‘Kindness’ is our single most important value here at Flora & Fauna, so it comes as no surprise that we are the biggest advocates of this day. In this blog, we will be educating you on what this day’s all about, how we implement kindness in our day-day activities, what it means to our team and what you can do to get involved — read along!
Image: F&F
About World Kindness Day
World Kindness Day is celebrated on the 13th of November and began back in 1998 when a collection of humanitarian groups came together and made a declaration of kindness.
The purpose? “To highlight good deeds in the community focusing on the positive power and the common thread of kindness which binds us.”
World Kindness day, gives us the opportunity to reflect on our actions and think about how we can be kinder to others, and ourselves too. What’s great about kindness is that it is contagious - not in the spread of germs kind of way, but in the sense that if you see someone else being kind, you’re more likely to act kindly towards others yourself. It’s a fact!. It also pays to be kind, with research suggesting that people who are constantly kind produce 23% less cortisol, which is the stress hormone. How great is that!
Image: Instagram / @wherepigsflyfarmsanctuary
Kind To The Planet, People & Animals
The theme of this year’s World Kindness Day is ‘be kind whenever possible’ — and we’re all for it! In fact, here at F&F we lead by being kind to the planet, people & animals.
To be kind to the planet, we focus on low-impact products and send our parcels out with plastic-free minimal packaging. What’s more is we love to educate our community and help them to make better choices. To be kind to animals, we ensure everything we stock at F&F is vegan and cruelty-free. We also love showing our support to our charity partner, Where Pigs Fly. And finally, to show kindness to people, we believe that inclusion and diversity are key to everyday living. Our workplace reflects the wonderful richness that we have in the world and the diversity that is in society. We have zero-tolerance for exclusion.
We’re here to drive change, and it all starts with kindness!
What Kindness Means To Our Team
Kindness looks and means different things to everyone — so we asked some of our team members what kindness means to them. Here’s what they had to say:
- Alina - "being considerate and putting yourself in another's shoes."
- Sarah S - "being empathetic to others, and showing that empathy through my actions."
- Sarah D - "empathy; understanding what other people could be going through."
- Mathieu - "treating others the way I'd like them to treat me and seeing if people around me are doing okay on a daily basis."
- Rachael - "showing that you care - even in the little things you can do for other people. A little bit of kindness goes a long way."
Image: Canva
What You Can Do On World Kindness Day?
There are so many things you can do on world kindness day and beyond! No good deed is too small. Here are some ideas on what you might like to do:
- Send a friend/ family member a surprise package
- Send an uplifting text/letter or make a phone call to a friend/ family member
- Share a compliment
- Let someone in at traffic, with a smile and wave
- Smile and say hello to someone on your walk
- Hold the door for someone
- Volunteer
- Buy the person behind you a coffee
Just remember, if you have the power to make someone happy, do it! The world needs more of that.
The more we practice kindness, the more we can help be someone’s sunshine on a cloudy day. For more feel-good and uplifting ways to do your part in making the world a better place, make sure to check out the blogs below:
12 Tips For World Kindness Day
How To Initiate A Conversation In The Workplace, This R U Ok Day?
