3 Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Products You Use Every Day

Trying to live a green lifestyle is so hard because so many of the things that we buy and use on a daily basis are made in an irresponsible way. A lot of the time, things that you wouldn’t even think about are causing damage to the environment. The good news is, increased demand for eco-friendly alternatives means that there are more green products on the market than ever, so you can move towards living sustainably if you make a few simple changes. These are some of the best eco-friendly alternatives to things that you buy regularly.

Meat And Fish Alternatives

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Veganism has really taken off in the last couple of years and that’s largely down to the environmental impact. Producing meat and dairy takes a big toll on the environment so a lot of people are choosing not to consume them at all so they can reduce their carbon footprint. Even if you don’t want to go completely vegan, you can still swap out some of the meat that you eat for meat free alternatives. There are so many great ones available now and they’re not as expensive as they used to be.

Fish is one that people don’t consider as much, but it’s doing a lot of damage. Things like sushi have become very popular in recent years which means that fish consumption has gone up, but it’s actually very bad for the environment. Overfishing means that some species of fish are in real danger of being wiped out, so it’s vital that we limit our intake. There are a few new fish alternatives in the shops right now so you should give them a try.

Clothes

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People don’t often think that much about their clothes when they’re trying to be more green, but you should. First off, you need to consider how they’re being made. A lot of cheap clothes are made using very unsustainable methods that produce a lot of greenhouse gasses. You also need to think about the materials themselves because if you’re wearing clothes that are made with nylon, for example, you’re adding to the plastics problem. The good news is, there are alternatives; Lyocell is a material made from wood cellulose and it’s great for making clothes. You can get some great clothes that are comfortable and look great, but they’re not damaging to the environment.

Food Storage

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When you’re storing food in the fridge or putting it in the microwave and you need to cover it with something, a lot of people reach straight for the clingfilm. But that’s so bad for the environment because you’re just putting huge amounts of plastic into landfill and it’s ending up in the oceans. The good news is, there are some great alternatives out there. The Beeswax Wrap company sell a reusable covering that is made from eco-friendly materials. They’re easy to clean and you won’t need to use cling film or foil at all anymore.

Even if you’re making an effort to live an eco-friendly lifestyle, you could be doing more if you make these simple swaps.

It’s Time For Your Home To Go Green

Do you ever just sit and think, ‘I need to do a little bit more for this planet!’? No? Well you should do. This planet is going to be the home of your grandchildren, and their grandchildren… until one day there will be no planet for them to live on. We have so much time on our hands to make a difference, yet we do believe because of how severe the damage is that we’ve done to this world, that people are now starting to believe that nothing can be done to help this world. But there can, and is so much to be done for this world, and a lot of it starts with the difference you can make inside your home. We really do waste a lot of energy, and do a lot of damage to this world without even realising, just by the simply daily tasks we do around the home. Not only that, but the way your home is structured might also be causing a few problems that you might never have thought about before. So, if you’re determined to do a little bit more for this world, and you know you want to go green, here’s how you can do it within your home!

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Parts Of Your Home To Change

If you have a new build home, then we’re sorry to say that this section might not apply to you as much. By new build, we’re classing that as any home that has been built within the last three years. Any older, and there are some changes that you can make. The first change is with your windows, and if you haven’t had them done for a while, now is definitely the time. Without even realising it, your windows are the worst conductor of heat, and all of that lovely warm air you’ve got in your home is slowly seeping out, making it harder for you to keep your home warm, therefore you’re using a lot more energy! You can get new windows throughout your home, and although it might cost you a dime or two, you should actually see your energy bills going down. Not only that, but at the same time as doing your bit for your planet, you’re increasing the value of your home, and making it much nicer to look at!

Wasting/Saving Energy
This is where so many of you will be going wrong, because sometimes it’s just hard to know when you’re wasting energy. Well, if you’re someone who sits through the day with lights on around the home, you’re wasting energy. If you always leave windows open whilst the heating is on, you’re wasting energy. If you have the TV on through the night because it helps you sleep, you’re wasting energy. All of these issues have simple solutions. Shutting windows, setting a timer on the TV, and just being more conscious of what you#vegot on in your home, and whether you actually need it. There’s always ways to save energy, you just have to be more proactive when doing so!

Things You Can Implement To Help Save The Planet

Unfortunately, the planet has got to the point where it needs saving, this means that we all need to take steps to decrease certain things in our lives and get rid of habits we have too. This will help to reduce the strain on the planets Ozone layer and resources. There are a few things you can do that are simple and others that are drastic and take a bit of funding, however they’re worthwhile doing if they mean saving and restoring the planet.

Want to make changes and help save the planet? Below are some tips and ideas to get you started!

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Recycle

This is something that has been implemented in most places to help people go green but it isn’t compulsory everywhere. Recycling basically means separating certain materials into recyclables and landfill waste. This allows us to recycle the waste that can be recycled and reuseed, most of which is not biodegradable, which then stops us throwing non-biodegradable materials into landfill which ends up in our oceans and on land killing our animals, destroying vegetation, and polluting out oceans. The main things you can recycle is paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, and tins. Separating these things out and recycling them will help to reduce landfill usage and stop them potentially ending up in our oceans and killing our planet further. It might take a few minutes to do, but it’s worth taking the time.

Upgrade to elemental power

The use of gas and electric to power our homes and businesses is taking its toll on the planet. The resources used to power our homes and businesses are killing the planet and the sad thing is that we don’t really need to use them as much anymore, as we have managed to create ways to harness the elements and use them to create power such as wind farms and solar panels. However, many people are still using these damaging sources of power. Wind farms are an alternative option – they do what it say on the tin – that use wind power to turn the turbine and push power through a generator which will collect energy and put it into the power grid.

Wind farms are not ideal to have in your back garden, however solar panels are an excellent alternative. They use the UV from the sun to create power, and what is amazing is that even on cloudy days, some UV rays still come through and create power. The great thing about solar panels is that any energy that you don’t use, you can sell back to the grid – you can actually make money while also saving the planet and reducing the use of the resources. These can be fitted directly on to your roof. However, you should properly research the process further before going ahead with it, to make sure you get the most out of it. There are lots of sites that can help you to learn more about this, such as www.earthyb.com, for instance. The key is to know exactly what you are getting, before you make a purchase.

Making changes in life is never easy, especially when there can be a financial cost involved, which can deter you from choosing to make those changes in the first place. However, if doing so will give the planet a better chance of remaining ‘healthy’, then they’re worthwhile considering.

How Your Love Of Sushi Affects The Planet

Even though 32% of Americans have never tried sushi, the majority of the country has such as great love for the little rolls of happiness that they have made the Japanese-inspired specialty a staple of their weekly meal. If you love fish, it’s impossible not to melt of satisfaction the first time you try a nigiri – usually a prawn or raw fish on top of sushi rice – or a salmon maki. If you’re already salivating and checking on Google Maps where the closest sushi restaurant is, you need to reconsider your unhealthy obsession for sushi. Indeed, even though nutritionists agree that traditional sushi dishes that are made with quality ingredients are a healthy meal in your diet, eating sushi has proven increasingly unhealthy for the planet. In other words, it’s time to pack the chopsticks and the wasabi cream away; here’s how every day millions of Americans are putting the environment at risk:

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Why you need to eat less sushi

We’re far away from the small fishing communities of the past

The ocean’s (and river’s) supplies are becoming scarce, and specific fish populations are profoundly affected by a pescetarian diet. While wild-caught fish is the natural way fishing villages developed in the past – you can have a glimpse of the scale of real fishing villages when you visit coastal places such as Copenhagen, which was founded by fishing Vikings. In those communities, fishing was a natural and necessary approach. However, the consumption of fish has exploded to the point where you can find a variety of products in modern towns. Even someone who lives away from the sea can find a box of sushi in the shops. Needless to say, the constant demand for products that are not local to mass produce sushi boxes is affecting fish sustainability. If you need to indulge in a few rolls, make sure at least to grab a box that claims to use farming fish. Indeed, the farming salmon benefits are evident. Not only does the farming initiative protects the species but it also provides a valuable alternative for fish lovers.

Vegetarian sushi, an alternative?

You can’t continue to buy your sushi box

The rise of sushi popularity comes from the fact that it is one of the healthiest takeaway food you can find around. As a result, busy Millennials can enjoy a quick meal without worrying about their health. However, your favorite sushi comes in plastic packaging. For many, that little box could end up floating in the oceans forever, which is a serious concern for the environment – unfortunately most takeaway plastic waste finds its way into our waterways. One sushi today, several seabirds killed as they swallow your box tomorrow. Or seals injured as the plastic cut into their flesh, if you prefer a different image. Ultimately, your sushi box is killing the wildlife.

Sushi purists are law-breakers too

Additionally, enthusiastic pescetarians among sushi lovers insist that you shouldn’t eat sushi that isn’t prepared with wild fish. The consequences of it, however, can be disastrous, as endangered species are targeted by fishers. Is wild fish sushi sustainable? The answer is no. Your favorite quick meal is killing the Pacific bluefin.

Is it time to bring your love affair with sushi to an end? Maybe the solution is to be mindful of what you eat, its origin and how it will continue to affect the environment. Ultimately, the question is: Is your maki roll worth killing for?

Ready to Go Green? Here are the Areas of Your Home to Tackle

If you are ready for a lifestyle change, would like to reduce your environmental impact, or your carbon footprint, maybe do something for the environment, there are plenty of ways you can get started on a budget. There are various areas of your home where you might be wasting resources, polluting the environment, or using things that are hard to recycle. Below you will find a few tips on how to make small green changes make a difference long term for you and the future generations.

Insulation

We lose a lot of heat and cold air if our home is not well insulated. You will need to check your walls for cavities, cracks, and gaps, and make sure that the structural issues are addressed before you can tackle the rest of the house. Chances are that if you live in an older house, your insulation is not as efficient as it could be. You can invest in secondary insulation boards to save money on your heating and stop heating the street.

Loft

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If you are ready to start a green lifestyle, it is also important that you tackle the area where you lose the most heat; your loft. You can get a thick insulation layer installed for free, if you successfully apply for homeowner grants and get government funding. You can insulate the roof and the loft space, as well. This will make it cheaper and easier to keep the warmth in your home and make your house more sustainable.

Windows and Doors

In case you still have single pane windows, it might be time to modernize your home. While changing them will require a professional to install and fit the new units, the latest designs last for decades. It might even be worth to look into installment loans no credit check to finance your investment. After all, new and more efficient windows will increase the value of your home for many years to come, so your investment will pay off.

Heating

An inefficient HVAC system can burn a hole in your pocket and increase the carbon footprint of your home as well. Make sure that you deal with this issue first. You might get solar heating or a heat pump that will use much less energy than traditional furnaces. Depending on your climate and the size of your home, you can also power your heating with natural gas. Talk to an HVAC installation expert to get an overview of the different green heating options and the costs associated with them.

Natural Light

The more natural light you allow to enter your home the better you will feel and the less you will need to spend on electricity. You might also want to invest in solar powered lamps in the house, which can charge during the day and light up your room at night without having to use non-renewable energy. You can open up your space, get rid of the dark and depressing corridors, install roof lighting, or glass bricks over the door.

Waste Management

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One of the things we need to teach our kids today is the impact our plastic use has on the living environment. If you have a recycling service at your home or nearby, make sure that you collect and separate the different types of waste so everything can be recycled that is suitable for being reused. On the other hand, you might want to create a compost bin as well, so you can avoid using artificial and synthetic fertilizers in your garden and start growing your organic vegetables.

Renewable Energy

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There are plenty of ways of installing devices that will create renewable energy for your home. You can get solar panels installed on your roof, provided that the structure of your home can support the weight. It is always better to talk to an expert to find out more about the different options. You might even set up a small wind turbine at the bottom of your garden, and generate some electricity that way. You will, however, need to make sure that you are not damaging the environment and endangering nesting birds in the area.

Energy Saving Features

If you want to keep an eye on the energy use of your home every day. This means that you have to avoid wasting it whenever you can. A smart thermostat will make sure that you always have the right temperature and are using your heating and air conditioning system in the most efficient way, and you are not heating an empty home. Some of your devices can even be controlled through a smart app, so if you have to do overtime at the office you can change the time when your heating is turned on.

Sustainable Materials

When renovating your home, it is important that you focus on long term. Avoid materials that are hard to recycle and are likely to end up in the landfill sites or toxic waste management systems. You might be better off buying a real goose feather blanket instead of one that is filled with synthetic materials that will be hard to reuse. Likewise, when choosing your furniture and your kitchen units, try to focus on natural materials, and upcycle instead of buying cheap.

Toxic Free Cleaning

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We flush down too many chemicals and toxins the drain, and these all end up in the sewage system. Unfortunately, water treatment plants are not able to get rid of all chemicals, and we will end up meeting them again, including medication flushed down the toilet. You can live a greener and healthier life if you switch to toxic and chemical free, natural cleaning products. Bicarbonate soda, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar leave your bathroom, kitchen and just as shiny as the top brand cleaning products.

Starting with a green lifestyle should not mean that you have to make huge drastic changes. Focus on one area of your home at a time, and you will be motivated to go on and improve your life while reducing your carbon footprint.

Prose

Customized hair care

Personalized hair care products, including a hair mask, shampoo and conditioner. Yes please!

Prose is a hair care company that works with YOU to create products suited to your hair. Prose assigns the customer to a professional stylist to collaborate on the hair products that suit your particular hair style, how amazing is this?!

Natural ingredients

I think the concept of this company is amazing. I love that they use natural ingredients that are either organic or eco certificated. All made from sustainable resources. Plus the products are made fresh in New York City.

Using natural ingredients is so important for numerous reasons. It benefits the environment and our own health. It is so important to be aware of what we using on our bodies.

How it works

Step one:

The consultation. This can be done either online or by booking in with a stylist located close to you. You will discuss your type of hair and determine the factors that may be harming your hair, such as the local climate, your diet, your exercise habits and styling habits.

Step two:

Preferences: Here you can discuss if you have a favorite fragrances or if you would rather no fragrance. You can also request particular ingredients, I opted to use all vegan ingredients for my products. Also, if you require more volume or shine ect

Step three:

Production: The lab will produce your hair products with fresh and natural ingredients accommodating your preferences.

Step four:

Your new customized hair products are delivered to your door. The box also contains a copy of your consultation. Listing what my hair needs, my hair goals, the routine and the ingredients in each product.

Results

I am really impressed. The consultation process was smooth and I learnt a lot about what my hair needs and I can’t wait to try and reach my hair goals. I love the use of natural ingredients. The products smell amazing, feel great to apply and my hair already feels smoother with more volume.

For more information click here

Wear Pact

Sustainable fashion

Having a minimal carbon footprint is so important to me. I try to limit my environmental impact where ever and when ever possible. I choose to favor “slow’ fashion over ‘fast fashion”. Fast fashion is the second biggest industry polluter, behind the oil industry! In recent years people are becoming more aware of the drastic impact fast fashion is having on the environment, and companies have been making the move to the eco friendly movement. A movement that is trying to limit fashions negative impact on our planet.

So what is ‘slow fashion’? Slow fashion represents our social responsibility and limits our carbon footprint. By choosing quality over quantity. By being clean, using organic and natural resources, and not using harmful toxins and dyes. By being fair, providing fair working conditions of employees and providing workers with decent pay.

So how do I include sustainable fashion into my lifestyle?

I reuse and recycle my clothing. I never put my clothing into landfill. If I no longer need a certain piece of clothing I will donate it to charity. If the clothing item is not in a decent condition I will recycle this piece.
Thrift stores. I will usually buy my clothes from a second hand/ thrift stores.And, as we have so many decent thrift stores in NYC it is so easy to stay “fashionable”.
For new items of clothing, I will source sustainable and ethical brands.

Pact

I was so happy to discover Pact, a sustainable clothing company. With their goal “to create the comfiest clothes in the world without destroying the earth, or harming people” I knew I had found a great company with similar values to my own. Pact use organic cotton, this is so important as organic cotton uses 95% less water than regular cotton to manufacture. Their clothes are made with sustainable ingredients/ fibers, so don’t contain any toxins of pesticides! Pact have sourced fair trade certified factories as they care for the well being of their employees.

I was sent three pieces of clothing to review.

Black relaxed fit tee
Black lightweight eco-blend wrap cardigan
Black wrap dress

I am so impressed with the quality of all of these items. The material feels so amazing. The clothing certainly does live up to the companies motto of “clothes that don’t just make you feel, you can feel good wearing them”. I wore the tee shirt and cardigan together for a weekend trip away. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up so I can start wearing the gorgeous wrap dress.

Pact is a clothing brand that I can get behind, their clothes are of great quality and I love their values, check out their online store here Pact