana:    00:19:58    And that's why you should refuse before even they give it to you, you know, because sometimes people, they are shy about saying no, because the person's already like handing you with the product inside of the bag. So instead just say, I don't need a bag, you know? And people, they still look weird at me like, why don't you need a bag <laugh>?  

Kristin:    00:20:16    Yeah.  

Luana:    00:20:16    Like, but just because, you know, and then I, I explain sometimes and they really, they get like shocked about the fact that I tell them, you know, about the plastic pollution. And they even ask like, how come the plastic bag ends up in the ocean? You know, because we are not throwing it in the ocean. We're throwing it in our trash. But, you know, it can go through the water flows from the streets, it can get into the drain, it can flow out of the garbage truck when it's on its way to the landfill, or it can just like, fly out of your bag, you know, when you're at the beach and Yeah.  

Tom:    00:20:55    And plastic bags, they, they are recyclable, but not by curbside pickup. So you can't put 'em in a recyclable. You have to go to a special place, which people aren't usually, they're not gonna go to the special drop off or all the plastic bags. And like, it's all about convenience, you know? And, and like turbo countries, they don't have the recycling programs like we have where they could even recycle anything, you know? And that's when it ends up like in these on, I don't know what to say, they're not like landfills we have in America. And a lot of it goes, is dumped into the ocean or even rivers and yeah, it's really sad.  

Kristin:    00:21:28    Yeah, I've seen that everywhere in, in Costa Rica. Yeah. You could buy a Coca-Cola and a plastic bottle and they'll give it to you in a plastic bag. And <laugh>, it does become a habit though, when you can refuse it. So I think rethinking is really important anyway, like, you know, bringing your own utensils. And we'll go through a list of your travel tips and your packing tips at the end, because they're really useful things, like a lot of them that I didn't think about at all, and I'm definitely going to adopt. But tell us a bit about your trip to Seoul in South Korea and how you ended up at the landfill and, and how things are different there. Because I think it's about like just getting a mental picture of how things could be done differently and that we like to talk about the status quo on this podcast and, and how we can disrupt that. So yeah, tell us that story.  

Luana:    00:22:28    Yeah, I went to, so back in 2016 and you know, I always look for the places there are more close to nature, I would say. Like switch chip sparks and beaches and so on. And there I was in the middle of the city. I dunno if you've ever been to Seoul.  

Kristin:    00:22:44    No.  

Luana:    00:22:44    It's very interesting because it's a mix of Oriental of course, like, and because they're Buddhist, so there is a lot of Buddhist temples around, but at the same time they're very modern. So it remind me a lot of the United States, the skyscrapers and so on. And one of my assistants, she is Korean, I would say. I was frustrated by the way she would see things and stuff because uh, whenever clo some a piece of cloth would no longer serve her, she would throw in the garbage <laugh> when we were on tour. And then, um, she explained to me that, you know, they'll take care of her garbage, you know, that they would separate the clothes and <laugh> from the, from the organic matters, you know, and recycling and everything. And I was like, no, you, you are wrong. You know, you cannot think that everywhere is the same. And then when I got to Korea, I understood the, her mindset, because there is everything extremely  

Kristin:    00:23:44    Oh,  

Luana:    00:23:45    Organized in the sense she thought that even putting, if she, she would throw her clothes inside of the normal garbage, that someone at some point down the line would separate it from the other garbage, you know?

Kristin:    00:24:00    And so that really happens in South Korea. Like they have workers that are actually separating all of the trash for people.  

Luana:    00:24:08    Yes. And when I came to, to see this landfill, I was fascinated by it. Yes. So <laugh> I also mentioned, uh, yeah. So what happened is I was, I was walking in the park and uh, I found out that the park was actually a landfill <laugh>.  

Kristin:    00:24:26    And you couldn't tell from walking through it.  

Luana:    00:24:29    No, because, you know, they, they're amazing with the way that they separate everything and that they use the organic matters to grow flowers. And we do have a similar landfill that we're starting to park here that's called, uh, Vista View. And it's actually very close to us. So basically they cover all the garbage with organic matters and matters it takes is a process, you know, it takes clay. Clay, yeah. It takes up to I think around like 15 to 30 years.  

Kristin:    00:25:07    Okay.  

Luana:    00:25:08    Of course, like if you have batteries there, unfortunately the soil will still be contaminated. You know, it's something that it has to be checked in the long term. So there was like an amazing park. They had like gardens of, you know, specific flowers and you could see like the way that they were, um, using the gas, the methane gas from the organic matters to create an energy and electricity. And then I found out that they had, uh, almost nine 99% of the recycling, uh, of compost. So everyone would compost, even in the cities, they would have an specific, uh, garbage bin for composing. So let's say fruits, you know, and um,  

Kristin:    00:26:00    So restaurants could throw their food there.  

Luana:    00:26:04    Exactly. Yeah. Restaurants or even people who would be passing by, you know, if you're eating a banana instead of putting in the normal garbage you throw inside of this designated trash. Okay.  

Kristin:    00:26:16    That, that's so cool because I found it stunning 'cause I haven't been to South Korea, but how you wrote that the malls would open at four o'clock in the morning and that they have such a consumeristic society, and I'm sure they have a lot of issues as well, like any country, but then for them to be able to recycle and process so much trash and then turn their landfills into parks and then use the methane gas from from that for energy. I mean, that just gives a glimpse of what is possible. And I think that's one of the things that in travel, you can see the good, the bad, and the ugly. Right. And, uh, I love hearing those kinds of stories. Uh, it really def it gets your brain running with ideas and questions as why we don't have that.  

Luana:    00:27:08    Yeah. And I, I actually turned my stay there into project because I will try to go to these, uh, markets of, uh, Haberdashery and trims, you know, fabrics at the end of the day. So every Friday I would go there and collect whatever they would leave outside of their stores because it was like a mall. And I would just grab, because my Korean friend again, she said, oh, and this is garbage, you know, this is going to, to go to the garbage. And I, I couldn't believe so I got all the trims and I, I made the project out of that. So basically I had four artists posing for me. So one was from Brazil, one was from Mongolia, the other one from Russia, and my Korean friend and I made the head dresses from each country. So I, I got inspired by each country and I was able to make beautiful headdresses out of this, this trash, you know, that became a treasure <laugh>.  

Kristin:    00:28:08    Oh wow. Do you have any pictures of that?  

Luana:    00:28:10    Yes, I do. Yes. I believe they are on my Instagram, but I can send it to you. Definitely.  

Kristin:    00:28:16    And I wanna see your, your straw costume. Like, didn't you make a clothing out of straws?  

Luana:    00:28:24    Yes. <laugh>. So the straws, uh, was back in 2017 because in 2015, that's when they found the straw in the turtle rights. Right. And people were shocked about that, that  

Kristin:    00:28:38    Picture,  

Luana:    00:28:39    That video Yes. Was a very disturbing video. I dunno if you watch it, but they show like,  

Kristin:    00:28:45    Yeah,  

Tom:    00:28:46    That started the whole straw, you know, controversy. Like, there's that one video. So one little thing like that could just snowball into like, people being aware of it. 

Luana:    00:28:56   And Yes, but that's what normally happens, right? Like when a tragic happens or that get gets attention from people, then they decided to, to change things. So yeah. So I saw that and I knew that here in the United States, you know, everywhere, most of the places you would go, they would offer you a drink with a straw, the straw right inside of the drink. So I was shocked when this happened in Germany. You know, I was in Munich one in one of my favorite restaurants. They're like a workers restaurant, but it was kind of unique because they had all these trees as a prop, real trees in the restaurant, and the food was delicious. But they would always, like, you could, could have 10 drinks, they would bring you to 10 drinks with the trying, you know. And then I, I request them to give me the, the usage straws, and they refused, you know? And, uh, I started going to other restaurant and gathering straws. 'cause I found out that that was not the only place. And even in Belgium. And then I saw myself with around 300 <laugh> straws, <laugh>. And I decided to make this costume out of these straws. And, uh, I was coming to visit Tom and, uh, <laugh>, I forgot the costume in the airport.  

Kristin:    00:30:23    Oh no.  

Luana:    00:30:25    That was so frustrating because, uh, I had three passports back then, and I was on the way here and I pack one of my, my passports, the one that had my American visa it, so <laugh> basically, I need to wait until, you know, they, they get my suitcase out of the plane. And by the time I was so, like, you know, stressed out that I totally forgot the, the outfit. But luckily I had the other straw that I kept in my suitcase and I was able to make another one in eight hours <laugh>. And we did a collaboration with Plan the Future. I dunno if you have been to this art gallery here in Miami. Uh, it's, 

Kristin:    00:31:03    oh,  Yeah, yeah,  

Luana:    00:31:04    Yeah. It's, uh, it's in Little Haiti. It's beautiful. Actually, they were in Windwood originally and they just, you know, will open a very nice place there. So yeah. So one of my friends, uh, an artist from Cirque du Soleil was there and she was our model and I did that Yeah. To, to get attention from people to, to plastic straws. And I end up having so many extra straws that I made, like, uh, my dress for the Baptist, because we did go to the Baptist in, in London. I don't know if  

Kristin:    00:31:39    Oh, the, the award show.  

Luana:    00:31:41    Exactly. It's almost like, uh, the Oscars, but in, in London. 

Kristin:    00:31:46    Wait,  So you wore a straw dress to the Baptist <laugh>?  

Luana:    00:31:50    Yes. <laugh>,  

Tom:    00:31:51    What's his name? Liked it, right? Uh,  

Luana:    00:31:54    I don't remember the guy from

Tom:    00:31:54     Orlando Bloom or something.

Luana:    00:31:56   Oh yes, he was there. And then he, he, he came a compliment for my dress. I was like, oh, it's made out of straws. And he was like, wow. No way. I couldn't believe that.

Kristin:    00:32:07  That's  so amazing. Funny story. Yeah. You know, sometimes we need to see those types of photos or we need to see something that evokes awe or that evokes emotion for us to like wake up sometimes and take action. And I saw a documentary, I don't remember what it was, probably on Netflix or something where they were filming people, I think in Switzerland during those annual meetings where it's like the billionaires going to talk about, you know, it's like the Illuminati meetings or whatever <laugh>. Um, and they were filming people watching this video about climate change. And people were crying 'cause they were watching the walruses slide down these hills and die at the bottom. And it's like, when you think of polar bears floating around on ice, like it's very sad. But when you actually see one struggling or dying with your in front of your eyes, like it's, it's different.  

Kristin:    00:33:06    And so I'm glad that we saw that with the turtles and the, and the straw because it makes it real. Like, it's like if a tree falls in the forest and you don't hear it, did it still fall? Yes. And if a fish is choking on a straw or a turtle or a dolphin or something and it dies and you don't see it, it still died. And so, you know, we do need to, um, face these things. And on one hand, as travelers, we consume less. You wrote that there's a truckload of clothing dumped into landfills every second. And as travelers we travel light. We don't buy as much stuff, but then we consume in other ways. What are some ways that people can travel sustainably and really feel like they're making some kind of an impact?  

Luana:    00:33:58    I would say to have like a basic travel kit. Uh, for instance, as I mentioned, your um, reusable water bottle. I know that on the planes sometimes they refuse to refill your, your water bottle, especially in coronavirus pandemic times. But you can always go to the back of the airplane and fill up your, um, water bottle. Uh, you can carry, uh, a reusable bag too that you can fold. You know, it's always important also to check the forecast so you know what kind of clothes you should wear. You know, never take like just in case items and even your cut, your own cut. Because also on the airplanes or sometimes some restaurants that you go to, they might have plastic ones. I made a joke that, you know, you can also carry a Frisbee because you can use as a Frisbee and make friends at the beaches. Or you can use as a plate. You know, 

Kristin:    00:34:59   I  love that  

Luana:    00:35:00    <laugh>.  

Kristin:    00:35:01    I never traveled with a Frisbee before in my life and I'm never going anywhere without one. Again, <laugh>  

Luana:    00:35:07    <laugh> and use as a fan as well. So, yeah. So like small things, then they create a big impact, you know, that we don't realize. And also like, you know, your choices because you have the voice to choose the, the word you wanna have in the future. So make sure that you go to local restaurants instead of big chains. I know that sometimes it's, it's hard as a traveler because some people, they're in the budget so they cannot spend a lot. But, um, sometimes you find places and you're gonna be surprised to find places that are not as expensive, but that will have more quality foods.  

Kristin:    00:35:48    In your book you said opt for green tourism. And I didn't even know that there were certifications, Green Globe, Earth Check and membership to a Green Hotel Association. I have never looked that up before. And I'm gonna do that from now on. And bringing your own toiletries, a small thing, but it's so important too because think of how many shampoo bottles all of us have collected over the years. And the reusable cutlery too is a really big one. Everywhere I go, I have my water bottle, I'm gonna make like a sustainable travel shopping list. I know that's really like an oxymoron 'cause you don't wanna be buying more stuff. So you wrote the most sustainable thing to do is to use what you already have. But if you do need to buy once something sustainable and then use it for like many years versus using 365 water bottles this year, then that is definitely better than the alternative.  

Kristin:    00:36:50    And, and like even going to Starbucks and getting a plastic wrapped plastic fork to eat your breakfast and throwing it away. Like these are all little things, but they really add up. Like you were saying, bottled water companies are selling plastic, not water. And that like really hit me. 'cause it's basically what they're doing. And then even if you buy one drink per day while you're traveling, which a lot of people are buying multiple bottles of water per day. 'cause the water might not be drinkable, might not be potable water. And you could spend up to $3,000 a year just on plastic drinks basically that are bad for your body and and bad for the environment. And then another really cool tip that you had was to travel with a foldable bicycle.  

Luana:    00:37:38    Oh yeah. <laugh>.  

Kristin:    00:37:40    I've seen people with these bicycles and I love riding my bike. Everyone knows that from my, my YouTube videos, my podcast, like I bike everywhere. Ever since I lived in Amsterdam, I'm just really into biking around and I never considered traveling with a foldable bike. But everywhere I go, if I would go for two or three months or six months, I would have to go buy a bike or find a used bike or rent a bike. And that gets really expensive. So I love that tip. Yeah. And, uh, shopping locally and then also about souvenirs. So you said don't buy unnecessary souvenirs, photos and postcards are the best memories that you can have. And, um, the souvenir industry can sometimes appear so innocent and bright and shiny, but underneath it's creating a lot of waste as well. So that's good to, uh, be mindful of mindful what you're buying for other people. 

Luana:    00:38:38    Mm-hmm.  <affirmative>.  

Kristin:    00:38:39    So we'll link to your book and your eco savvy traveler starting kit here, which has all kinds of cool stuff in it. Like even silk dental floss. I never even thought of that. That dental floss is  

Luana:    00:38:52    Yes. Right. Most of them, they're made out of plastic and yes, our shampoo bottles, our conditioners, and for the bicycle, I had one that's called Brompton, it's on suitcase, so, oh, it's amazing. And you have up to six gears, so you know, you can use like either if you're in a place that's very healed, I remember that I, I was in submarine with thinking Italy and I didn't expect it to be such a high mountain. And we were, we were doing great, you know, and there was so small that people laugh at us like where you thinking of doing? You know, and it's so lightweight too that you can go inside of the restaurants because sometimes as a traveler you don't wanna park your bike anywhere. Right. 'cause  

Kristin:    00:39:39    It could get stolen.  

Luana:    00:39:40    Exactly. So, oh, I'm glad you enjoyed the tips. Uh, you know, it's crazy that I stay this long without traveling. You, you probably feel the same way.  

Kristin:    00:39:50    Yeah. It's a weird feeling. I, I feel like we'll get back out there soon. I mean, you have a baby and your business now. Uh, that was one of the things I wanted to ask you also. So you had this dream job of working for this company that you visualized and basically manifested working for them. Cirque du Soleil, like one of the biggest brands in the world. You have this dream job where you're traveling all around the world for six years. You're managing the costume and wardrobe department. Like you have a great job title. And then why leave that to start your own company? Because I think a lot of people struggle with the golden handcuffs problem where they have a really good job and they don't wanna give it up for the uncertainty of starting their own business. So what was it that that drove you to make that decision? And then what were your next steps in in starting your company?  

Luana:    00:40:52    Four cheese, as it sounds, it was for love <laugh>. I always followed my heart no matter what, uh, my life decisions and for sure, like it was a dream to work for Cirque du Soleil and believe me, it was really hard to leave that job, you know, 'cause as you said, like it was a dream job for a lot of people. But then I realized that that was no longer my dream and bigger than that dream was to have a family. And, uh, in one of my trips actually here, I came to Florida for the second time and that's when I met Tommy through an app called Tinder <laugh>.  

Kristin:    00:41:30    Oh, you met on Tinder. I thought you met on Twitter for some reason. <laugh>?  

Luana:    00:41:35    No. Okay.  

Kristin:    00:41:36    I have friends who got married off of Tinder too in Tampa.  

Luana:    00:41:40    Oh wow. Yeah, <laugh>. So yeah, so we met and uh, I thought that he was very sweet because first of all, it was really hard to get to meet because, you know, he was always busy and me too. But luckily I was staying here for four weeks, like in the area, you know, I was in Plantation for two weeks and then I went to Miami for another two weeks. And usually I would say only a week of place, that's when my friends convinced me to download the app. 'cause they were like, oh, you know when you're staying longer so maybe you can meet someone. I was like, okay, I will give it a try. And then finally we met up and he invited me to come to his place to cook for me. I told him that I miss like homemade food and he cooked for me and I love animals. And he had two pets. And uh, I look at his wall and I saw this picture with a very interesting frame. And when I came closer I could see that they were like trash <laugh>. They were made out of marine debris.

Tom:    00:42:43    So in my apartment, I made outta beach trash. 

Luana:    00:42:46    And so it was like, you know, some bottle caps and some that terrible that I can't believe that people use that. The tooth picks,

Tom: The floss sticks.

Kristin:    00:42:57    Oh yeah.  

Tom:    00:42:59    I would clean it all first  

Luana:    00:43:00    <laugh>. I know. But yeah, that's something that, you know, we mentioned about the silk floss and I, I cannot believe that people still use that because that's so harmful for the environment and you know, use, Ima imagine like if use three in the day. Yeah. So yeah, I saw that and he was like, oh, he was very shy. You know, I actually made this, you know, I, it's  

Tom:    00:43:23    Funny trash, I don't know how people are gonna say it.  

Luana:    00:43:25    <laugh>, I'm a surfer so every time I go to the beach I, yeah.  

Tom:    00:43:29    I made it like a ritual to pick up at least a handful or more trash every time for the surf gods. You know, like  

Luana:    00:43:34    Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:43:34    Say thank you. Good surf karma for sure. <laugh>. Yeah,  

Luana:    00:43:37    Definitely. Yeah. Because especially as surfers, you guys see a lot, you know?  

Kristin:    00:43:42    Yes.  

Luana:    00:43:43    And it's unbelievable. And uh, so yeah, so that's how we connect. I was like, wow, I cannot believe this guy, you know, from Tinder. He has a very different mindset.  

Tom:    00:43:54    Our first couple dates were cleaning the beach and  

Luana:    00:43:56    Yes, <laugh>. 

Kristin:    00:43:57   Oh, I  love that. I'm gonna connect you. There's a dj. Do you know Blond:ish?  

Luana:    00:44:02    I've heard of her. Yes.  

Kristin:    00:44:04    I can put you guys in touch on Instagram because she has, um, like a no plastic company now where they're working with events, music industry to try to remove straws and reusable plastic cups from festivals and concerts and things like that. And I know you have some tips and guidelines on that in your book too, so I can connect you guys. And they do beach cleanups here in Miami, so It's crazy how all these things happen.  

Luana:    00:44:32    Yeah, right. Synergy. And she actually joined, uh, one of our friends clean up the clean my own beach. Oh good. Yeah. So they did an event together and apparently it went great. Yeah. 

Tom:    00:44:44    She's out there every, every other week at least, right?  

Luana:    00:44:46    Oh, every week. She, she does the clean up.  

Kristin:    00:44:48    Oh, I gotta go to that. I'll link to that too in the show notes. 'cause I'm out here. I bought a trash picker upper <laugh> from Amazon. And so every time I go down to the water in the marina or go paddle boarding, I just bring it with me. 'cause I know I'm gonna see trash everywhere. I even bought these water shoes. So I can walk through like the marshy parts and pick it up. That's awesome. 'cause it just bothers me to see it there.  

Luana:    00:45:13    Yeah. And we should meet in person since you're in Miami, you know?  

Kristin:    00:45:17    Yeah.

Tom: Do a beach clean up

Luana:    00:45:18     Yeah. We, we might go to one in, or this weekend, this weekend because it's like a many friends of ours because now we are part of this, uh, Litter Free Florida group. And, uh, it's amazing to see, you know, how we connected through trash and we all wants to protect nature. Right.

Tom: Clean the waters. Yeah.

Luana: Yeah. So we have fill a bag and clean the beach up because it's funny name. I like that. 

Kristin:    00:45:44    And it's a good way to meet people too. And like I read that you joined a beach cleanup in, was it in Mumbai, in India?  

Luana:    00:45:54    Oh,  Yes.  

Kristin:    00:45:55    <laugh>. And how many, how much trash did you guys pick up there? I think it was hundreds of pounds that you wrote.  

Luana:    00:46:01    Yes. And uh, that guy, he's amazing. He has turned the beach into paradise again. You know? He imagine like, it's the same with you. You know, you're from San Augustine, right? you're used to go to the beach and see like animals and turtles, and then you leave for 10 years when you come back, it's like, fill out garbage. It's, it's so sad. And he was able to, to change that, you know, and to bring this new mindset to the people there. And we had like over 10,000, uh, volunteers, if I'm not wrong. And the turtles, they came back, you know, it's, it's possible it's not. 

Tom:    00:46:44   Because Turtles weren't nesting there because there's so much trash 

Kristin:    00:46:47    mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So you had 10,000 people, locals and tourists all coming together to clean this beach. And as a result, see turtles come back to the beach for the first time and start laying eggs and sea turtles hatching for the first time in years. That just gives me chills.  

Luana:    00:47:06    Right. <laugh>.  

Kristin:    00:47:08    And was there anywhere that you noticed in your travels that had really a lot of pollution and what were some countries that eco-conscious people might be attracted to go to, to see that they're doing a good job with it? Like, were there any countries you went to that you were impressed with, the way that they were, um, managing waste and recycling and their society versus what were the places that needed the most help?  

Luana:    00:47:39    Uh, definitely like in Europe, I would say Switzerland. But even there, you would be surprised that some people, they still send their organics for recycling, uh, with some stickers. You know, when the fruit comes with stickers, it's very important to remove that.  

Kristin:    00:47:57    Yeah. 

Luana:    00:47:58    For composting. For composting, yes. GenMark, it's a great one too. They even had the first, uh, sustainable, they call it shopping mall <laugh>, because you could buy, uh, secondhand things. You know, when I say it's like tires and pieces of machinery, if you need to fix something, it was, it's quite amazing.  

Kristin:    00:48:23    Oh, wow. Like stuff that would end up in a landfill otherwise.  

Luana:    00:48:26    Exactly, yes. So for sure, for the composting and the ones that were not too, uh, Israel with the water, because they, they turn the, the salt water into drinkable water. Right. 

Kristin:    00:48:42   Oh,  Right.  

Luana:    00:48:42    They have an amazing system there. Right.  

Kristin:    00:48:45    But then I think in the Gaza, the water's very contaminated. Right?  

Luana:    00:48:50    Oh, in Gaza. Yes.  

Kristin:    00:48:52    Yeah. That's  

Luana:    00:48:52    Because unfortunately, you know, that's a political war and Yeah. They don't wanna help out the people from the Gaza Strip or you know, from Palestine. That's just like across the street. I dunno if you've ever been there to Israel.  

Kristin:    00:49:09    No.  

Luana:    00:49:09    It's crazy that if you, if you wanna travel from Jerusalem or like Tel Aviv to the Dead Sea, you have to pass through Palestine. And, uh, it's shocking. It's like, you know, alarming the difference between Israel and Palestine and it seems to be the same area. I mean, it's the same area. 'cause they have to pass through Palestine and used to meet in Israel.  

Kristin:    00:49:34    Wow. I really wanna go over there. My friend Matt, he has a podcast called The Maverick Show. I know a lot of people who listen to mine, listen to it. And he just had two episodes interviewing his friend who's from Palestine, moved to North Carolina, then became a world traveler, and now she moved back to Palestine to work over there in, uh, farming and seeds and things like that. So that was, we'll link to those episodes as well, if people wanna learn more about that area.  

Luana:    00:50:04    That's awesome. So, uh, India, unfortunately, it's a very polluted place. I remember that one time we could barely breathe because of the, the air pollution in Dali. The, the normal air quality should be up to 50, 60 tolerable. But we reached it to a point that was 800.  

Kristin:    00:50:29    Oh my gosh.  

Luana:    00:50:30    Yes. And our singer, she had to use like oxygen mask during the breaks that she had during the, the show, otherwise she couldn't breathe. And I was --- 

Kristin:    00:50:41    That's insane.  

Luana:    00:50:42    Yes. And as a matter of fact, we did a, a photo shoot there. I did a project there where we wore masks because we wanted to protest there. You know, we want the world to see that people, they couldn't fresh air, they had no rights to have fresh air, you know, something that we take for granted anywhere else. And then the pandemic happened and they had their air quality went up, you know, it was like one of the least times in their lives that they were able to breathe fresh air because of the pandemic, because, you know, their air pollution was, was low.   

Kristin:    00:51:20    Right. Because manufacturing stopped temporarily. Exactly. I wonder what what it is now, because I remember reading about that, but then I think it was like getting worse after because then they were trying to go double production.  

Luana:    00:51:35    Exactly.  

Kristin:    00:51:36    Oh my gosh.

Luana:    00:51:38    Yeah. And the, my, the illustrator of the book, she's from New Delhi in India.  

Kristin:    00:51:44    Oh really?  

Luana:    00:51:45    Yeah. So she mentioned that, that unfortunately it's going back to what it was or even worse because, you know, people wants to catch up with whatever they lost. And, uh, and the economy as well. Apparently the pandemic is not doing great there  

Kristin:    00:52:02    Either. Yeah. Actually, I love the illustrations in your book and I wanted to ask you who did them. So they're so beautiful, everyone, Jeff, definitely check out Luana's book and then, um, tell us a little bit about what your company does and what type of products that you offer.  

Luana:    00:52:23    Lutom was born because of us, you know, this love between Tom and I. And, uh, I decided to start my own company because I took the sabbatical from Cirque du Soleil and he was already, uh, selling some water bottles and bamboo toothbrushes in order to replace the ones that, you know, we'll find so many. 

Tom:    00:52:46   Yeah.  The toothbrush he actually gave me as a gift was one of the first things he gave me. Like, and I never had a bamboo toothbrush, and I'm like, oh, this is awesome. Like, it's such a good, like, alternative the plastic ones. And then yeah, I'm like, man, I could, I should sell these. You know, like it's, I just, I want, I just want people to like, just change their habits. And I didn't see, you don't see a lot like Walgreens. You don't see like bamboo toothbrushes. Not like that. Like, so I was like, well, there's a market for it. So,  

Luana:    00:53:11    So as is a background is in in design as well, he would make the designs for the bottles and we could like put their name of the customers on, on the toothbrushes. So the company started as a, it starts for people who would like to replace their plastic consumption. So, uh, with, uh, reusable and long-lasting products such as thermos bottles that can hold  

Tom:    00:53:40    24 ounces and it keeps your water cold. So not only are like you, you're more environmentally friendly, your water's cold all day too. And yeah, it's easy to switch really. It just,  

Kristin:    00:53:49    And it doesn't taste like plastic <laugh>  

Luana:    00:53:51    <laugh>. Exactly. And it's not --no bpa, no bpa <laugh>. Uh, and the toothbrushes are also great for travelers because some people say that they have the electric ones.  

Kristin:    00:54:01    Oh, right.  

Luana:    00:54:02    Yes. But there are people now making the heads out of bamboo. Okay. So even on Amazon you can find that. Uh, so instead of buying the plastic ones and uh, I knew about this fabric that's made in Brazil with German technology. That's the first biodegradable polyamide in the world.  

Kristin:    00:54:20    That is amazing.  

Luana:    00:54:21    Yeah. Which is a, is an amazing technology, unfortunately. Uh, Lss 10, it's not biodegradable, but Lyra, Lyra, uh, the brand, they started recycling their own elastic. So that's from eight to 10% of that fabric. That's not biodegradable. But other than that, it biodegrades up to three years when in contact with they by trees from the landfill. Okay. So,  

Tom:    00:54:49    Or other natural like polyamide the last like hundreds of years, if they  

Luana:    00:54:54    Degraded Oh yes. Island.

Tom:    00:54:55    Yes.  But has the same properties of, of like a workout, you know, sweat wicking and the stretchability and,  

Luana:    00:55:02    And, uh, as working with, you know, artists that would spend their whole days in working out clothes, that's how we decided to start making, uh, active clothing with this fabric. And the thing is like you can, you cannot really, uh, use secondhand working out or, you know, underwear or bikinis. Yeah. So that's why I thought it was in a fantastic innovation, you know, and I really pushed this fabric <laugh> and I, I, we are actually representing this fabric here to whichever brand wants to use, because they're more the merrier. 'cause we want, you know, the world to be aware of it and, and make the, the fashion industry a cleaner industry. 'cause it's one of the most polluting.  

Kristin:    00:55:50    And where does that come from? Does it come from Brazil?  

Luana:    00:55:53    Yes. Uhhuh. 

Kristin:    00:55:54    Wow.  

Luana:    00:55:55    So the technology is from Rodia, uh, a German company, but it's made in Brazil.  

Kristin:    00:56:02    Okay. See, I am your ideal client, <laugh>. I basically,  

Luana:    00:56:06    I'm right. I saw you. Yeah, right.  

Kristin:    00:56:07    I'm, I'm wearing my workout clothing right now and I love that your, your clothing is made for exercising, traveling and quote, wandering around, which is basically being a nomad. And so now all of us are just working from home. You guys are here as a family, running your company from home. You've got your baby, you're on the podcast, like your baby's literally on the podcast with us <laugh>.  

Tom:    00:56:30    And I'm good too.  

Kristin:    00:56:32    I'm wearing my yoga clothes, I'm working from home. Like, I think everyone listening, uh, definitely can appreciate comfortable clothing while working, maybe not working without pants, which is what some people have been caught doing. <laugh> Right. On uh, zoom calls and on the news and things where they're like wearing a suit and boxers underneath <laugh>. I know. Um, but yeah, having comfortable, biodegradable clothes that you can wear, basically a digital nomad uniform because you can wear it at home, you can wear it exercising, you can wear it traveling and you can reuse it for a long time and then, and then let it biodegrade. So do you have any tips for, uh, working from home, especially as a couple?  

Tom:    00:57:16    I have a schedule. Don't <laugh>. You know, like I'm like, have a schedule and like this is how long we're gonna work and then we have like, family time and like, you know, unwind time.  

Luana:    00:57:25    Yeah. 'cause otherwise you work 24 hours a day, right? Yeah. Because  

Kristin:    00:57:30    <laugh> been there  

Luana:    00:57:31    And you don't take the breaks. Yeah. So it's very important to have a schedule and have the, the water break, you know, even if it's just like going to your kitchen and, you know, uh, texting a friend or giving a phone call for sure. Like wearing comfortable clothing is, is a must. <laugh>. I love that. But I think it's also important like to wash your face, you know, and try to change your clothes, uh, once you don't too comfortable at work, <laugh>, because otherwise it's,  

Kristin:    00:58:01    Yeah. Don't wear your pajamas to work. Uh, that's right. Sure. <laugh>. Okay. Well thank you guys so much for coming on and, and taking some time out of your workday. And where can people follow you on Instagram or to check out your products online?  

Luana:    00:58:20    Our Instagram is luton.world,  l u t o m. And uh, our,  

Tom:    00:58:28    Our website's luton.world too. And it's basically just, yeah, Luton World. Luton World. Okay. Instagram, our website.  

Luana:    00:58:36    Yes. And our products there being sold at, uh, Coconut grove, where I think you found us there, right?  

Kristin:    00:58:42    That's where I'm living now. Yeah.  

Luana:    00:58:44    Oh, that's nice. It's a very nice area.  

Kristin:    00:58:46    Yes. And  

Tom:    00:58:48    Trees  

Luana:    00:58:48    And people market. It's Citadel. I dunno if you notice it. Ade in near Haiti. And, um, and Wynwood as well. Windwood Tribe. It's a very nice store too.

Kristin:    00:59:00    And then I would like to just tell everyone listening to definitely download a copy of your ebook, that Eco Savvy Traveler Handbook guidebook. I learned so much, you can read it in a couple hours. And I learned an incredible amount about sustainability and travel and things that should really be taught in public schools. And I picked up so many tips for my travels, and I took screenshots of like 25 pages, <laugh>, just to save, just to reference, um, like on a day-to-day basis. So it was really, Really useful. I'm so glad that you put it out there. You're giving me motivation to finish my book and, um, yeah. Thank you so much for being here.  

Luana:    00:59:44    Yes, thank you. Thank you. I just thank I was good, uh, to talk as I am to write, you know, <laugh> Oh no, is a challenge for me. <laugh>.  

Kristin:    00:59:55    The fact that you speak multiple languages is admirable enough, so you did great.  

Luana:    01:00:02    I appreciate  

Kristin:    01:00:02    You're doing definitely an amazing job.  

Luana:    01:00:07    Thank you so much. Likewise. Kristin <laugh>

Kristin:   Thank you.  

Kristin:    01:00:16    Thanks so much for listening. I hope today's podcast gave you a lot of ideas of how you can live and travel in a greener way. If you enjoyed this episode, feel free to share it with someone you love or leave us a review. You can leave a review on any of your favorite podcast platforms, or go to lovethepodcast.com/digitalnomad to leave a review. And if you'd like to support our ad free podcast, you can do so by joining my Patreon community at patreon.com/travelingwithKristin or by buying me a coffee or sending a donation at badassdigitalnomads.com/donate. Thanks again for listening, and see you again next week.