By Reporter Meng-Di Kuo / Taipei
Sustainable travel has become a modern trend. For example, before setting up camp, some travelers now ask campsite owners whether there is a wastewater treatment system. Multi-day hikes across Taiwan’s highest peaks can be done with minimal environmental impact, such as brushing teeth with coarse salt instead of toothpaste. Creative plant-based cooking is also on the rise—using king oyster mushrooms to extract oil and create rich broths, resulting in delicious vegan “chicken” rice.
As low-carbon living becomes a nationwide lifestyle choice, Plantārium, a multi-functional low-carbon lifestyle brand, recently hosted the Plantārium Carbon-Free Festival in collaboration with the Ting Hsin He-Te Cultural and Educational Foundation and NEO FOODS (DaChan’s plant-based meat brand). The event brought together sustainable tourism pioneers like Island Walk and Azure Alliance for the Blue Ocean to share how to engage in deep, sustainable travel and protect our oceans by removing marine debris.
Well-known content creators such as Veggie Lulu and Longlong Bakes also took the stage, showing audiences how to use local ingredients to create gourmet meals in the wild, travel without leaving a trace, and easily integrate green living into daily life.
We Love the Land — Low-Carbon Travel, Cleaner Oceans
The United Nations World Tourism Organization defines sustainable tourism as:
“Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities.”
With climate change accelerating the global food crisis, Island Walk’s sustainable travel brand Local Table Hsinchu has also observed other challenges: vast amounts of food waste, and the overproduction of non-seasonal fruits and vegetables. This disconnect has left many people unfamiliar with food seasonality and origins, and unaware of why certain foods are traditionally eaten at certain times of the year.
To address this, they design immersive low-carbon tours such as “Shengou Sake and Rice” in Yilan and “Xinemei Tea Terroir” in Hsinchu, leading participants from soil to table to rediscover the connection between food, land, and culture.
“Travel ends, but life continues,” says Local Table Director You-Zhen Kuo. “After these experiences, people naturally start checking food labels for origins and making future-conscious choices during their daily meals.”
The urgency of sustainable action is also clear in our oceans, which cover 70% of the Earth’s surface but face severe pollution. If all the waste flowing into the sea each year were piled up, it would tower over 200 Taipei 101 buildings.
To restore the ocean’s original deep blue, Azure Alliance for the Blue Ocean Executive Director Ssu-Ying Chen developed “Blue Fighter,” a fully electric, remotely operated and self-driving marine debris collection vessel. In 2022, they established Taiwan’s first smart port, followed by a 2023 marine sustainability program combining science, innovative design, and community engagement—benefiting both the environment and local economies.
From April 2022 to July 2024, Azure Alliance mobilized 1,577 participants for 224 harbor cleanups and 31 riverbank and beach cleanups, removing 8,100 kilograms of waste. These efforts reduced carbon emissions by 79,130 kg of CO₂—equivalent to the annual carbon sequestration of 204 Daan Forest Parks. “Every purchase is a vote for the world you want,” says Chen. “When we eat or travel responsibly, single-use waste is far less likely to end up in the ocean.”
We Love Life — Sustainable Eating, Leave-No-Trace Wilderness
Before becoming vegetarian, Veggie Lulu loved Chiayi’s famous chicken rice. Determined to recreate the flavor without animal products, they swapped shallots for mushroom-infused oil and broth, topping the dish with crispy enoki and king oyster mushrooms. The viral video of this plant-based version has surpassed 1.1 million views—proof that great taste can inspire more people to try sustainable eating.
Baking creator Longlong Bakes, with a background in landscape science, teaches students how to choose local ingredients. For example, since most wheat flour in Taiwan is imported, she opts for locally grown flour from “Good Wheat” in Changhua and domestic “Taiwan No. 19” butter. Experiencing these ingredients firsthand often changes students’ future purchasing habits.
Sustainable living also means leaving no human traces in nature. When camping, Veggie Lulu only brings just enough food to avoid leaving food waste that could harm local ecosystems. They prep root vegetables before the trip to minimize the use of mountain water and source unique ingredients like tree tomatoes and mountain angelica from local farmers.
Choosing campsites is no longer just about scenic views—they now first call the site owner to ask: “Do you treat your wastewater?” Untreated wastewater can carry harmful chemicals from bath products into rivers and groundwater.
As for hiking, Longlong has seen too many heartbreaking sights—used tissues dotting the trails like “white flowers.” Determined to leave nothing behind, she carries out all trash and compostables, and even on five- or six-day treks, she forgoes showers, relying instead on wet wipes and brushing with coarse salt instead of toothpaste.
We Are Already Acting — Sharing Sustainability, Living Carbon-Free
Plantārium Operations Manager Yi-Hua Fang, herself a vegetarian, observed:
“From the creators’ stories, it’s clear that sustainable living isn’t inconvenient—it can inspire others to embrace the lifestyle.”
The festival featured not only talks but also delicious plant-based snacks such as char siu buns, vegan popcorn chicken, and chocolate almond cookies. The Wei Yu Dan salad sandwiches were made with bread from locally grown wheat, and the event’s visual boards and handheld signs used reusable eco-friendly honeycomb panels—proof that sustainability can be integrated into every detail.
Founded in June 2023, Plantārium is a hybrid concept space promoting green economy, youth empowerment, sustainability education, and low-carbon plant-based living. Partnering with brands such as VEGANala, Future Mart, and Jing Si Books & Café, it offers a space where sustainable living is both accessible and enjoyable.
Through simple, everyday choices in food, clothing, housing, and transportation, Plantārium hopes everyone can make better decisions—for their own future and for the planet’s future.
