5 Eco-Friendly Swaps Everyone Can Make
5 easy eco-friendly swaps everyone can make, and stick to.
We all have good intentions to make positive changes, especially around the start of a new year. We vow to be more sustainable, eat healthier, exercise more, have less screen time, meditate… but it can often phase out quickly because we try to go all-in with unrealistic goals and big lifestyle changes.
The key to being consistent is making small, easy changes, one at a time. Focus on one thing, make that a habit for you and then try and make another small change. Keep the changes easy, and realistic.
When it comes to being more eco friendly, I just adore this quote, by Anne Marie Bonneau, Zero Waste Chef:
“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
It’s so true. We can all make many small changes that will have such a great impact collectively on our planet. Here are 5 easy swaps to become a little more eco friendly, which I believe are easy to maintain in most people’s everyday lives.
Shampoo and Conditioner Bars
So many people are still using bottled shampoo from the supermarket, mostly because they don't realise there is another option. Shampoo and conditioner bars have been around for a few years now and are becoming more and more popular. A shampoo bar is concentrated shampoo made into a solid bar. This eliminates the need for a plastic bottle! Not only that, but it also means a shampoo bar lasts longer than a bottle of shampoo (up to 3 times longer!), because a shampoo bottle is typically about 80% water but a shampoo bar is 100% shampoo. These shampoo and conditioner bars are refillable, so they are totally zero waste and are much easier to transport with you if you travel.
Hand Soap
Same as shampoo and conditioner. In fact, hand and body soaps are often seen as a bit old fashioned, but I'm not really sure why we ever had a shift towards bottled hand soap or shower gel! Try switching both, or even just one to start.
Eating less meat
This can be a sensitive topic for some, I'm not saying everyone should turn vegan, but there are so many amazing meat free options on our shelves and in our cafes and restaurants now. If everyone could cut down meat consumption a little, this would have a huge benefit on our environment. Try switching 1 or 2 dinners a week from a meat to a meat free dinner. Some of my favourite veggie meals are falafel wraps, tofu and veggie stir fry, or lentil curry. YUM!
Buy in-season fruit and veg
Speaking of foods, this is one of my favourite sustainable swaps. Shop in-season groceries!
Some of your favourite staple fruit and veggies are in season all year round in Australia, like bananas and broccoli, so don’t worry.
You can easily find some info online, or in the supermarket / grocers you shop at, items are often labelled to let you know when something is in season (you may also notice the price drops, so it’s a win-win!).
Did you know that strawberries are best bought in the Summer, whereas Kiwi fruit is in season in Autumn and Winter.
Coffee cups
This is such an easy swap that can have a huge impact. Coffee drinker? Carry a keep cup! It is estimated that Australia throws out 2,700,000 paper coffee cups every day. Every day. Let that sink in. And it’s so easy to prevent. Just invest in a good quality reusable coffee cup to be your newest friend, and enjoy that delicious coffee guilt-free!
I hope you’ve enjoyed these easy swaps, and I wish you all the success in your sustainable journey, together we will make a big difference!
*This blog was originally written by us, used as a guest post on BuyNatural.
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