Each year, the world’s focus on living a more eco-conscious lifestyle has grown. With a greater emphasis on how we can look after the planet, it has become apparent that there is a demand for more companies and businesses to make more sustainable choices. However, what can we do individually to help the planet?
What Does Sustainability Mean?
In an incredibly short explanation, living sustainably means the reduction of your carbon footprint. Sustainability can be achieved through both personal and societal behaviours. Living sustainably requires an increase of awareness and an interest in where resources come from or how they may affect the environment.
Instead of opting for short term, immediate solutions which may withdraw essential sources from the planet or cause harm to the environment when used, sustainable solutions and behaviours take into account how their use can impact the earth.
Small Steps Go a Long Way
The planet would benefit from many people making small and gradual changes to achieve realistic results. You may have heard the quote by the Zero Waste Chef Anne Marie Bonneau “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
Trying to make too many drastic changes can feel overwhelming, and it is recommended to make changes over time. We must become constant with sustainable choices, so we don’t revert to previous, damaging behaviours.
Where to Begin?
However, as more advice and research is published, knowing what the best choices are to help the environment can sometimes feel contradictory. In this blog, we explore the small but mighty decisions you can make daily that can help look after the planet.
Say No to Disposables
Unfortunately, many things are disposable. From food packaging to water bottles, to straws, to carrier bags the list is tiresome!
However, there are many habits you can implement, which can reduce how many disposable products you use. For example, here are just a few:
- Ensuring you always have material shopping bags in the car.
- Invest in water bottles and Tupperware. Obviously, items such as Tupperware are created from plastic. However, organising and planning your lunch using Tupperware is much better for the environment than buying on the go, with items which are protected by single-use food packaging.
- Investing in a proper shaver instead of buying disposable ones.
- Just not opting for a straw when at a bar, or take your reusable one.
Some of the items may seem like a more expensive one-off payment. However, with a longer life expectancy and with consistent use, it will not be long until they pay for themselves over time. Not only is it better for the environment, but it will avoid you always having to fork out money to buy a single-use version.
Be More Aware of Your Food
There are many changes you can make to how and what you eat, which can help the environment. You may be familiar with eating less meat and more veg, for example.
Other things you can try include shopping locally. Not only is this beneficial for the local economy, but it also reduces transport emissions. Another interesting project to try, is to grow your own! Whether vegetables or herbs, trying to grow your own at home could spark a whole new hobby.
Additionally, carefully planning your meals can also help to reduce food waste, and anything you don’t eat (which hasn’t been served) can be frozen. Anything that is served on a plate but not eaten should be put in compost and not the bin.
Think Second-Hand
Instead of buying brand new items, try and choose second-hand options where you can. Perhaps you are already a lover of charity shop fashion? However, it doesn’t need to stop there. If you have moved into a new place, why not consider the charity shops for items such as crockery and storage units?
Remember, when clearing out your old items, don’t throw them away! Take them to the charity shop or put them in a donation or recycling bank.
Or you could make a little extra money and sell them online on sites such as eBay or Shpock, for example. It can be especially useful when trying to get rid of your old surfboards or wetsuits too!
Choose Bio-Degradable
Where you can, try to opt for bio-degradable products. Bio-degradable refers to items which are produced with non-synthetic ingredients. This means they can be dissolved when fungi and bacteria get hold of them and is great news for the environment as it means their presence won’t affect nature.
Consider Your Energy Usage
Trying to be mindful about how much energy you are using and wasting can go a long way. For example, it is advised to turn off any appliances or lights you do not need. You can additionally look into implementing energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances. In the summer especially, you could choose to hang your washing outside to dry naturally as opposed to using a dryer.
Hopefully, we have given you plenty of ideas to get you started when trying to live more sustainably.
Here at Wetsuit Centre, we offer a wide range of high-quality water-based equipment. Created with durability as a priority, everything we stock, from wetsuits to inflatable paddleboards, is available on our website ready to accompany you on your coastal adventures.
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