Greener Living: Shopping [« homepage]

We consume a lot these days - far more than we really need. If we can reduce the amount we buy to only the things we really need, we can reduce the amount we waste. The idea of the following list is to give some ideas for reducing the amount you buy - the best thing to do when shopping is ask yourslef the simple question "do I NEED this?".

DON'T USE DISPOSABLE: Disposable products, e.g. cleaning products, disposable nappies, disposable packaging etc, are obviously not sustainable as they can't be reused (reduce, reuse, recycle) and often can't be recycled either. They often do the same job as existing products and sometimes not as well and they lead to more waste going to landfill and sometimes feed toxic by-products into the environment. As well as reducing the amount we consume, we should also aim to reuse as many disposable products as possible - for example, my wife takes any plastic pots and toilet rolls to my daughter's school and the kids use them to make things. Old squash bottles can be used for drinks on days out. Christmas biscuit/chocolate tins are robust and can be used for years afterwards.
Reduce Consumption: We all buy too much 'stuff'. If we bought less, less stuff would be made, our lives would be simpler and easier and less stuff would be thrown away into landfill. This is the most important point of the 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' mantra.
Write a Shopping List: Always try and write a shopping list before you go shopping, not just for food, but also for clothes, presents etc - and more importantly, stick to the list. We so often go shopping and buy things we don't need and sometimes don't even really want. In the long run, reducing the unwanted purchases will save us money and reduce the waste. The next suggestion leads on from this...
BOGOF: Buy one get one free - although these offers are often enticing, we often don't actually need twice as much and end up throwing away what's not used. In the UK we throw away 8.3 Million tonnes of food waste each year (5.3M tonnes of which could have been eaten), a lot of this is because of BOGOF.
Packaging: Buy food with bio-degradable packaging - e.g. sandwiches, yogurt etc packaged in card-board, milk in cartons rather than plastic. If you eat ready-meals, try and buy the ones in tin foil containers rather than plastic. Buy fizzy frinks in tin cans rather than plastic bottles etc, etc...
Shopping Bags: Firstly, don't get a carrier bag if you can carry it in your hands - I once saw a man buy a amars bar and then put it in a bag - completly uneccesary. If you are doing larger shopping trips, buy a few of the hard-waring reusable bags (only 50-60p each) and keep then in the boot of your car so you don't forget them. I'm sure there are some scary statistics on how many of these bags are used in the UK each year, but you only have to look in the cupboard under the stairs to see the big pile of collected carrier bags.
Library: Why not use the library more often. Rather than buying a book that you'll likely only read once, rent it for free from the library. If you do have to buy a book, pass it on to friends or a charity shop when you've read it and let it be reused. Instead of buying DVD's, which again you'll likely only watch once (I have a shelf full of them!), why not rent DVD's too. Tip: you can rent DVD's from the library much more cheaply than the normal rental shops and you usually get to keep them for longer too.
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Buy energy efficient (A-rated) appliences.
Instead of buying all your child's toys, why not make some. I recently made a space rocket with my daughter out of an old box, a squash bottle and some tin foil. Not only does she play with it more than a lot of her other toys, it was great bit it bonding time spent making it together (she painted some of it and put Peppa pig stickers all over it).
Don't buy cheap goods. Sometimes we buy something cheap thinking; "it doesn't matter if it breaks, I can buy another one". This is actually a false economy as the cheaper alternative is usually cheap for a reason (it's crap!) and you will end up spending more in the end by having to keep replacing it. My example would be a power tool. I could buy an electric screwdriver for a tenner. However, the cheap ones have no power, loose charge quickly and WILL fail within a year. Alternatively, I can pay £30-40 for a Black & Decker version and usually will last for years - mine has been running will for around 7-8 years.
When you need to buy new electrical appliances (washing machines, dishwasher etc), try and buy triple AAA rated machines. They do generally cost a bit more, but they will last longer as they will be better quality (delaying when you will eventually need to replace them) and will use less energy/water to run, also saving you money. Overall, they will be cheaper to run and tend to better.
Buy recycled toilet paper / tissues etc. They don't cost any more than the usual brands are just as soft. As guide to the best products can be found here.
Try and buy ecological nappies, wipes etc - see Life, Health & Hygiene page.


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Greener Living: Shopping [« homepage]