Tuesday 11th October 2022
We love sharing good choices for people, the planet and our pockets. Recently, we conducted new research that reveals the small, but valuable choices that people are making to live more sustainably. Whether you’re taking quicker showers, turning off lights when leaving a room or only washing clothes which are visibly dirty, these choices can lead to big changes when it comes to people’s health and the planet.
More than half of us believe we live a green lifestyle and have done so for an average of 20 months. That being said, 55% want to up our eco game and be more sustainable and start to make good choices for the planet.
We have selected some of the latest hacks that can help you transition to an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Top 30 ways we are being green
- Turn off lights/switches when not in the room
- Use bags for life at supermarkets
- Put on more layers rather than turn the heating on
- Cut down plastic usage
- Use reusable water bottles
- Walked short distances rather than drive
- Bought fruit and veg loose rather than packed in plastic
- Taken quicker showers
- Grown fruit and veg
- Cut back on meat
- Only washed clothes if they looked dirty
- Washed clothes on a cold wash
- Collecting rainwater for plants e.g., a water butt
- Shopped second hand
- Compost food
- Taken less flights
- Use reusable coffee cups
- Showered less
- Upcycled clothes
- Labelled recycling bins
- Bought organic food
- Upcycled furniture
- Swapped to a reusable razor rather than disposable
- Avoided using cotton buds
- Gone vegetarian or vegan
- Swapped to a bamboo toothbrush
- Car share
- Made plant pots out of plastic bottles
- Shopped in zero waste shops
- Following an organic diet
Some of the most popular ways people are trying to become more green are by turning off lights, taking quicker showers and only washing clothes which are visibly dirty. These are simple and easy practices that you can adopt for a better and more sustainable future.
When it comes to being more eco-friendly and looking beyond the obvious – such as recycling plastic, which 46% of us regularly do. Other first steps include walking instead of driving, which is something that 39% of the nation do, 34% avoid unnecessary travel and 32% collect rainwater for plants.
What’s especially great about a lot of the green habits that many of us are already incorporating into their everyday routine is that as well as having a positive impact on people’s health and the planet, they’re also clever ways to save money amid the rising cost of living.
Turning off the lights when you’re not in a room, reaching for a jumper before the thermostat when you’re cold, walking short distances instead of burning through your fuel tank – these things are all good choices for people, the planet and our pockets.
44% of the nation, however, believe it’s difficult to live a green lifestyle compared to only 12% which believe it’s easy to do so. A lack of understanding around how to live a green lifestyle may be to blame here, with more than a quarter of us feeling as though there is not enough education around being sustainable. Which is why Yeo Valley Organic is on a mission to inspire more people to make small changes, that will make a big difference to people’s health, our planet and pockets; inspiring others to make simple sustainable changes.
People are already switching to organic as part of their personal journey towards a greener lifestyle, it’s important to Yeo Valley that we provide people with more opportunities to choose organic.
To achieve this, we’re venturing outside of the dairy category for the first time with a brand-new organic soup range and variety of dips.
If you haven’t tried them yet, head to the Soups and Dips pages to see our wide range of classic flavours and where you can find them.
We believe it’s more important than ever to learn and share new green habits together. Tell us of any habits or green choices you have been making in the comment section below.
I have changed from bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel to using soap and shampoo bars, given up buying cling film and now use beeswax wraps instead. I refill my washing up liquid bottle at a local refill store and have also tried a dishwashing soap bar, which is working well.
Sometimes I feel that our planet is doomed and that whatever I do will not make a difference because the problem is so overwhelming. Your blog gives me hope that together we CAN make a difference.
Composting is a great idea. We did It for many years (being careful what we composted) UNTIL rats took up home in our compost bin.
No 15 – Compost food. Actually, compost anything green eg lawn mowings, fallen leaves, windfall apples
I had our ancient oil fired Aga converted to electric and had solar panels installed. It cooks just as wonderfully and is cheaper and greener to run.