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The climate crisis is getting worse. The figures and statistics are scarily high. There’s no way to sugar coat the fact that if we carry on going the way we are going right now then there won’t be much left of this earth. I know most of the figures are due to large corporations producing, wasting, deforesting etc and they should be held accountable and change their ways. Of course, if large corporations changed their ways then it would make a miraculous difference and prevent further damage. BUT, that’s a post for another day!
Unfortunately, as individuals, we cannot control the ways that large businesses run and have businesses change their ways overnight. However, there are ways we can do our part at helping the earth. In this post I will go through several different ways to create a sustainable lifestyle
Disclaimer: I understand that not everyone has the means to for some of these below points. I am in no way shaming them whatsoever. I am sharing a handful of various options that can help towards leading a sustainable lifestyle. Even if you can just do one of the points, that is going to make a difference.
Avoid Fast Fashion
Fast fashion is responsible for a tenth of the global CO2 emissions produced each year. There is a high amount of landfill waste due to fast fashion caused by the clothes being made in poor, cheap quality. Not only is fast fashion killing the environment, but these companies tend to be sweat shops. These companies have poor working conditions for workers who are not paid enough.
Ways you can avoid fast fashion:
- Ask yourself ‘do I really need this’ and ‘will I wear this more than 30 times’?
- If you really do need it then check out some brands who have higher quality products. Avoid places such as Primark and Shein. There are some clothing companies that prioritise being ethical and sustainable out there. Read this article that lists 35 Ethical and Sustainable Clothing companies from The Good Trade for some inspiration on where to shop.
- If some of these ethical brands are out of budget, try looking on second hand websites e.g. Depop, Vinted, Facebook marketplace or even sometimes eBay.
- If you’re high street shopping try having a look around local charity shops. There are usually some great bargains in these places.
Shop Second Hand
Second hand shopping is a brilliant way to avoid fast fashion. It also helps reduce the amount of clothing being chucked away into landfill sites. You can get second hand clothes either from apps such as Depop or vinted or go into a charity shop.
There is a vast variety of things you can buy second hand, not just clothes! You could get pretty much anything second hand, ranging from baby toys, to games consoles, to home appliances. The list goes on. If you’ve ever had a browse on Facebook marketplace you’ll know what I mean! You can usually find some great bargains there, so not only will you be saving the item from going to landfill but you’ll also be saving some pennies and helping another member of your community by buying their item!
Save Food Waste
Meal planning is a great way to stop any food from being wasted. Figure out how much food you have, when it goes out of date and plan your meals around this. Another good way to reduce food waste in your household is to reduce portion sizes to a size that you know you will actually eat. This is highly difficult to do with toddlers though as you never know how much they will actually eat. If there are leftovers after, get the food storage containers out and save it for another meal.
Another way to save food from being wasted is to use the Too Good To Go app. This app allows you to buy left over food that would otherwise be thrown away. Running low on food? Use the app to find participating stores and reserve a space for the same day! You will often find you get more than your money’s worth!
Period Pants
If you can, go for some sustainable period underwear. Having one pair of Wuka underwear I’ve managed to reduce my sanitary towel usage. I know it isn’t a complete riddance of sanitary towels with one pair of Wuka at the moment, but every little bit makes all the difference. Did you know sanitary towels take around 500 years to decompose?
Unfortunately there is still a tax on sustainable underwear unlike sanitary towels/tampons etc. This shouldn’t be the case as being sustainable shouldn’t have to be a privilege! If you want to sign a petition to remove the VAT on period pants then please sign here.
There are other sustainable period products, however, the period pants are the only ones I have felt comfortable enough to use to date. They are super easy to use and very comfortable to wear. I may try out some other products in the future to go alongside the period pants, but for now I feel happy enough using these as an alternative to sanitary towels. If you are in a situation where you can get period pants, I would 100% recommend trying them out!
Renewable Energy
Go for a greener renewable energy supplier and you can use your gas and electricity with a little more peace of mind. I currently use Bulb as my energy supplier and they have been my supplier for 3 years now (longer than I’ve stayed with previous companies for). I switched to Bulb because produce 100% renewable electricity and 100% carbon neutral gas.
Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
Take your own shopping bags with you whenever you go out anywhere you may need to carry items back. Take a water bottle and a fill up coffee cup when you get your morning coffee. Make food at home. Recycle your empties. Reuse tubs, especially if you have takeaways.
I’ve seen the no plastic Asda supermarkets around the internet and I would love to go to one (there currently isn’t one near my city). The concept of these Asda’s are brilliant as it encourages you to take your own containers etc so you don’t have to buy plastic and you can get the weight of food you desire! For example, pasta usually comes in plastic bags, but at these specific supermarkets it allows you to weigh the desired amount of pasta, put it in your tub, pay for the amount and that’s it! No single use plastic used! I think supermarkets like these are definitely the way forward!
Another factor you could consider would be to use products that have been recycled. By using recycled products you are giving that product another life before it gets discarded. There are plenty of places to buy recycled products from these days. For our cat litter we get the recycled wood pellets from Pets at Home. For everyday household essentials there are companies that offer these in a recycled form. For example, Who Gives A Crap produce recycled toilet roll, recycled kitchen roll, recycled tissue. recycled bin bags and even recycled poo bags.
Meat Free Mondays
Do you know the amount of carbon that can be cut if everyone in the world had a vegan diet for one day a week in one year? Well I went out to check and found Meat Free Mondays calculator and found out it would be equivalent to cutting out 3333279693058.58 miles of greenhouse gases. 3333279693058.58!
If it was just you as an individual doing one meat and dairy free day a week for one year it would be the equivalent of cutting 434.36 miles of greenhouse gasses. Which, according to Meat Free Mondays statistics, is the equivalent amount of greenhouse gases as driving from London to Edinburgh. If you’re interested in seeing how much of an impact you could have on the world for changing your diet, even just a few days a week, then head over to Meat Free Mondays calculator and you can see some mind blowing statistics. There are also plenty of recipes on the Meat Free Monday website to have a browse through for inspiration. Not to worry if you’re someone short on time to prepare meal ideas, there are plenty of recipe kit options available that have the option for vegan meals. Please see some new customer offers for meal kits to try out new vegan recipes!
Grubby – Get 25% off your first 3 vegan meal kits.
Gousto – Get 50% off your first box, 40% off your second box, and 20% off for two months.
Mindful Chef – Get 25% Off First 4 Boxes
434.36 miles of greenhouse gasses avoided
There are just a few things you can do to help towards leading a more sustainable lifestyle. The difference doing just one of these things can make is bigger than you actually think. At the end of the day, taking that one step forward and doing something is better than doing nothing!
What steps are you taking? Do you have any other ways to lead a more sustainable lifestyle?
