What Can You Do?

Speak Out

• Share what you know with your friends and family
• Become an EleAmbassador and raise awareness in your community
• If you’re an educator, schedule a Distance Learning program with The Elephant Sanctuary to inform students about the importance of keeping elephants wild, and their contributions as a keystone species.
  
• Speak up if you're concerned for an animal's welfare
• Write your elected officials about policies that impact elephants
• Ask your local officials to prevent permits to shows traveling with wild/exotic animals
• Express your support for bills that protect wild/exotic animals
• Request animal-free performances in your area

Shop Smart

• Do not buy or trade ivory and help protect elephants and their tusks by supporting measures aimed at combating the global ivory trade
• Look for Rainforest Alliance Certification, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) labels for products that don't deplete elephant habitats. While palm oil can be produced sustainably, production methods of palm oil often go unchecked and threaten local ecosystems. Choose clearly labeled oils, such as 100 percent sunflower oil, corn oil, olive oil, coconut oil, or canola oil, or look for RSPO labels for products made with sustainable palm oil that doesn’t deplete elephant habitats.
• Do not support performances that include wild/exotic animals

Rethink Everyday Habits

• Be plastic conscious. When you dine out, ask for your water without a straw. When you grocery shop, take your own reusable totes and produce bags—and buy in bulk while you’re at it to reduce consumption of plastic packaging. Stay hydrated with a stainless steel water bottle instead of buying single-use plastic ones
• Switch out your light bulbs. If every American household replaced one regular lightbulb with a compact fluorescent lightbulb it would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road
• Refuel with a reusable coffee mug—and buy shade-grown coffee! To know you’re buying eco-friendly coffee, look for the Rainforest Alliance seal
• Choose Used. You can save money and the environment by buying used (clothing, books, household appliances, furniture, you name it). Leave the linear economy behind and join the circular economy—you’ll feel great about all the society-wide benefits
• Cut the catalogs. More than 100 million trees are cut down every year to produce junk mail. Deforestation contributes to both habitat-loss for wildlife and global climate change. Visit optoutprescreen.com to stop receiving pre-approved credit card offers and sign up on catalogchoice.org to reduce the number of unsolicited catalogs sent to you.


Travel Responsibly

• When planning a visit to a zoo, nature park, or sanctuary in the US, look for GFAS and/or AZA accreditations
• Be elephant aware and choose ecotourism operations that support local elephant conservation projects and treat elephants with respect and dignity
• Do not ride elephants