Why Sustainability Should Be Your New Years Resolution
We all want to live more sustainably, but it can seem like a daunting task if you don’t know where to start. There are many different steps you can take to making aspects of your day-to-day life a little bit more eco-friendly, and a new year is the perfect time to start implementing them!
You may not be ready to change up your life completely to live them most sustainable way, however, just making a few small changes can make a huge difference. So start this year off by picking out a handful of ways you want to make your life more eco-friendly.
Shop Local
Celebrate the food, fashion and items of your local area. The ships, lorries and planes that transept goods from around the world produce a lot of carbon emissions, so shopping locally and prioritising made in the UK items can be a great way to reduce your carbon footprint.
Buy Quality Items
The upfront cost of buying high quality goods, household items, fashion and other products, typically works out a lot more cost effective and sustainable then buying lower quality, cheaply made items. When you invest in a high-quality product, it will typically last longer, especially if you pay attention to care instructions. Replacing your belongings less frequently, will save you money and reduce your carbon footprint. So avoid fast-fashion and stop impulse purchasing cheap trinkets, only buy what you need, and research brands that are made to last.
Travel Sustainably
We have all heard that traveling by car frequently is bad for the environment. If you are trying to be a bit more sustainable, then reducing your mileage is a great place to start. If it sounds like a large leap to take, you can start bit by bit, when you can, walk or cycle, and take the train for cross-country trips rather than driving.
Reduce Food Waste
Did you know that the UK produces around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in a year?
The best way to reduce food waste is to plan meals ahead, try and avoid buying excess food, sticking to a plan and only buying what you plan on eating. Additionally, animal-based foods tend to take a lot more production and processing, therefore more energy to reach our shelves, so cutting out meat, even just for one day a week, can help make your diet more sustainable.
Be Mindful of Materials
Look at the label of clothes before you buy them, you want the composition to be mostly natural materials, try and keep synthetic materials such as nylon, polyester and acrylic to a minimum. Not only do natural materials feel nicer on the skin, they also take less energy to produce, and are easier to dispose of in a sustainable way once they have reached the end of their lifecycle.
Look into our socks made from recycled and organic cotton as a more sustainable alternative to synthetic fabrics.
Donate, Mend and Upcycle
Once a belonging of yours no longer served it’s purpose, think before you throw it in the bin.
Could someone else make use of this? Donating to a charity shop or giving away for free on an online marketplace are great ways to give back to your local community in a sustainable way.
Could this be mended? Learning some simple mending techniques such as patching up clothes is very useful, and can help you extend the lifespan of your belongings.
Could this be used for another purpose? You will be surprised by the amount of creative up-cycling ideas there are out there, from using old towels as cleaning rags, to old shoes turning into plant post. If you google “Up-cycling Ideas for old _____” you will most likely be met with a flood of blog posts and articles with some incredible and useful ideas!
In Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many many ways you can make your day-to-day life a little but more sustainable, even just picking one or two off of this list to focus on in the new year will make a big difference!