10 easy sustainable swaps to help the Earth
Today marks the 22nd anniversary of Earth Day, an awareness day created to give a voice to an emerging public consciousness about the state of our planet, yet the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has reported that the size of our planet’s wildlife populations have plummeted by 68% since 1970 (the year Earth Day was founded).
Today we are all aware that the footprint we leave on this planet is not sustainable. For so long we have believed that our governments will sort this problem out but, frankly, that is not working. The good news is that we do not need to wait for laws and legislation to come in for us to take action, as individuals we can all start living more sustainably today and take back the control.
So, for this Earth Day, we have put together our 10 top easy tips to start living more sustainably and helping our planet repair the damage we have done to it;
1. Dental Floss
Most dental floss is made from nylon which, like plastic, is derived from crude oil. Although nylon degrades faster than plastic your floss will still be around for 80+ years after you have finished with it. Swap to a biodegradable vegan alternative such as the corn-based dental floss from The White Teeth Box or Georganics.
2. Cotton Makeup Pads
Many makeup pads also include plastics but even if your makeup pads are 100% cotton the environmental effects of growing cotton are very harmful. Not only does it involve the use of hazardous pesticides, it takes 20,000 litres of water to grow 1kg of cotton. Of course switching to re-usable pads is the most sustainable option but if you’re not ready for that yet then look for some made from organic cotton - not only will these be pesticide free but the Soil Association found that organic cotton can be grown using 91% less water than its non-organic counterpart.
3. Period Products
We use on average 11,000 disposable period pads or tampons in our lifetime. Menstrual cups, reusable pads, period pants.. there are tons of options for making your period most sustainable but we know that not everyone is ready to make that switch so what can we do instead? Look for a biodegradable option, companies like Organ(y)c have pads made from organic cotton that is backed with mater-bi, a compostable and biodegradable material that is preferable to plastic backings both because it allows our bodies to breathe and because it won’t be around longer than our lifetimes.
4. Tea Bags
Tea bags contain up to 25% plastic, not only is this damaging to the environment but The Journal of Environmental Science & Technology found that 11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion nanoplastics are released into a single cup of the beverage, do we really want to be drinking plastics with our tea? Opt for loose tea instead or swap to a sustainable brand like Clipper Tea or Pukka Herbs for a plastic-free cuppa.
5. Bin Bags
We make changes to our lifestyles to use more biodegradable products and then we dispose of these in plastic bin bags that can take hundreds of years to degrade. The good news is there are plenty of biodegradable and compostable options available so, if you only make one swap this year this is the one we recommend most.
6. Sponges
Most dish clothes and sponges are made from polyurethane, a petroleum-based ingredient that is basically an oil-based plastic. Our favourite eco sponge swap is to those that are those that are 1/2 Hessian and 1/2 Cotton, so you have rougher and a softer side for all your washing-up needs!
7. Gardening
It no longer makes sense for us to plant our flowers and vegetables in plastic pots while wearing plastic gloves so we have swapped over to natural rubber. Not only does this keep plastic well away from our home-grown food but rubber trays are more flexible meaning they are less likely to break and we can re-use them year after year. One of our favourite brands is Fair Zone as they are also fairtrade.
8. Tape
Plastic tapes are not recyclable or biodegradable so why not switch to a paper-based alternative? Paper tapes have come along way in the last few years and are just as effective as their plastic counterparts without the environmental harm (that’s why we use them for our packaging!). There are lots of varieties available from basic brown or white tapes to coloured and patterned varieties, just make sure they are using natural (not synthetic) dyes.
9. Disposable Cups & Plates
These may be marketed as ‘paper plates’ but there is a reason they don’t disintegrate when you put food and liquids on them. Most ‘paper’ plates are coated with polyethylene (PE) plastic and cannot be recycled so why not invest in a reusable picnic set instead?
Shopping Bags
We all already know to use reusable shopping bags instead of contributing to plastic waste, but if you’re running short then pop your details in the form below and we will send you one of our ORGANii bags, made from recycled plastic which would have otherwise gone into landfill!