Ten eco-friendly products that will change your life
Scientists tell us Earth is fast approaching a ‘tipping point’ beyond which climate change will be out of control. And yet we are still abusing the planet’s resources, spewing carbon into the atmosphere, following destructive farming practises and poisoning our water. But with some careful changes in how we act, and especially what we choose to buy, we can work together towards halting this downward spiral.
Friends Of The Earth recommends that everyone follows ‘Plastic-Free Fridays’ where we see if we can live without plastics for at least one day a week, while Greenpeace urge us to use environmentally-friendly or plastic-free cleaning products, or even make our own, using things such as Bicarbonate of Soda, Lemon Juice, boiled water and Essential Oils.
There’s an increasing number of companies and manufacturers who are sitting up and taking notice of the climate emergency, making products which help, not hinder, the progress we can make towards a greener, safer, healthier planet. Here are ten ways you can spend wisely, in ways that will make you part of the solution, not part of the problem!
Takeaway coffee is a terrible waste of resources, really – especially when there’s such an amazing choice of premium, lip-smacking Coffee and such an excellent availability of insulated flasks for food & drink such as this fantastic one from Black and Blum. But there are now some fantastic choices of reusable cups, made by forward-thinking companies such as Stojo and Ecoffee, which look fantastic and mean you’ll drastically reduce your use of disposable cups, and with it, your carbon footprint.
Toothbrushes are usually made from harmful plastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene. Some of these are recyclable, but more often than not they just end up in landfill, where they’ll decompose over hundreds of years and eventually fill the earth and the water with ruinously polluting microplastics. Happily, lots of companies are now making toothbrushes from natural materials, such as the bamboo ones made by Woobamboo or the ones made from Forest Stewardship Council-certified beechwood by Georganics.
Disposable plastic straws are another thing clogging our planet, getting into landfill and floating in our oceans, disrupting the ecosystem and spelling disaster for animal habitats. A recent viral video showing a straw being removed from a turtle’s nostril off Costa Rica shocked the world and brought home to many the awful effect we’re having on nature. But you can make a difference by rejecting disposable straws and choosing a green version such as these brilliant, funky-looking Bamboo Straws or these sleek-looking, multi-coloured Stainless Steel Straws.
LastSwab is an eco-conscious company urging us to switch to reusable alternatives and reduce massive amounts of waste impacting our environment. It’s their mission to eliminate single use items by creating reusable sustainable alternatives. Their beauty swabs come in a plant-based carrying case, and just one of them will replace 1000 single-use cotton swabs.
Washing up liquid goes straight down the drain and into the water system, so it’s important to ensure it doesn’t contain a load of nasty, harmful chemicals. One company leading the way is Ecover, whose washing up liquid bottles are made from 100% post-consumer recycled PET plastic, which is widely recyclable. They don’t test on animals, and their formula is plant-based. Bio D use a blend of detergents derived from coconut oil and vegetable glycerine to limit environmental impact, and Method‘s washing up liquid is made from biodegradable, plant-based ingredients, and comes in fully recyclable bottles.
Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Clingfilm and Tin Foil
For everyone wanting to keep plastics out of their kitchen, reusable wraps like the ones made by Clingy are a real godsend – they keep food naturally fresh for ages, and mean you won’t be throwing away vast amounts of harmful plastic clingfilm. The Beeswax Wraps Company make a large kitchen pack which should cover all your family’s needs, and there’s even a vegan version made with 100% organic cotton and jojoba oil.
Laundry eggs are designed to replace laundry detergent and fabric conditioner. We have calculated that if you put a load of washing on every day, you could save up to 40 bottles each year per household. In 2021, total worldwide Laundry Egg sales helped to save around 15 million plastic bottles! Ecoeggs work without the use of nasty chemicals or enzymes. The Laundry Egg contains mineral pelletsthat lift away dirt without fading colours or leaving chemical residue on clothing. Eco eggs are vegan friendly and suitable for those with sensitive skin. Shop the range now at Healthy Supplies!
Statista estimated that in 2016, an estimated 1.8 million women aged 15+ in the UK used 25 or more menstrual towels a month, while the water engineer Hazem Gouda estimates 700,000 panty liners, 2.5 million tampons and 1.4 million sanitary towels are flushed down the toilet every day. Use a menstrual cup instead, and you’ll find it’ll pay for itself after around 6 months. They’re made from medical-grade silicone (ideal if you have sensitive skin or allergies), come in different sizes, and can hold 3 times as much as a regular tampon. Best of all, instead of using the average of 11,000 sanitary products in your lifetime, you’ll only need one!
There are few things better for body and soul than relaxing in a meadow full of wild flowers while bees buzz around collecting pollen. Bee populations have been decimated by colony collapse disorder in recent years, and as the food we eat depends almost entirely on these little critters, that’s pretty serious. Enter Beebombs with these brilliant Native Wildflower Seedballs – pellets made from clay powder, soil and wildflower seeds, designed to grow into beautiful wildflowers and encourage bees to proliferate. There’s a cornucopia of seeds here that’ll grow into old English blooms with amazing names like Lady’s Bedstraw, Rough Hawkbit, Ribwort Plantain and Yellow Rattle – a perfect gift for witches, druids, or just your auntie!
Toilet paper is a waste product itself, and ends up in sewers and landfill – but the process of making it is also massively wasteful. To produce just one roll of regular loo paper, 37 gallons of water, 1.5 pounds of wood, and 1/3kWh of electricity are used. That’s not all – chlorinated bleach is used to whiten the paper – 253,000 tons per year. When you consider the average person in the West uses more than 350 trees’ worth of toilet paper in their lifetime, it’s important to choose a brand as environmentally-frindly as possible.Cheeky Panda make theirs from 100% bamboo from FSC-certified sustainable bamboo forests, while Ecoleaf produce theirs using 100% recycled fibre from a mix of consumer and trade waste, using chlorine-free processing.
Investigate Eco-Friendly products now!
Please have a look at our superb range of resource-saving options for food storage, household cleaning, kitchen supplies, pets, laundry, beauty and much more! Saving the planet needn’t mean we should compromise on taste, cleaning power, craftmanship or any of the things we take for granted with products that damage the environment – so join us and start making a difference to the world we live in today!