What we throw away matters. According to Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), Australia recycles just 18% of plastic packaging, according to the latest annual figures, and will only get two-thirds of the way to its national target of 70% by 2025.
While stats like these can be daunting, we like to think of awareness as the key to becoming more environmentally friendly at home. We can all make a contribution to getting closer to our targets - it starts with rethinking your everyday. Small steps can lead to a big impact.
We’ve all been spending more time indoors recently, and if you’re like us you’ll have noticed just how much extra waste we create at home. But never fear, there are lots of things we can do to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle! We share our favourite products to help you to reduce your reliance on plastic & become more eco-friendly at home.
Making a number of changes at once can seem daunting, so instead of tackling all of these, begin by choosing three that you aren’t already doing. Remember even small changes will help you be environmentally friendly at home.
We don’t mean to brag, but we think we’ve finally made doing the dishes fun as well as lessening our impact on the environment. We have an extensive range of sponges, brushes & scourers so you can wash your dishes without creating plastic waste. Our Cellulose Sponge is a firm favourite of ours. Not only can it be added to the washing machine and reused, it is also made from plant fibres so it will decompose in your home compost back into organic matter in a matter of weeks! Check out our full cleaning range here.
When we started to look at what we were sending to landfill in our own homes, it was obvious what we needed to do, set up a home recycling system. Every household is different but we narrowed it down to four bins we think all homes should have; landfill, recycling, soft plastics & food waste. Make it a fun activity and involve people in your household by painting your bins or adding home made signs to show what goes where.
The global cosmetics industry produces 120 billion units of packaging every year, the majority of which cannot be recycled. We want to change that, so we’ve made products you’ll love, in packaging that the planet will love too. Our entire Care range aims to allow every household in Australia to have access to luxury skincare that doesn’t cost the earth. From our vegan Skincare range, Without, to our extensive range of solid shampoo, conditioner, face & body bars - we've got you covered! We've even designed a range of reusable face clothes, compostable soap savers & konjac sponges & stainless steel travel tins to reduce your impact.
Did you know that a lettuce head can take up to 25 years to decompose in a landfill? That’s because without access to moisture and heat organic matter struggles to break down. In a home compost, lettuce leaves can take less than a month to turn into healthy soil that can be used in your garden or on your house plants. We’ve written a blog on How to Compost No Matter Where You Live and introduced our sleek and stylish countertop Compost Bin to collect your veggie scraps in. What are you waiting for?
When it comes to our eating habits we’ve become so used to buying our food pre-portioned and pre-packaged. If we want to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly at home, then reusing and refilling your own containers is one easy way to do this. After using your reusable grocery bags at the supermarket we have a variety of storage options that are easy to clean and refill time and time again. Our Reusable Grocery Shopping Kit is rated 5 stars by our community and is great for your weekly shop.
According to Ozharvest, a third of all food produced is wasted. We hate to see anything go to waste so we’re always looking out for environmentally friendly methods to use our food! Recently we’ve learned how to make a hearty vegetable stock from peels, how to ferment and pickle our excess garden produce, and even how to make a yummy pasta in partnership with @recipearce using stale bread and green stalks!
The environmental impact of single use plastics has gained increasing attention over the past few years. If you’re looking for a reusable alternative then try our Silicone Stretch Lids with a mix of sizes that will easily fit over a plate, bowl or even half a lemon. They can be popped in the dishwasher & reused. Our Silicone Pouches are perfect for preparing your frozen fruits ready for your weekly smoothies.
We’ve saved our best time for last... baking. Whether your kitchen is a part time cookie factory or your kids can’t get enough banana muffins, our Un-Baking Paper and reusable Muffin Cups are the two staples you need. They are a simple, stylish and sustainable swap from disposables (or an upgrade in our opinion), and they won’t ever run out. What’s not to love? Our premium grade silicone is non-stick and super easy to wash and reuse...you’ll wonder why you didn’t make the switch sooner.
We hope these tips help! We’d love to hear from you, so let us know how you are transitioning to a more environmentally friendly lifestyle in your home via email or Instagram.
[*]https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/5a160ae2-d3a9-480e-9344-4eac42ef9001/files/national-waste-report-2020.pdf
