With all the talk about being more sustainable to help with climate change and global warming, it seems there isn’t much credit being given to make people feel good doing it; And that’s the best bit! So here’s a few things that you’re probably already doing that’s benefiting the earth already!
Bought a new car recently?
You’re probably thinking ‘I need a car, I can’t be ‘green’ and cycle hours to and from work!’ Thankfully, car manufacturers are continuously getting tighter regulations for the pollutions levels that their cars produce. Remember the Volkswagen scandal? Having a new car will most likely produce a lot less air pollution than a decade old tin can, that’s how Nigeria is the country with the most worst air pollution levels.
Eating less meat red to reduce your carbon footprint
You’ve probably cut down on the consumption of red meat after the link to cancer was announced, or even recently turned vegan! Vegan isn’t just a fad, but actually the best diet for the lowest carbon footprint! Meat and dairy production contributes a lot of green house gases compared to growing crops, as cows and sheep produce a lot of methane!
Growing your own plants/food. – seasonal ‘smart eating’
Growing your own fruits and veg is a rewarding hobby, and harvesting that produce to put straight on to the table has a lower carbon footprint than eating imported food! Struggle with the green thumb? Don’t worry, local and seasonal fruit and veg are easily sourced today and tend to be the cheapest at supermarkets! Growing your own plants will also help to produce more oxygen, making us breathe easier. Just make sure you keep your food waste down with all of the seasonal sales, it’s easy to get carried away. I’ve picked up some great tips on this infographic to help keep your food for longer:
Supporting a sustainable brand
You might not realise it but some of the brands that you shop at have sustainable policies and are super fashionable at the same time! You can go the extra step by opting for ‘slow fashion’ brands, check them out on my twitter list here.
Walking more
Still remember that talk from school about parking a bit further away and walking? It can actually benefit you and the health of the children when dropping them off on the school run. After studying on the Invisible Dust’s Human Sensor programme and learning more about air pollution in Manchester. It’s been brought to my attention that most playgrounds tend to be built as a dip! This means that all of the passing car pollution and idle engines outside of the gates would essentially fall into this dip, making it a collection of air pollution! Scary stuff! Air pollution contributes to lung and heart conditions that’s linked to 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK.
Check out the promotional video for Invisible Dust that I helped model on! – Source
Reusing packaging
A little goes a long way! Recycling is great but have you ever reused some decorative sweet jars as a biscuit/cake tin? Great one! Breaking down some plastics can potentially produce more greenhouse gases during the recycling process. Ultimately, reducing the amount of general waste you have will contribute less to the landfill sites that all waste ultimately ends up. Check out this eco chick that has zero waste here!
Switching off
Obsessed with switching lights off when it isn’t in use? Like everything so far in this blog a little goes a long way! So turning that TV off standby is doing a lot more great than just scratching your itch!
I hope you’ve related to some or all of the great things in the list above that you’re doing to live in a more sustainable way, or even taken some tips away to try out!
So next time you take a flight and worry about the carbon footprint, think of ways you can counteract that e.g. no red meat or cycle around for a week!
Sustainable chic.
-Rinniboo.
Thought about switching to a moon cup instead of clogging up land fills with tampons and sanitary pads? Check out the blog post ‘All about menstrual cups‘ here.
Rinniboo 