Sustainability

Mention O‘ahu and you will think of Lilo and Stitch, or surfing and hiking for that matter. My daughter (okay, and I, just a bit too) can’t imagine I visited Hawaii for a conference. 

There weren't much for me to pack; a handy carry-on baggage was what I needed. How about sunscreen? I didn't bring that because most of them would have exceeded the allowed capacity.

And I realized that there is the concept of leaving nature as it is or making it better in Hawaii. That's referred to in the islands as mālama ‘āina, meaning to take care of the land in Hawaiian. After checking in the hotel, I asked about sunscreen and the staff simply handed me second-hand one, presumably passed on from previous hotel guests.

On the day of checking out, I knew an eco-friendly or mālama ‘āina act would be to return the sunscreen, hopefully to be passed on.