8 Easy Ways To Make Your Life More Eco-Friendly

8 Easy Ways To Make Your Life More Eco-Friendly
Contributor: Lucy Cocoran and Stephanie Nuzzo
At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Sustainability is about existing in our environment in a way that is helpful to the Earth, rather than harmful. While that might sound like a massive task, there are some easy eco-friendly product swaps that you can make in your everyday life.

If you want to start composting to reduce food waste, that’s great, but if this doesn’t seem like a viable option, there are smaller things you can do to help the environment. For example, you can buy hand wash refills instead of a new pump bottle.

From fashion to food, sustainable options are abundant, and you can pick whichever ones work for you and your lifestyle.

Embrace eco-friendly fashion

If you’re interested in slow fashion, eco shopping and ethical consumerism, you might’ve heard of the 30 Wears Test. Before you make any fashion purchase, it gets you to ask yourself if you’ll wear the item of clothing at least 30 times. If the answer is no, you shouldn’t be buying it.

This fashion sustainability campaign was started by Livia Firth (Colin Firth’s wife) and its mission is to change the way we think about buying clothes. It’s possible to reduce the amount of clothing that ends up in landfill and help reduce our carbon footprint if we think about our clothes as an investment rather than something disposable. 

If you are going to buy clothes, try and support companies who are working on being eco-friendly by being transparent with their business practices and creating their products with the environment in mind.

eco-friendly

Big brands like THE ICONIC have pages dedicated solely to products that have been made with sustainable materials. You can shop things like this recycled fabric t-shirt dress by DVNT and these Adidas shoes made with at least 50 per cent recycled materials with the knowledge that they’ve been made ethically and with sustainability in mind

Eco underwear brand, Boody, has a fantastic range of underwear made from ethically sourced organic bamboo that’s both great for the environment and your body.

Rethink your food storage

As we all know, the kitchen is one of the biggest places we generate waste — and usually in the most unlikely of places.

Cling wrap is one of those things we use all the time without ever considering the impact it has on the environment. By definition, it’s a single-use plastic that we use to cover food and throw away. On the flip side, beeswax covers have been quietly growing in popularity as a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to single-use plastic products.

Image: EKOH

These can last up to six to 12 months and can cover almost anything that cling wrap can. They’re usually made with organic ingredients and come in a range of beautiful patterns as well (so they’re a lot nicer to look at than the leftover stir fry you’re covering). This three pack of beeswax food wraps is just $19.99 and promises to keep your food fresh without harming the planet. 

Making the switch from plastic to glass Tupperware is another easy swap. With 80 per cent of plastic products ending up in landfill, storing your food in glass is far more sustainable. You can grab a pack of nine in assorted sizes for just $79.99 at Amazon right now. Swapping over to sustainable cutlery is also another easy option that won’t break the bank.

If you like baking, you’ll also be happy to know there are some great silicone alternatives for baking paper like these ones from Katbite.

Finally, stop buying your coffee in single-use cups every morning before work. You can pick up a decent-sized Huskee cup for $16.95 from Amazon Australia.

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Image: Huskee Cup

Try a menstrual cup over tampons

While we can’t help the fact that our period comes once a month, there are things we can be doing and products we can be using to make our period practices more eco-friendly. According to National Geographic, a single menstruator will use between five to 15,000 pads and tampons in their life — the majority of which end up in landfill as plastic waste. While periods are part of life, there are things we can do to minimise the impact they’re having on the environment.

Menstrual cups are a great alternative to tampons (and they’ll likely make your life easier, too). They can last up to four times longer than the average tampon by giving you 12 hours of protection, they’re reusable and often recyclable as well. They tick every box. Plus, a lifespan of a menstrual cup can save more than 2,500 reusable products — so if you don’t think one person can really make a difference, think again. This cup (currently on sale for $27.99) from TOM Organic has been made with organic materials, so it’s better for the environment and you. 

You could also consider investing in period-proof underwear for your lighter days as an alternative to pads. Brands like Modibodi and now even Bonds are making it easier than ever to make the switch, along with destigmatising the entire thing. How good is that? 

Image: TOM Organic

Plant a herb garden

Herb gardens are such a simple way to reduce food and plastic waste while enjoying delicious food at the same time. Sounds like a win-win, right?

Herbs probably aren’t something we think about a lot and it’s usually not until you’re cooking a curry that calls for fresh coriander that you’re forced to go to the supermarket and buy a small pack for $5. Not only are these herbs packaged in plastic, but it’s rare that you’ll use all the herbs as well, which is just contributing to food waste.

Imagine if you could walk out to your fresh herb garden instead and pick the exact amount of herbs you need without having to waste any? That’s food sustainability in action. 

If you live in an apartment, you don’t have to splurge on a full-blown garden. You can grab a self-sufficient indoor herb kit or a cheap wall planter like this one and grow your herbs in there. You can even just use one pot to grow your favourite herb if you’re a sucker for some fresh rosemary on your Sunday roast, whatever works for you. 

Image: iDeer Life

Make your bathroom eco-friendly

Just like the kitchen, your bathroom is another place that could probably incorporate a few more sustainable products.

If you remove your makeup at the end of the night with makeup wipes or disposable cotton rounds — we have a better alternative. Grab a pack of these sustainable bamboo makeup removal pads ($22.95) that are suitable for all skin types and are just as effective as any other method. Not only is it better for the environment and your face, but it’ll help your wallet as well, given they can be washed and used again.

Subbing out your plastic toothbrush for a bamboo one is another easy swap that’ll reduce the amount of plastic heading to landfill. This plant-based bamboo brush ($6.95) is the world’s first bio-based toothbrush and can even be composted. Clever, right?

Even things like your soap dispensers can be swapped out for great (and cheap) reusable ones. Same goes for these plastic claw clips that can be swapped out for something that’s been made with the environment in mind. These sustainable spider clips ($30.25) have been made from corn starch and eco-friendly plastics, so even your hair products can jump on the sustainability train.

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Image: Easton Skincare

Don’t look past your toilet paper either. We know it’s easy to just buy whichever value pack is on sale at your local supermarket when you’re in need, but eco shopping and stocking up on some recyclable rolls will do the world of good, as new trees won’t be chopped down to make something that’ll just end up at the bottom of your drain anyway. This bulk pack from Who Gives A Crap is a great place to start.

Finally, pay attention to what you’re using when cleaning, too. Reusable cleaning bottles and eco-friendly ingredients can help reduce plastic waste and your use of harmful chemicals. Options like Koh, and Zero Co are all good starting points for sustainable cleaning products.

If all else fails, sometimes just a bit of good old lemon juice, baking soda, and vinegar will do the trick.

Shop smart

You know when you go to the supermarket and buy fruit and veg. How many of you throw them in a plastic bag before taking them to the checkout? Probably most of us.

A great alternative to invest in are some reusable mesh produce bags and pop all your fresh fruit and vegetables in there instead because once that plastic bag goes home, it’s going right in the bin and then straight into landfill.

If you’re not incorporating at least one of these eco-friendly products into your life by now, it’s time to give it a crack. Most of these things are cheaper and easier to use, so it shouldn’t be too tricky to make the swap. We promise you won’t look back, in fact, you’ll probably wonder why you haven’t been doing it sooner.

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Image: Cottify

Check your shopping cart

You can make a difference to your environmental footprint just by addressing your choices when shopping for food. Now, the best practices here would be increasing your plant intake and eating less meat. But other options like choosing locally sourced food products and those that are credited as sustainable are also helpful.

Options like sustainably sourced coffee (Nespresso is an example) and Palm Oil free items — like Darrell Lea’s recent chocolate range — are easy to spot and can help you contribute to sustainability.

While we’re here, it’s worth noting that reusable coffee pods, or even those recyclable ones are going to make a huge difference to the amount of plastic you’re tossing out.

You may be familiar with the Nespresso recycling program, where customers are encouraged to use a satchel (or recycling box in office spaces) to collect used pods. By holding onto the pods and giving them back to Nespresso — by dropping them off at a store or collection point — you avoid them building up in landfill.

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Image: Nespresso

Financial sustainability

You may not realise it, but the businesses you leave your money with can have a huge impact on the environment. In the example of superannuation, there are ethical options that work to invest your super into more sustainable spaces. Simon Sheikh, CEO and founder of Future Super, explained that this has the power to change a whole lot.

“Most people don’t understand the link between fossil fuels and superannuation, but the money sitting in our nation’s super totals over $3 trillion and is enough to fund Australia’s transition to 100% clean energy ten times over. It’s hard to comprehend such a large amount of money, but if invested in the right places, it can create a future free from climate change and inequality.”

You may also find your bank’s practices don’t align with your views. Resources like Responsible Returns can help you find out which options match your eco and ethical values best.

Are there any sustainability swaps you’ve adopted recently that you’re enjoying? Let us know in the comments below.

This article on sustainability swaps has been updated since its original publish date. 

Lead Image Credit: iStock/Amax Photo


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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