15 Tips For A More Eco-Friendly Life

Greetings from lockdown London!


Being more eco-friendly has been a common topic in the last years and it's a topic that's very interesting and important for me as well. Because of that I decided to make a list of things (some very common ones, some not so common ones) we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. I myself can't  say that I'm doing all of these yet, but every year I try to do these more and more as much as I can. Probably the best is to start with something easy and little by little move on to those things that take a bit more effort.


Lifestyle choices


1. Reuse old products 

There are so many things we throw out when they could be fixed or reused, and even we don't even bother to recycle those items we're just contributing to the endless piles of waste on our planet. Instead we could try to get creative and use that old toothbrush for cleaning shoes, the old tin can for growing plants, or all those old candles to make new candles. The choices are endless.


2. Grow own herbs, fruit, vegetables

Obviously this is not possible for everyone, but if you're one of those people with a nice yard or garden, why not try to grow your own vegetables, fruits and herbs? Once you get going it will save you a ton of money plus you'll be doing the environment a favor when there's one person less contributing to the costs of transporting foods from long distances and polluting the soil with toxic fertilisers. By doing this you'll also get cleaner products which will in turn be better for your health.


3. Buy "naked" products (not wrapped in plastic)

Luckily many stores are starting to eliminate the use of those little plastic bags for fruit and vegetables and instead have paper bags (at least in the UK) or bio-degradable bags. But if this is not the case where you live, a good option is to have your own little bag for this once you go to the store or whenever possible just buy the products without any plastic bag, a.k.a naked. This actually applies to all kinds of products, not just produce. If you can choose to buy anything without plastic wrapping, it is usually a safer choice. Choose cardboard or paper instead as at least they won't take hundreds of years to decompose if not recycled.


4. Make your own (e.g. house cleaner)

There are a lot of everyday products we can actually make ourselves with little money and less toxins. For instance when we clean with store bought cleaning detergents we're breathing in toxic chemicals and afterwards we often pour it down the drain where some of it will eventually end up in our lakes, rivers and oceans. If we want to be more environmentally friendly, we can easily make many of our own cleaning products. For example, an all purpose cleaner can be made with using water, vinegar, castile soap, and essential oils. Very easy and there are many instructions online.


5. Turn off lights when you leave the room

This is an easy one, but can save loads of energy if you remember to do it everytime.


6. Remove (phone/ laptop) chargers from the wall when not using them

An easy energy-saver and therefore eco-friendly as well.

Eco-friendly products


1. Eco toothbrush (made from bamboo for example)

Because the plastic ones cannot be recycled / decomposed. Can be found in health stores, Amazon and possibly even normal grocery stores.


2. Natural Shampoos, conditioners, cosmetics, cleaning detergents etc

These will be better for your health since they won't have (at least as many) toxins in them, and for the environment since a lot of it still ends up there. Many natural product companies also have better values when it comes to animal-testing, paying their employees fair wages, using recycled materials, promoting sustainability etc for example. Many good brands include Faith, Urtekram, Ecover, Weleda, Lush, Beauty & Planet, Lavera, Sante just to name a few.


3. Alternatives for tampons and pads

Obviously used tampons and menstrual pads cannot be recycled or reused so we can all do the math how much waste they are creating every year, when instead we could be using reusable options such as menstrual cups or panties, or reusable pads. Plus it'll once again save you money! Sounds like a win-win!


4. Biodegradable q-tips (cotton buds)

Plastic q-tips is a good example of microplastics that cannot be recycled and thus they end up polluting the environment. Luckily biodegradable ones (e.g. bamboo) can be found nowadays from Amazon or health stores for example. Another good option is to buy reusable q-tips made from silicone.


5. Fabric shopping bags

This is one of the easiest ones on the list and if nothing else, everyone should get at least this. Plastic bags cannot be recycled so this is why we should stop using them all together. If nothing else, another option is to use old plastic bags whenever you go to the store so you don't end up buying a new one every time. Health stores are always selling them but you can often find them in bigger grocery or clothing stores as well.


6. Reusable "cotton pads" (make up removal)

Did you know that producing 1kg of cotton requires the same amount of water that one person would drink in three years? Therefore it's needless to say that our use of disposable cotton pads is quite wasteful. Another major issue with this is the pesticides used in growing cotton. These pesticides drain to our water systems and then affect the health of animals and people living nearby. Our regular cotton pads also do not biodegrade due to their bleaching and mixing processes. A good solution for this is reusable and washable "cotton pads" that can be found on Amazon and health stores for example.


7. Beeswax wraps

Plastic and tin foil wraps we use to cover our foods are another example of things that cannot be recycled. Luckily in many health stores and Amazon at least you can find a thing called beeswax wraps that are a sustainable solution for this. If you wanna get crafty you can even make these yourself using beeswax, tree resin, jojoba oil (many other oils work as well) and old fabric for example. In the UK these supplies are easily found in Amazon.


8. Reusable water bottles / coffee cups

Water bottles can be recycled but what about all the ones that don't make it into recycling bin? A better option is to have a reusable water bottle, plus it'll also look nicer! As for coffee cups, did you know that paper coffee cups cannot actually be recycled (or it is very rare) because they have a thin plastic lining inside? Better switch for that reusable one!


9.  Reusable razor 

Another great product to reduce plastic waste is a reusable razor. They are usually made of metal and the only thing that needs to replaced every now and then is the blade. The plastic ones cannot be recycled so this a much more eco-friendly option. You can check it out from Amazon or health stores for example.


After living almost 9 months in the UK now Amazon is THE place to find a lot of items that can't be found in stores nearby, so that is why it is mentioned about a hundred times! The other links are for Ruohonjuuri in Finland, where I used to shop for many eco-products.

Hopefully these tips were useful, and undeniably there many other obvious and not obvious options as well that are missing from my list. One of my personal favorites has been to reuse old products and create my own, so if you have a crafty creative part in you, I suggest you try this ;)


Stay well everyone,


- Mia