7 Simple Swaps For Sustainability

Sally Summerton
Jul 11, 2023
2 min read

Helping save the planet, one swap at a time!

Brass number 7 on a rock with moss and leaves

1. Swap shampoo bottles for eco-friendly shampoo bars

You might end up paying slightly more upfront, but given how long these bars last, you will save so much in the long run! By cutting back on plastic, you will also be lowering carbon emissions entering the atmosphere.

“However, it's estimated that producing a single plastic bottle for shampoo generates 0.15 pounds (0.07 kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)*.”

2. Swap liquid soap for soap bars

Just like it's soapy shampoo bar counterpart, soap bars last much longer than the liquid varieties and save water!

“Chemicals found in the liquid soaps require more wastewater treatment however there’s a slim advantage to liquid soaps when it comes to land usage because most bar soaps contain vegetable oil derivatives that are farmed crops.”

3. Swap disposable coffee cups for your own reusable one

Single use cups are heavy on carbon emissions, compared to using your own reusable cup.

“Over the lifetime of a reusable cup 10.3kg of CO2e could be saved compared to using single-use cups instead (assuming 500 uses / cups of coffee)”

4. Swap disposable water bottles for your own refillable one

Likewise, reusable bottles such as glass, metal or bamboo, save on plastic production and waste, reducing carbon and helping to save the planet.

“A reusable water bottle takes less oil to produce, replaces all the plastics that you would have used and thereby reduces both your carbon footprint and helps reduce the plastic burden on landfills, oceans, streams and other places that plastic waste ends up.”

5. Swap unused clothes with friends instead of buying new

Clothes swapping parties not only help the planet, but they are a great excuse to have fun with friends!

“When we swap our clothes it helps to reduce natural resources, you see it takes a whopping 7,000 liters of water to make one pair of jeans and almost 3,000 liters to make one cotton t-shirt.”

6. Swap a meat-based diet for a plant-based diet

This one not only helps save the earth, it's also better for your health. What's not to like?

“Plant-based dietary alternatives to animal products are better for the environment and for human health when compared with the animal products they are designed to replace, say the authors of a new study.”

7. Swap plastic packed fruit & veg for loose at supermarkets

Fed up wrestling your granny smiths out of their packaging? Buying them loose cuts down food waste as well as saving yet more plastic going into our oceans.

“Where possible, buy loose products that don’t have any packing. For these types of products it’s also possible to reuse the plastic and paper bags to hold the produce”