We would like to think so, although it might take a little time to adjust and definitely a lot of planning!
They say it takes 30 days to change a habit (https://jamesclear.com/new-habit ) so if we all made just one small swap of a plastic item each month, over the course of 1 year we would have made an impressive 12 steps towards a more sustainable future. Here are a few of our own favourite swaps:
1. Shampoo Bars. This switch can seem quite daunting for some but once accomplished your luscious locks and bountiful bank balance will thank you.
2. Go paper free. Did you know that all those little supermarket receipts are non-recyclable? This is because they are coated with a substance called bisphenol A (BPA) or bisphenol S (BPS) – chemicals which are harmful if they are released into the environment or ingested in large quantities.
3. Composting. Find somewhere to compost your waste if you don’t have the resources to do so, as this is a great way to recycle food wastage and especially useful for any of you avid gardeners. https://sharewaste.com/ is a great website for this, plus it’s a wonderful way of meeting like-minded souls to!
4. Swap single-use disposables with recyclables. Disposables such as tissues, straws, cotton balls, coffee cups, plastic water bottles, cling wrap can easily be replaced with reusable versions. Take your own containers when shopping and don’t forget your bags!
5. Be aware of where your clothes come from. Try not to buy into the fast fashion industry – 20% of landfill is clothing – let’s not add to it! Spending just that little bit extra on a clothing item which will last a lot longer, as well as supporting fairly paid workers, is most certainly a good step forward.
6. Reduce your animal product consumption. Going from meat-eater to vegan for a whole day saves as much CO2 as a gallon of fuel!
7. Make your own natural cleaning and beauty products. There are loads of resources available at the tip of our fingertips nowadays, they just take a little more planning and thinking ahead. One of our favourites is https://wellnessmama.com/ .
8. Switch to good old-fashioned bars of soap. Not only will this save you loads of money, but it will also make a big dent in reducing disposable plastics. Alternatively learn how to make your own on one of our courses:
You don’t need to aim for perfection immediately, any swaps you can do, no matter how small, really do make a big difference over time. This is just the beginning of an exciting and sustainable future!
