Month: August 2021

Luckily for the planet, the majority of people want to transition towards more sustainable lifestyles. In lockdown this became even clearer, with over a third of people adopting eco-friendly habits, according to a survey by Bulb. 

If you’re among the growing number of people hoping to minimise their carbon footprint and household waste, the good news is there are plenty of ways to do so. 

Every household chore, including the way you cook, clean and wash yourself, can become more environmentally friendly. Just switch your usual household essentials for more eco-conscious alternatives. Here are some suggested substitutes from the UK-based retailer, Peace With the Wild, to get you going.

Compostable sponges

While sponges help reduce the amount of elbow-grease needed to do the washing up, most are made of highly polluting, non-biodegradable plastic. To avoid the damaging impact discarded sponges can have on the environment, opt for a compostable alternative. Eco Living’s compostable sponge cloths are a durable and reusable substitute that you can use anywhere in the house.

Natural kitchen spray

Many household cleaning products contain chemicals that pollute rivers and streams and reduce biodiversity. Rather than buying environmentally harmful sprays, choose natural substitutes that permit you to clean just as effectively. Either make your own by mixing white vinegar, or baking soda, with essential oils and water. Alternatively, Iron & Velvet’s eco-friendly cleaning liquids are made from naturally derived plant extracts and are 100% plastic free.

Biodegradable rubber gloves

The primary reason for wearing rubber gloves is to protect your hands from harsh chemicals. So if you decide to switch to natural sprays you no longer need them. However, for those sticking with gloves, there are more environmentally-friendly versions available. Eco-friendly household product brand If You Care sells fair trade FSC certified natural rubber gloves that easily decompose when discarded.

Compostable bin bags

While plastic bin bags have such a devastating impact on the environment, it’s a no brainer to switch to compostable alternatives. The Zero Waste Club produces bin bags made from corn starch that are 100% biodegradable and suitable for home composting. What’s more, for every packet bought they plant a tree, restoring forests around the world that suck carbon out of the atmosphere.

Plastic-free vegan toothpaste

Swap your plastic tubes of toothpaste for vegan formulas packaged in recyclable and biodegradable pots. Georganics offers a range of vegan, plastic-free toothpaste which come in flavours such as eucalyptus, peppermint and orange.

Reusable vegan wax wraps

Cling film is another source of household waste that goes to landfill only to break down into small plastic particles that harm wildlife. To keep your food fresh in a more sustainable way, vegan wax wraps made from organic cotton and plant based wax, are a reusable alternative that also looks good in your fridge. Check out eco brands BeeBee, Vegan Food Wraps, and Rowen Stillwater to browse different sizes and patterns.

Laundry eggs

Mainstream laundry detergents can harm your health as well as the environment, causing skin irritation and respiratory problems, all while polluting natural water sources. BPA-free laundry eggs are a safer alternative that can be used up to 70 times before you recycle them. To do a wash the eggs are filled with pellets of eco-friendly detergent, that are free from environmentally harmful palm oil, SLS, SLES, parabens, petrochemicals, enzymes, phosphates and microplastics.

Shampoo bars

When buying basic hair care products, it’s all too easy to grab a plastic bottle of shampoo from the supermarket shelves. To cut down on how much plastic you chuck out, shampoo bars are a more sustainable option wrapped in biodegradable cardboard packaging and made with more environmentally-friendly ingredients. With cheap, plastic-free bars readily available even at mainstream stores like Morrisons, there’s little excuse not to swap regular shampoo for this alternative.

Eco-friendly toilet roll

Packaged in and made from 100% paper, Who Gives a Crap toilet roll is a great way to improve your household’s environmental impact. Take your environmental efforts up a notch by buying the brand’s most eco-friendly toilet paper made from sustainably sourced bamboo fibres.

All of the products listed here can be purchased online from the UK-based retailer, peacewiththewild.co.uk.

You’re reading Patrons of the Planet, a weekly series where we hear from climate heroes of the global south and the world’s indigenous communities. 

Growing up in the suburbs of Kolkata, eastern India, I loved to visit the mango orchard growing near our house. But over time, the green parts of the city gave way to high rise building. Eventually, property developers wished to replace the trees with concrete and tarmac. 

As a teenager, I campaigned with my friends to protect those trees. We gathered signatures from local people, asking the authorities to conserve this little plot of greenery. However, because we were young, nobody listened to us and sadly, the construction went ahead.

On a positive note, the experience taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten – you are most effective when you collaborate with others across different communities. 

[Read more: The climate campaigner empowering South Africans]

Losing the mango orchard only spurred me to work harder to protect our planet. Most crucially, it led me to join XR Affinity Network of Asia (XRana), an alliance of different environmental campaign groups that work with marginalised people at the forefront of climate activism.

To do this, XRana connects communities across the Global South, bringing them together to protect their land, nature and the planet. These are the people most impacted by climate change as well as the most active in trying to beat it. We use digital technology to build relationships between these diverse groups and strengthen them through collective thinking. 

[Read more: Carnival will unite people for the climate]

Whether it be Bangladeshi mining protesters or Ghanaian climate campaigners, we often find that these communities face similar issues. Through meeting one another, by sharing experiences and cultural knowledge, they can overcome obstacles, strengthen their different campaigns and more successfully confront the discrimination that puts their communities and nature at risk. 

Another thing I find is that these oppressed communities are the ones with the best knowledge of how to defend our planet. They practice organic farming or sustainable horticulture, they don’t consume as much plastic or energy and, as a result, they have a much lower carbon footprint than urban-dwelling office workers, for example.

It’s for this reason that I hope to amplify the voices of rural people, allowing others to learn essential skills, not just to protect life on earth, but also to see it thrive.

Patrons of the Planet is a weekly series to amplify the voices of heroes on the frontline of climate campaign work, as told to Blyth Brentnall. Every Tuesday, we meet individuals from the global south and indigenous groups who have risen above increasing adversity to support their communities, conserve nature and protect the planet for future generations.

There’s millions of waste plastic littering our oceans and beaches, killing sea life and getting into our food chain and our water supplies – that’s not news.

So one family, who call themselves plastic hunting “pirates”, have a mission to paddle to remote, inaccessible places to clean up the coast by collecting plastic from the shores and sorting, recording, reusing, and recycling it.

Steve Green, 47, from Cornwall, is the main pirate of Clean Ocean Sailing, the group of volunteers are determined to get rid of the increasing amount of plastic in our seas. His partner, Monika Hertlova, is also on board, along with Simon, two, Ula, six, Benny, 13, and Charlie, 16. 

[Read More: Fashion platform asks shoppers to buy less]

Clean Ocean Sailing started back in 2018, when the couple built their website to inspire other sailors to join them fishing for marine litter. They also wanted to spread awareness of the problem, to try to influence people – business and governments to make changes to their polluting ways.

How do they do it?

Steve Green and Monika Hertlová reside on Annette, their 112-year-old schooner. “We have owned our beloved boat The Annette for just over 13 years now,” says Steve. “She was built in 1908, a gaff rigged schooner, 66 foot, 55 tonnes. She was made to sail in the harshest conditions and is, to this day, extremely seaworthy.

“We’ve been working very hard to restore our mother ship for five years. She has just about held together for some clean up missions within that time, but she’s been out the water all summer this year for major works – relaunch very soon! Then she’ll be good to go anywhere.”

Steve says they’re aiming to remove as much of the deadly plastic pollution from our coast and ocean as possible – in a super low negative impact way, by sailing, rowing, and paddling for it.

[Read More: Inside the UK’s first disabled animal rehab centre]

One of the biggest problem they deal with is comercial fishing gear. “Massive tangled nets, weighing hundreds of kilograms, stuck under boulders, trapped in caves and floating free in the ocean,” says Steve. “It’s a massive danger to marine wildlife.”

They collect it all, then sail it back to their HQ where they sort, count, and weigh all their finds. “Then we sail the recyclable materials up to the materials reclamation facility in Exeter where it is processed and handed on to organisations like Oddyssea innovations who make it into sea kyacks,” says Steve.

Steve says they are also finding a lot of single-use plastics: plastic bottles, food wrapping, plastic bags, straws, and fast food containers. “That’s the area we hope everyone could get involved in and use less plastic in everyday life,” he says.

How to help

“We’re always looking for volunteers to join us on clean up missions near and far,” he says. “People can join our ocean clean up community on patreon.”

You can also help Clean Ocean Sailing by donating on their JustGiving page.

Chilean mountain and trail runner, Felipe Cancino, went to live in Cajón del Maipo, a canyon in the Chilean Andes, for tranquility – to run along high passes, and enjoy nature. But all that was disrupted when a hydroelectric project came to the area.

In a recent film from clothing company Patagonia, Run to Save a Watershed, Felipe explains why he ran the length of the project’s tunnels, raising awareness of the issues it will cause.

From an early age, Felipe has been involved in environmental campaigning and has a strong affinity with nature. “If we continue this rhythm of consuming, consuming, consuming the truth is there will be nothing left for those who come in the future,” he says.

“We are the ones who can do something and can change the situation.”

[Read More: 5 good news stories to cheer you up]

So when he started to see the negative impacts of Alto Maipo, the hydroelectric project, he had to act. 

First, the trucks arrived, bringing noise and disruption to the valley. Then signposts emerged, prohibiting access to certain parts of the valley. 

The valley he lives in will be one of the worst affected areas due to this project. “It’s like living in a mining operation,” he says. 

The president of environmental NGO Ecosistemas, Juan Pablo Orrego, describes how the project will take a terrible environmental toll on the Maipo River, destroying local livelihoods. Meanwhile, there’s only a minute market for electricity in Chile, so the power will just be exported, making it a useless profit-making scheme. 

“It would be impossible to imagine my life far from the mountain,” Felipe says, “and if they take that away from me I think that’s the end of me.” 

[Read More: 10-year-old to chop 30cm of hair for charity]

Rather than stand by and watch disaster unfold, he decided to campaign against it. “The impact that Alto Maipo has in these natural places is painful,” he says. “I intend to do something about it, within my capabilities and my way of action – to run.” 

Felipe ran 120km, the full length of the Alto Maipo tunnels, to show people the impact it’s having. It’s a treacherous journey requiring much stamina. But he achieved his goal, reaching an audience of hundreds of thousands around the world.

To watch the film visit patagonia.com.

When four lovers of beautiful clothing fell out of love with fast fashion’s environmental impact, they put their heads together to come up with a solution. Fashion photographer Felipe Huertas and sustainable fashion specialist Jack Wolton, along with fashionistas Faris Hamadeh and Ronae Fagon, dreamed up SlowCo. This online platform for independent brands sells only eco-friendly clothing and encourages shoppers to make more considered purchases.

Each item sold on the platform comes from independent brands and must meet at least two of SlowCo’s sustainability criteria – that they are recycled, upcycled, organic, vegan, socially beneficial, made from natural fibres, third party certified, small-scale, low-impact or locally produced.

“We basically just wanted to create somewhere we wanted to shop where people can find beautifully curated sustainable fashion brands in a place that’s visually pleasing and has a true values-led philosophy,” explains co-founder Faris.

[Read More: The ‘slow fashion’ brand that helps Peruvian women]

Putting the breaks on fast fashion

Not only are their products more sustainable than others, they also take a bolder approach by discouraging shoppers from buying so much. On their website they invite people to buy less, saying: “We invite you to take your time, browse slowly, and get to know the brands at your leisure. And if you feel so inclined, you can always add something to your no-pressure-basket.”

“At SlowCo, our starting point is a ‘less but better’ philosophy. This means encouraging people to reduce consumption by purchasing fewer, better quality items,” co-founder Jack adds.

All four SlowCo founders developed the platform off the back of their dissolution with fast fashion. The textiles and garment industry accounts for around 20% of global water wastage and 10% of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, nearly 90% of the fibres used to produce clothing are incinerated or end up as landfill, according to the World Bank.

In addition to their environmental concerns, the founders design the platform to fit modern understandings of sex and gender. Rather than categorising products by ‘women’s’ and ‘men’s’ clothing, the website homepage offers users the choice of browsing items by gender identity.

[Read More: Inside the UK’s first disabled animal rehab centre]

“I’m openly gay and over the years I’ve suffered homophobic abuse,” says Jack. “I’m passionate about creating an inclusive online environment where everyone is welcome and where we promote acceptance and celebrate being “different”.”

By creating a more inclusive shopping experience, they hope to give people more freedom to express themselves as who they are. Felipe says: “The way you dress is an expression of what you stand for, who you are and I love the idea of creating art out of style, dressing each day to express yourself, no matter how you like to dress, I think is a beautiful way to be.”

Browse SlowCo’s ranges at slowcosustainable.com.

Premier League football team, Manchester City, has introduced 100% recyclable and zero plastic beer cups – and will even trial an ‘edible coffee cup’ this season at the stadium. 

“For the first time on Campus, an ‘edible coffee cup’ will also be introduced,” said a statement from the Etihad Stadium. “This fantastic and innovative solution provides an amazing solution to waste, just eat your cup.”

The cup is one made by a Scottish startup BioBite and it’s actually a biscuit in the shape of a cup. No joke.

[Read More: The activewear labelled with its carbon footprint]

It’s made with wafer, and stays leak-proof from any liquid for up to 12 hours. It apparently stays crunchy for 45 minutes, too, so if you can drink your coffee within that time, you’ve got a crunchy biscuit to eat afterwards. 

“A biscuit and a cup. A drink and a snack. All in one small and delicious package. The ultimate option for every coffee lover,” writes BioBite on its website.

The recyclable paper label around the cup provides the safe handling of the cup before you drink it, and it also keeps the wafer away from the surface it is placed on (so you don’t need to worry about contamination). 

In the UK there are approximately seven million paper coffee cups used every day, which equates to 2.5 billion every year.

“Apart from all the environmental benefits, zero waste movement, and coffee experience, the biscuit is just absolutely delicious and a must-try for every coffee lover,” writes BioBite.