It’s all great knowing what we should do to reduce waste, but real change only happens when we alter our behaviour. Here are a number of small changes I’ve made to my buying habits, over the last few years and for each, I’ll outline the cost difference, as well as the effort and impact involved. I’ll also mention a few ways I could do better in the future.
Eco Friendly Washing Up Liquid
We’ll start with a simple one – this was probably one of the easiest changes for us. It was just a matter if picking up some Bio-D Pink Grapefruit Washing Up Liquid in our local Health Food Shop – Halo Health (which is actually most of an environmentally conscious mecca, than a health food shop).
According to the information on the bottle and their website, the product is “Vegan, Cruelty Free, Suitable for Septic Tanks, Pet Friendly, Ethical Consumer Best Buy, Fragranced with essential Oils, 100% recycled post consumer waste packaging”. I’m not sure how this compares with our previous brand, but it’s still good to support a locally owned shop and ethically produced products.
Cost Impact: Cost Neutral
Effort Required: Low
Impact: Medium
Improvements: I must find out the actual impact the manufacture of this product has and see can improvements be made in our choices.
Refillable Laundry Detergent
This is again from Halo Health, but a growing number of shops are beginning to offer the same service. The only added effort here, compared to buying our previous brand, is to remember to bring the container with us. I find no reduction in quality compared to the previous brand we used and I’m led to believe that it’s produced as ethically and sustainably as is possible.
Cost Impact: Cost Neutral
Effort Required: Low
Impact: Medium
Coconut Fibre Scrubber and Wooden Brush
This to me was the most surprising success so far. I bought the Safix Coconut Fibre Scrub Pad, as I knew I had to make a change, but I wasn’t expecting an awful lot. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It has outlasted any of the synthetic sponges we previously used and is still going strong. It is completely biodegradable and can be composted after use.
An added advantage with purchasing from an environmentally minded company, compared to a multinational, who release products to appear eco friendly, is that all steps, from sourcing of raw materials, right down to the packaging used is going to be done right. It’s great not to have to dump single use plastic wrapping and them dump the product itself after a few weeks.
We also bought a wooden scrubbing brush, which is made from natural materials, but havent’t found this as useful for our needs. The Safix Scrubbing Pad, metal scourer that we already had and a reusable cotton cloth, do all the cleaning we need.
Cost Impact: Save Money
Effort Required: Low
Impact: Medium
Improvements: As far as I know, the cocunut used isn’t grown in Ireland, so I will keep a look out for locally produced alternatives. Maybe the Luffa I’m growing will do the job from now on!
Organic Cotton Sweatshirt and t-Shirt From the Hemp Clothing Company
After a lot of searching for better options for clothes, I came across THTC. They have been ranked the UK’s most ethical menswear brand and is ethically driven since 1999. Their cotton is organic and carbon neutral and they also make clothes from Hemp and recycled plastic. My aim is to buy clothes that only use natural fibres and dyes and most importantly will last for years without deteriorating. I only have these for a few weeks, so will report back in the future.
Cost Impact: Low
Effort Required: Low
Impact: Medium
Improvements: Even organic cotton still has a significant environmental impact, mostly from the amount of water used in its production. I will look for more hemp clothing and also see what new natural materials and innovations will come on the market.
Beeswax Wraps
Beeswax wraps are reusable food wraps, made from organic cloth and coated in beeswax. They can be placed around food or over bowls or food containers and moulded to create an airtight seal to keep food fresh. Because of these, we haven’t bought cling film (aka Saran wrap, cling wrap, shrink wrap) for over 2 years.
Cost Impact: Low
Effort Required: Low
Impact: Medium
Improvements: I must get more of them!
Bulk Buying / Packaging Free Food
Since we finished our larder, we are now organised enough to store bulk purchases of food as well as buy many foodstuffs loose and store in containers ourselves. The main obstacle to doing this, was just getting organised enough to have containers washed and ready. Another issue, is that the number and variety of foods that are available to buy loose, is still quite limited. Luckily this is improving, with most supermarkets increasing their range, with many fruit and veg now available to buy loose again. Don’t forget, Farmers Markets can be a great place to buy locally produced foods and allow you to build up a relationship with the actual producers of your food. You will quickly realise which producers prioritise eco friendly growing and packaging methods.
Also, once you make packaging free your priority, make sure to let your shopkeepers / local farmers know too – as suppliers will only extend their range of packaging free produce, when enough people buy them.
Cost Impact: Medium
Effort Required: Low
Impact: High
Improvements: Support more local, ethical producers.
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