Hey!
I hope you are all well!
Over the next few weeks I want to cover a few topics I feel really passionate about.
I love fashion, I have a degree in that forte but as I get older I am becoming more aware of my surroundings and what kind of a world we live in. As I think about the future for young people today and the earth I will leave behind for my children I feel I have more responsibility than ever to look after the world we live in and do what I can for nature. Yeah I love fashion and love wearing nice clothes but is it actually bringing any good into the world? No!
Lately I have become more passionate about natural living, doing good in the world and trying to live a more sustainable life. Thinking about what I am wearing, using, putting into my body externally and internally. I have been trying to maintain a sustainable lifestyle for a while but as me and my boyfriend have just bought a house I thought what better way to have a clean slate and really give this sustainable living a good go.
Small steps make big changes so I am sharing with you a few things you can start off with if you too want to help the planet.
Starting off with this book by Jen Chillingsworth '52 Steps for a more sustainable life'.
In this book you will find some great tips and tricks on how to make changes in your home and lifestyle over the course of a year. It includes making your own cleaning products, shopping vintage, using less plastic and many more interesting things! I am starting off by reading the whole book and then slowly incorporating certain ideas into my home and lifestyle. I am really enjoying it so far and it has given me some great ideas. I recommend this if you are just starting out properly like me and need some inspiration and ideas easily at hand.
Next up is organic sanitary products. This is a topic which I recently covered on my Instagram story.
Some of you may not realise that with non-organic sanitary products you may be putting pesticides, chlorine, and all sorts of potentially toxic chemicals into your body. When buying sanitary products the bad ingredients to look for are things like chlorine, non-organic cotton, fragrance, rayon and BPA.
I want to do a whole blog post covering this topic so I won't go into too much detail right now but non-organic sanitary products are so harmful to the environment. A conventional sanitary pad contains the equivalent of 4 plastic bags!
Using organic sanitary protection means they are plastic free, perfume free and chlorine free. They are made from certified organic cotton and are biodegradable. Other waste free products you can use is the moon cup but I am not yet brave enough to try that out. My favourite organic sanitary brand is Natracare and I have also just bought some organic tampons from TOTM.
Better for the environment and better for our bodies, its a win win!
Re-usable take out cups.
I personally don't ever buy drinks from places like Costa because I used to work there and know how overpriced it all is but I do like my cup of tea on my way to work in the mornings. If you take your own coffee cup to a coffee shop they usually offer a small discount for bringing your own.
The paper cups they provide are actually covered in a plastic paste known as polyethylene, this prevents the cups from being recyclable.
6.5 million trees cut down each year for a paper cup
4 billion gallons of water wasted per year
Enough energy to power 54,000 homes wasted per year
BRING your own cup!
I got mine from Primark, it has a silicone lid, is BPA free and glass.
Other great brands include Keep Cup as they are made from glass too.
My next favourite is using a natural deodorant. Now, I know the deodorant is in a plastic container BUT one of these seriously lasts me about 6 months.
A conventional deodorant contains triclosan, formaldehyde, parabens, diethanolamine, aluminium, aerosol (as propellant) etc like chemicals. All of these have bad effects on the body as well as the environment and most are unaware with the severe damage caused by deodorants. - www.naturalquestproducts.com
I look at this way, if I am spraying deodorant that toxic onto my skin and into the room then what must it be doing to the atmosphere.
Buying natural deodorant lasts so much longer than these cans so therefore you are cutting down on waste and it is also so much better for you. My favourite brands are Faith in Nature and Tisserand, these are also cruelty free and vegan!
Ok so another favourite is a bamboo toothbrush.
I never even used to think about the plastic on my toothbrush until I watched Bear Grylls The Island and saw that they found toothbrushes washed up on the shore to use! Ever since I have used bamboo toothbrushes and my electric toothbrush.
They are much better for the environment as the toothbrush handle is made from bamboo and once you pull out the nylon bristles you can put them in your recycling bin, then put the handle in your compost bin and it will biodegrade.
I use Humble Brush which I buy from Tk Maxx for £2.99 but you can find many on eBay and Amazon.
PS. Tk Maxx sell so many eco friendly products.
And finally a Sea Sponge.
Sea Sponges are sustainably harvested, when sponges are collected parts of the sponge are left on the ocean floor grow back. They can be harvested over and over again as they regrow to their original size within a few years.
Most artificial sponges are made from petroleum and dyed with a chemical. Sea sponges are antibacterial and self cleaning because of the little holes they have on them, they won't develop any nasty smells.
You can use them to clean your body, clean your kitchen, bathrooms etc. Once you are finished with it, you can put it in your compost bin and it will biodegrade.
Other great ideas is using a glass water bottle and refilling it yourself, again better for the environment but also better for you as it won't contain any nasties in plastic. A bamboo lunch box or tupaware as again bamboo is biodegradable and doesn't contain any BPA found in plastic.
And finally always say NO to single use plastic bags and bring your OWN!
I hope you found this post useful!
Let me know if you have any other great tips to live a sustainable life.
Lauren x
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