Hi there! My name is Mira Petrova and I'm a young illustrator and graphic designer who lives in Sofia, Bulgaria. For many years now, I've been occupied with thoughts and feelings about global warming and the way we, humankind, harm our planet.
I dream of living a zero-waste life, but very often I fail miserably, and it makes me sad and discouraged. The simple truth is—zero waste living can be hard! But I realized the following: the more I become "aware" of what I buy and what alternatives I have, the more conscious I become; my decision-making process changes and with that, the amount of waste I produce. That's how the term "waste awareness" appeared in my life. Zero waste just sounded way too ambitious and overwhelming.
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So with that new approach to the subject, I started creating this comic strip (with the inspirational help of my super supportive boyfriend). We decided to call it Waste Aware Animals. We wanted to give people a fun and positive way to learn and share about the zero waste philosophy, free of shame and guilt. And spread the message that we can all be part of the change or inspire it in others, sometimes even with the smallest actions.
Unless you get those plastic wrapped bananas from a few days ago..
The fox characters, Mr and Miss Fox, are, of course, based on two of us. As for why the characters are all animals (even though they live in the big city and face all the everyday life problems that we do), well, who could possibly be a better inspiration for sustainable living than the animals? And also—who could be cuter?
All the stories in the comics are inspired either by my personal experiences and situations that I have witnessed or overheard. Since we started publishing it, people also write in to share zero waste-related situations, ideas, and successes and I couldn't be happier and more grateful. It makes me feel like we're all part of one big community and together, we can make a difference.
Grandma always said, "You'll catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar." Greta is right, but her delivery needs work. She's preaching to the choir, while alienating the congregation she hopes to reach.
You can buy stainless steel cutlery at the thrift store for just a dollar or two. It doesn't harm the environment because it already exists - you're just re-using it. Get a couple of sets and wrap them in a cloth napkin to take with you. If they accidentally get lost/thrown out it's not a big deal.
I do this with Christmas and birthday gifts. My family thought it was really weird at first and some even scoffed at me, but now my family accepts it, sometimes even welcomes it, and nobody complains about not having to throw all that paper away anymore. I use pretty bandanas or reused fabric pieces that I put away every time and the recipient can keep it if they want it.
As I've said before, trees are my favorite things ever. I appreciate what they do for us and they are so beautiful! Especially in winter, I call naked trees cemetery trees.
I get people hate ads and people don't like bills- I see no reason to have it in paper form, imo. For books, I like actual paper books, if they're for fun to read, but for everything else, just email it. Easier to sort, easier to clean up, and delete when done! No mess. Also that better for the environment thing. When they email us they ALSO send paper! I don't want to see the same thing twice, and deal with it, twice.
no it's from a building instead of it being washed our with plastic into the sea it is filtered cleaned and put into pumps like that one
Last year I put my small Rosemary in the living room as my Christmas tree
Yeas they do I am Recycling cans and bottles to fundraise for my 8 grade trip and i am almost halfway there!
That's the most beautiful thing I've seen this far in 2020 <3 Thank you for your sweet designs and the idea of educating people in such a cute, relatable way!
The idea for comics is wonderful and really smart! It really inspire you in a fun and positive way! And the characters are really cute and I can relate with some of the stuff too much! Also I love Lord Wolfington!
Thank you! Lord Wolfington sends his regards. <3
Load More Replies...Honestly, my family have been doing this for the past 30 years. We've always been recycling, even when it was not compulsory (nowadays the district i live in, in northern Italy, recycles 78% of its waste). My parents have always been growing our vegetables. Still, 30 years ago my schoolmates used to tease people who did that, because they were "farmers" (=not cool). Today they're all organic and all send their kids to educational farms in summer. I mean, thats great, but let's rememeber to keep the good habits even after the hype is gone.
That's the most beautiful thing I've seen this far in 2020 <3 Thank you for your sweet designs and the idea of educating people in such a cute, relatable way!
The idea for comics is wonderful and really smart! It really inspire you in a fun and positive way! And the characters are really cute and I can relate with some of the stuff too much! Also I love Lord Wolfington!
Thank you! Lord Wolfington sends his regards. <3
Load More Replies...Honestly, my family have been doing this for the past 30 years. We've always been recycling, even when it was not compulsory (nowadays the district i live in, in northern Italy, recycles 78% of its waste). My parents have always been growing our vegetables. Still, 30 years ago my schoolmates used to tease people who did that, because they were "farmers" (=not cool). Today they're all organic and all send their kids to educational farms in summer. I mean, thats great, but let's rememeber to keep the good habits even after the hype is gone.