What are some of the eco-friendly habits you’re now using since lockdown?

I’ve switched to more eco-friendly cleaning products, and only washing our clothes 1-2 week instead of consistent loads. I also read your grow your own article and started to build a little section of my garden to grow a couple of easy vegetables. Shame about garden centres and how much product they had to waste. But i wonder if i’ll be taking the same care once normal life returns

claire wrote:

Sunnii-Elle wrote:

Since lockdown began I’ve changed a lot of products I’ve used in my bathroom and kitchen. We’ve completely switched to Ecover for our washing up/laundry needs, but my hero products have been reusable cotton pads and natural deodorant. What about you all?

what is ecover? and reusable cotton pads? and natural deodorant? are they good for sensitive skin? where can we buy them? are they expensive? I don’t think we have really changed anything. unless it said eco friendly on the item I wouldn’t know it was eco friendly. speaking of which can you explain what eco friendly means? I assume its something to do with being kind to the ecosystem?

 
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”font-family: ‘Georgia’,serif; color: #333333; background: white;”>The term eco-friendly means things that are good/ better for the environment.</span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”font-family: ‘Georgia’,serif; color: #333333; background: white;”>There are lots of ways to be eco-friendly. One of the key things to think about is the 5 R’s – refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot.</span><span style=”font-family: Georgia, serif;”> </span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”font-family: ‘Georgia’,serif; color: #333333; background: white;”>Refuse things you don’t need– Say no to freebies you don’t want, or need. Don’t take up a special offer just because it is there. Stick to a shopping list and don’t buy stuff just for the sake of it. </span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”font-family: Georgia, serif;”>Reduce – Only use what you need and not more – often we use more than we need of things. For example 70% of food waste comes from households in the UK! Don’t waste food – it gives off methane in landfill which is a greenhouse gas around 30 times more potent than CO2 and is a big waste of money too. Eat less meat and dairy because cattle farming is contributing to climate change.</span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”font-family: Georgia, serif;”>Reuse – </span><span style=”font-family: Georgia, serif;”> </span><span style=”font-family: Georgia, serif;”>Replace items designed to be used once and then thrown away with reusables like reusable coffee cups, reusable bags and reusable wipes that can be used again and again. You also will save money this way.</span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”font-family: Georgia, serif;”>Recycle – this is better than throwing something away but not as good as the 3 R’s that come before it, because after the item is recycled into something new, that new product may end up in the bin. Make sure you only put things in your recycling that your council accepts as otherwise you will contaminate the recycling and the whole batch will end up in incineration or landfill.</span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”font-family: Georgia, serif;”>Rot – if something can be composted, either in a green bin collection or in a compost heap in your garden, this is better for the environment than putting it in landfill.</span><span style=”font-family: Georgia, serif;”> </span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”font-family: ‘Georgia’,serif; color: #333333; background: white;”>Ecover is a green brand of cleaning products like washing up liquid and dishwasher tablets. It has various eco-friendly features about it but it isn’t perfect.<span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”>  </span>Just because a product says green, eco or natural on the packaging, it doesn’t mean it is. Test it out on the 5 R’s and watch out for greenwashing (where a company leads you to think that a product is eco-friendly, when it is only a little bit eco-friendly and still has features that aren’t good for the environment).</span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”font-family: ‘Georgia’,serif; color: #333333; background: white;”>Reusable cotton pads are washable and reusable pads that people use for things like makeup removal. There are various options for natural deodorant – you can make your own from a mixture of coconut oil, bicarbonate of soda (be careful as this can be a bit abrasive) and few drops of an essential oil. Some people like salt sticks and another option is just to wash under your arms with soap and water.</span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”font-family: ‘Georgia’,serif; color: #333333; background: white;”>For more information about being eco-friendly on a budget, check out my blog http://www.ecothriftyliving.com . I have written a book called Eco Thrifty Living (by Zoe Morrison), which goes into a lot of detail about this too</span> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eco-Thrifty-Living-Money-Environment/dp/1099777747</p>