5 Tips To Live More Sustainably
Sustainable, eco-friendly, plastic free, recycled. These are just a few words that are flying around at the moment about how to live a more sustainable life. It can be hard to change your habits but it is important to try, so we’ve put together five easy ways that you can live your life more sustainably.
1: Buy less and buy better
This philosophy has been gaining traction over the last year and it’s something that we are really passionate about. We need to stop buying fast fashion, shop independent and support our local shops. It goes without saying that if you buy once and buy well, your products are going to last longer.
With independent shops struggling in the current retail climate, it’s really important to support small businesses rather than ordering from retail giants. The ‘Just A Card Campaign’ is an amazing initiative that supports independent shops by reinforcing the message that all purchases, even buying a card at £2.50 is vital to the success of small businesses.
2: Buy eco-friendly cleaning products or make your own.
Have you ever been worried about what’s in your cleaning products? Well the truth is they are often full of toxins that are harmful to both our health and the environment. Lucky for us there are some amazing alternatives out there, from washing up liquid and bathroom cleaner to dishwasher tablets and wood polish, there is a whole world of non-toxic and biodegradable cleaning products. And the good news is, they are available in most supermarkets.
I mainly use Method or Ecover but there lots of good eco friendly products and if you don’t want to buy them, then you can make your own. All you really need is bicarbonate soda, lemon juice and vinegar and you can have a shiny clean home! There are lots of blogs and videos on the internet on how to make your own cleaning products, we will do another blog post with our favourite recipes.
It doesn’t just stop with the products, you should also consider what you are using to do the cleaning. There are biodegradable washing up and cleaning accessories that are plastic free.
3: Install LED light bulbs and turn off the lights when you leave the room.
This is perhaps the easiest change to implement and these small changes will make a difference to your environmental impact. By just turning off the lights whenever you leave the room, you will help reduce greenhouse emissions. If you switch to LED’s, you can reduce energy consumption by 80-90%. LED light bulbs also have a much longer life cycle than a standard light bulb and they don’t contain any harmful chemicals. Unlike your traditional light build, they are recyclable so when they come to the end of their life they can be used to make new LED’s.
4: Recycle, reuse and buy second hand.
Last year in the UK we sent 235 million pieces of clothing to landfill, which is a staggering amount. The UK has the highest consumption of new clothing per head in Europe, it is, in fact, it is 3 times higher than any other European country.
In the last year, there has been a big push towards consumers embracing second-hand clothing and this comes in many forms, from reselling and recycling to clothes swap parties.
There are some great brands out there that offer repairs, from big brands like Patagonia to boutique brands like Lowie who offer free repairs for life.
5: Stop using plastic bottles and bags. Say no to single-use items.
When you walk down the street it is amazing to see so many people are now carrying reusable bottles. I never leave the house without a water bottle and I have a selection for different types of trips! There are great brands like Swell that combine fashion with function and produce a range of printed bottles.
In most cities now you can find zero waste grocery shops where you take your own Tupperware / zip lock bag / any clean vessel and buy package free groceries and cleaning supplies. If you are in South London you should visit Sustenance Zero Waste Groceries - you can find them throughout the week at various venues in Brixton, West Norwood and Streatham.