10 Sustainable Swaps – Do Better for the Environment
One of my goals is to introduce more sustainable habits into my lifestyle. I want to demonstrate how easy it is to make a few simple sustainable swaps to reduce your impact on the environment. Being more sustainable is important for ensuring a healthy planet, a thriving economy, and social equity. It is essential for a sustainable future for ourselves and future generations.
Sustainable swap ideas:
Here are my most recent sustainable swaps to do better for the environment. Every small swap reduces your carbon footprint and preserves the planet.
Sustainable Swaps – Do Better for the Environment
Reduce meat consumption
This January I took part in Veganaury! ‘Veganuary’ is a registered charity that encourages people to try vegan for January. Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, reducing the suffering of animals and helping to preserve the planet. Reducing or cutting out meat is one of the most sustainable swaps you can make.
A lot of people assume that being vegan is expensive but I wanted to prove that you can get healthy vegan meals on a budget. Using only plant-based products I managed to spend as little as £1 a meal throughout the month.
Ethical banking
I did some reading on what banks do with our money when it’s stored in their accounts and it doesn’t look good. The mainstream banking sector invests heavily in fossil fuels (and nuclear weapons) to make profits from our money.
If, like me, you want to be part of an environmentally and socially conscious bank there are some great alternatives! Better yet, you won’t lose anything from switching to a more ethical provider… you might even make money. Check out the ethical banking leaderboard and make informed choices!
Choose reusable
Making the switch to reusable items is one of the simplest yet most impactful steps toward a more sustainable lifestyle. These sustainable swaps help reduce the demand for plastic and disposable materials, supporting a cleaner planet and encouraging more mindful consumption habits.
- Reusable water bootle – fill up a reusable water bottle (rather than buying bottled water), by using a metal or glass bottle you’ll also ensure that microplastics don’t end up in your drinking water.
- Reusable coffee cup – If you need coffee to function in the morning you could be doing the world a favour by bringing a reusable coffee cup or flask – most coffee shops will give you a discount for bringing your own mug too!
- Make up wipes – Cleansing face wipes contain huge amounts of chemical components! But it’s not just your skin that wipes are damaging, they’re also clogging up our coastlines and waterworks. Switching to a reusable make-up wipe or organic muslin cloth is a small sustainable swap that means less waste.
- Sustainable period products – This year I started using WUKA Period Pants. Period pants are leakproof knickers, that take away the need to wear a pad, tampon or menstrual cup. After use, you wash them like you would with your usual underwear. There are lots of different sustainable period products if period pants aren’t your thing.
Choose second hand
Buying second-hand not only saves you money when compared with what a new one costs, but it also encourages reusing which is sustainable for the environment. Visit second-hand clothes shops to bag some vintage clothing and look to buy refurbished tech when your current tech needs replacing.
Unsubscribe from emails
This is one of my favourite sustainable swaps as it can also save you a lot of money! Unsubscribing from sales emails will remove the temptation to spend money on things you don’t need & reduce your carbon footprint. The CO2 emissions from an average email vary between 0.3g to 50g!
You can usually find the unsubscribe option at the bottom of the email.
Less packaging
According to National Geographic, there are currently 5.35 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the world’s oceans; with 269,000 tonnes of this floating on the surface. And that’s only plastic waste! We’ve been making a conscious effort to reduce the amount of non-recyclable packaging that we use. Our efforts include moving away from shower gel to bar soap, picking loose fruit over pre-packaged, and reusing grocery bags. I always carry a fabric tote bag with me when I go shopping. My dad keeps reusable grocery bags in the boot of his car for when he does the weekly shop. Not having to pay 5p for a bag every time we go shopping is a bonus too!
Living a Sustainable Lifestyle at Home
Shop locally
Choosing to shop locally and support small businesses has tons of benefits. From supporting your local community to reducing your impact on the environment. Local companies are usually within walking distance meaning you don’t NEED to take a car to visit your local shops. Reducing the distance you travel when shopping helps to alleviate our dependence on fossil fuels, reduce air pollution and cut back on greenhouse gas emissions. Eating locally sourced food also protects farmland, and land which might otherwise be developed for industrial or commercial use.
More reasons to support local businesses
Get a smart meter
Smart meters are a smart swap for anyone looking to live more sustainably and reduce their carbon footprint. Unlike traditional meters, smart meters provide real-time data on your energy usage, helping you identify wasteful habits and make informed decisions to cut down on consumption. By giving both consumers and energy providers a clearer picture of usage patterns, smart meters help create a more efficient and responsive energy grid, supporting the integration of renewable energy sources. This small change in your home can lead to big impacts—lower bills, reduced emissions, and lead to more sustainable swaps.
The free Loop app helps smart meter households see how much energy they’re using and what it’s costing them, so they can make informed decisions about how to use less energy. On average, Loop users cut their energy use by 15%. That’s a saving of £250 and 250kg CO2e per year!
Eco-friendly cleaning products
Many cleaning products contain chemicals that can be harmful to the environment, depending on their ingredients, how they are used, and how they are disposed of. For example, certain chemicals found in cleaning products can be toxic to aquatic life and can contribute to water pollution if they are not properly disposed of.
Switching to an eco-friendly laundry detergent can have several benefits for both the environment and your health. Eco-friendly laundry detergents are made with natural, biodegradable ingredients that are less harmful to the environment than traditional detergents. They typically contain fewer chemicals, synthetic fragrances, and dyes, which means that they release fewer toxins into the water supply and create less pollution.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
The environmental cost of an item isn’t just a reflection of what’s needed to make it. It also reflects the energy used in the item’s production and the impact it will have when we use it and throw it away. Therefore, you can reduce the impact you have on the environment by eating locally, shopping ethically, and opting for more sustainable alternatives. When you’ve reduced as much as you can, look to reuse! I regularly sell my old clothes (and buy second-hand). And when you can’t reuse anymore look to recycle! We have a dedicated recycling bin in our flat!
Find your local recycling centre
More sustainable swaps
22 Ways To Save Money & The Environment
Reasons To Support Local Businesses
4 Ways to Avoid Single Use Plastic
I’d love to know what sustainable swaps you’ve introduced into your lifestyle! Additionally, I’d love to know what tips you have for people looking to be more sustainable?
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