Sustainability and Reality
I wrote the majority of this blog post for Plastic Free July in 2020, and while I stand by the swaps we made as a household (published in scannable, brain-dump form), and my comments about the inequities when it comes to making “better choices”, I have added some thoughts on the wider issue.
The inequities of sustainable swaps
Let's start by addressing the big, flapping, made-of-money elephant in the room. Most eco-friendly and plastic-free swaps are more expensive, at least for the short term. Some are better value in the long term, some are a straight up investment in doing your bit for the environment.
When it comes to refill stations and buying whole foods, this is also a choice more readily available in affluent areas.
If you can afford to make the changes that you think others cannot then consider donating reusable essentials to your local shelter or food bank. A simple online search will bring your nearest up, and Trussell Trust have banks all over the UK. They list non-food essentials here. You can also set up regular financial donations. More on this throughout.
We will not save the Earth by switching to low energy bulbs
The state of our climate, the plastic in the ocean, the rise of the Earth’s temperature is NOT down to you as an individual consumer. Beyond being responsible with what we use, reuse and recycle, the biggest step is voting for a greener future.
I don’t just mean paying attention to environmental policies before you cast your actual vote (though please do this too). I mean vote with your time and your money and your wider choices.
Switch to a green energy supplier, write to your MP about your environmental concerns, boycott fast fashion and the largest global polluters. As long as we are buying, as long as we are quiet, companies don’t need to change their behaviour.
In fact, they’d really prefer we all kept blaming each other and taking responsibility ourselves.
“…notorious companies like Phillip Morris and Coca-Cola formed the non-profit Keep America Beautiful (KAB). KAB has since released decades of greenwashing propaganda that have been nothing short of culture-defining. From coining the term "litter-bug" and releasing PSAs that blamed consumers for plastic pollution, to lobbying against any type of legislation that would increase producer accountability or threaten their profit margins, KAB has effectively written the popular discourse and regulatory laws to serve themselves.
Today, KAB is still sponsored by some of the most notorious environmentally damaging corporations, like H&M, The Clorox Company, Dow, Northrop Grumman, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé.”
“British Petroleum, the second largest non-state owned oil company in the world, with 18,700 gas and service stations worldwide, hired the public relations professionals Ogilvy & Mather to promote the slant that climate change is not the fault of an oil giant, but that of individuals.
It’s here that British Petroleum, or BP, first promoted and soon successfully popularised the term “carbon footprint" in the early aughts. The company unveiled its “carbon footprint calculator” in 2004 so one could assess how their normal daily life — going to work, buying food, and (gasp) traveling — is largely responsible for heating the globe. A decade and a half later, “carbon footprint” is everywhere.
“This is one of the most successful, deceptive PR campaigns maybe ever,” said Benjamin Franta, who researches law and history of science as a J.D.-Ph.D. student at Stanford Law School.”
The fact is that our key role as consumers is to hold larger corporations, organisations, and governments to account and do what we can to change the system.
Plastic Free Swaps
Periods (of course)
First up Period Pants! Or as I call them, my magic pants. I switched from disposable pads early last year and I haven't looked back. I have pairs from ModiBodi (mixed online reviews, plus the fabric has developed a couple of small holes but they do offer different absorbencies) and UK based Wuka (no complaints, only adoration).
If you want to support people who menstruate, who are on a lower income, you can donate menstrual health products to your local food bank or shelter. If you're not sure what to supply, call and ask them. Or consider supporting organisations like The Cup Effect, or buying your products from companies that run a Buy One, Donate One scheme like RubyCup, or Hey Girls, who sell period pants and reusable pads as well as cups.
Fashion
“While the figures are debated, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has calculated the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions every year, while it is estimated to use around 1.5 trillion litres of water annually. Meanwhile concerns have been rising about pollution, from chemical waste to microplastics.
Among the developments deemed to be exacerbating the problems, is fast fashion – cheap clothes bought and cast aside in rapid succession as trends change…”
- Fast Fashion Speeding Towards Environmental Disaster, The Guardian.
Here in the UK we are particularly partial to fast fashion - we buy more clothing per head than any other country in Europe - but boycotting stores that produce products or manage people in an unethical way is another powerful way to vote with your money.
Whereas I used to head to my favourite shops online when I wanted something new (actually, I used to head almost exclusively to the charity shops. Oh how I miss the charity shops!), I now start my buying journey via the Good On You app. Founded by a group of campaigners, scientists and fashion professionals, Good On You use a simple ethical rating system so you can see at a glance how your favourite shop measures up.
If I find an indie shop I don’t just assume that they have strong environmental policies just because they are independent. I check their site over for their sustainability clause and if I can’t find it I either get in touch to ask or I shop elsewhere.
And of course, if I can avoid buying new then I will do that every time. Vinted, charity shops and other online marketplaces are a treasure trove when you shop with intention (rather than mindless browsing) and know what you need.
Bathroom
We've made a lot of changes in the bathroom alone.
We signed up to a Who Gives a Crap toilet roll subscription (which was a relief when everyone lost their minds and started stockpiling earlier in the year).
We switched from regular sponges to natural loofahs. Face wipes, to washable muslin cloths and I'm excited to try this cleansing sponge by Konjac. We switched single use cotton buds for silicon reusables.
Plastic toothbrushes for compostable/recyclable Jack n Jill's for the girls, and bamboo and charcoal brushes for us.
I switched deodorants to plastic-free, Isle of Wight based Earth Conscious over a year ago and not only does it ease my conscience and my footprint, it's done a fair amount for my general musk! Turns out all I needed to do to fix any body odour issues was stop clogging up my glands with chemical nasties and perfumes. Makes sense when you think about it, huh.
I stopped buying moisturiser and started making my own with coconut oil and a few drops of essential oils, stored in old glass jars. There are loads of recipes online, it's super quick, lasts for ages and my skin is much improved. Coconut oil is just that - oily - so if you have oily/combi skin you may be better trying shea butter. I also harvested the roses from our garden in the summer to make rose water toner.
Bottle shampoo to Lush shampoo bars seems a pricey switch, but it has reduced the amount I need to wash my hair from every other day to every 3-4 days! The bars also last a long time, especially if you keep them somewhere dry between uses (we invested in a cork pot after getting sick of knocking a kitchen container off the shower shelf every day).
Kitchen
We expanded our Who Gives a Crap subscription to kitchen roll after we realised that regular kitchen roll is made up with plastic fibres and is neither recyclable or biodegradable. We tried supermarket recyclable paper towels first and it was like trying to wipe up mess with a handful of fog. Practically pointless.
Regular laundry and dishwasher tabs to Smol, which are actually cheaper than the usual household brands (woo hoo!), plus free of chemical nasties, and are delivered through the letterbox on subscription in completely plastic-free cardboard packaging.
We also tried the Eco egg for a while in 2019 and I was initially really impressed by how well it worked. The downside was having a heavy egg kerplunking around your washing machine with all your clothes really takes a toll on the fabric. I started only using it for towels or other items where a bit of battering wouldn't matter so much, and then eventually switched to Smol completely.
Straws to stainless steel, kid's tableware to bamboo and for cutlery we just gave them regular teaspoons and dessert forks!
We use flannels when at home to clean up the girls messes, and switched to biodegradable wet wipes for when we're out and about. I know this isn't perfect, we could definitely take a wet flannel in a sealed container out with us now that they're older and potty trained so we'll be making this switch once our current load of wipes has run out.
I ordered this brilliant kitchen box from Greener Home Box this month to help me start switching out other kitchen items like sponges and washing up liquid, and even cling film. I was pretty horrified by these facts about the common kitchen sponge, plus was so happy to be supporting a small, Black-owned business like Tara's.
We started getting milk in glass bottles from Milk & More, and the pandemic finally pushed us to get our fruit and veg via a local box scheme.
We also buy a lot less meat now, and the meat we do buy is from Field & Flower - “We support British farmers and fishermen who champion animal welfare and sustainability, delivering grass-fed meat and sustainable fish straight from our farms to your door.” And it’s delivered in recyclable packaging to boot!
As well as growing our own berries, tomatoes, and herbs, we also learned how easy it was to grow our own salad from PREVIOUS SALAD. Stick an old stump of lettuce, celery, pak choi in a little jar of water and prepare to have your mind blown within a matter of days.
Snacks are still a definite pain point, plastic wise. We make our own granola, so can make granola bars from this too. My aim is to start making our own biscuits on the regular to at least save on this bit of packaging going into our bin every week (or every couple of days, ahem). We love this gluten free oat cookie recipe (but we add dark chocolate, because we're addicts).
And speaking of what goes in the bin, there's not much point in making a load of biodegradable switches if that biodegradable stuff is then sealed up in a black plastic bag forever and hauled to landfill. We switched from regular black bin bags to biodegradable.
What Else?
There are plenty of alternatives out there that aren't applicable to us, so I highly recommend if you find yourself regularly throwing plastic into the bin that you google an eco friendly switch. Coffee pods, electric toothbrush heads, even environmentally friendly logs for your fireplace.
The secret is to stop assuming what you're using is the only option. It's not anymore.
I'd love to chat about all of this, so find me on Instagram and tell me about the swaps you've made this month!
