BUY LESS, BUY BETTER (BUY ONCE)
3 reasons why being green actually works out cheaper
There’s no question that eco products and food usually cost more. They’re made of natural substances that often take time and resources to cultivate, they’re not mass produced like cheap plastic stuff, and of course sustainable production with fairer wages and organic farming methods and organic certification all add to the final cost.
And you can factor in the “lower demand” issue (the higher the demand, the cheaper the price) too.
But – and here’s why it’s so important that we vote with our wallets – if demand for eco items continues to rise, prices for these items should start to fall (The Law of Demand)
You could add more reasons, but these are the main tip of the iceberg.
3 clear reasons choosing green products can be cheaper
1: reusable eco products (like bamboo makeup remover pads or glass bottles you can refill) are money-saving, you don’t have to keep re-buying cotton pads to get your mascara off. Multiple, ongoing purchases and single-use items cost more – the better alternative is the “buy me once” product (even with it’s higher price tag) because it works out far cheaper in the longer run.
2020 Beauty Shortlist Awards winner EVOLVE ORGANIC BEAUTY
2: what we use, absorb and eat directly affects our wellbeing (skincare, nutrition, toothpaste, pesticides, household cleaning products, and on and on…) so good health is key and obviously priceless. Bad health is expensive.
And if you have a baby or kids in the house are you using clean cleaning products? Even if you can’t afford to buy eco cleaners, you can use cheap all-natural products like vinegar and bicarbonate of soda instead.
3: better nutrients, fewer doctor’s visits. Bad health has a high price tag – and it’s not just the money spent trying to get well, it’s the ripple effects – immobility, strain on family/carers, loss of work, the list goes on!
The contents of a local organic fresh produce box straight from nature nourish us day in, day out and help re-educate our taste buds, weaning them off high sugar, high salt products.
Nothing beats farm to table food. So you can actually eat less food, but food that’s more densely nutritious and free from preservatives, free from high salt, high sugar, and massively wasteful packaging, much of it plastic which pollutes our collective home for hundreds of years – that’s numerous generations to come (what an awful thought).
Speaking of plastic, toys spring to mind. The planet is choking with plastic toys. In 2018 parents apparently shelled out £370m on toys in the UK, a lot of which are ending up in landfill or our oceans.
If you’re old enough you might remember Snoopy Sniffer? Fisher-Price’s long-eared wooden dog on wheels? Hours of entertainment and walking practice with just one hound who followed you around all day. Bravo Snoopy Sniffer, made from wood and printed paper, back in the day…
Danish company Lego has begun using plastic sourced from Brazilian sugarcane and while it’s a nice “eco spin” for press coverage and might sound good, it’s not. Because “sugarcane plastic” is recyclable but not biodegradable – it doesn’t come from fossil fuels (which is good) but it breaks down into microplastics in the environment – not good.
LEGO’s “greener” sugarcane plastic (isn’t green at all)
As The Independent reports“Most of the millions of plastic toys Lego makes every hour are moulded from a fossil fuel-based plastic called ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) that isn’t easily replaced with a plant-based alternative. It takes 2kg of petroleum to make 1kg of ABS plastic, which can be recycled but isn’t collected in most household recycling schemes.”
And it gets worse. Sugarcane is to be one of the world’s thirstiest crops, and needs intensive farming.
Dreadful, basically.
At the end of the day, and I’d love to hear your suggestions how we can all do more about this, I think we can make great strides on our collective journey to help and protect Mother Earth/Mother Nature by:
– buying less
– buying better
– and always, even if it initially costs more, supporting eco brands
So many of us are financially-stretched right now, making it a the perfect time to revert to the so-called old-fashioned values of reuse, repair, repurpose.
Do we need wardrobes stuffed with clothes made by overworked third world fellow humans paid slave wages? Or freezers full of processed meals made in factories for brands with huge ad budgets flogging food and TV snacks that make us and our children unwell (in the short or longer run because if you eat that s..t ever week it’s only a matter of time).
There’s a beautiful kind of joy and ‘lightness of being’ when you simplify life and live well. (Arguably, the fewer possessions you have the more you appreciate them).
6 ways to boost your sense of wellbeing and create more breathing space in your life
– Reduce your personal consumption and clutter
– Jettison plastic from your life
– Eat as nature intended
– Choose natural/organic beauty products with plant benefits
– Buy organic food whenever possible
– Get outside for more sunlight and into nature more
All of the above, especially when you combine them all, will significantly boost our health and sense of wellbeing.
One of the most valuable ways to keep healthy, a walk in nature (or a park in the city) is 100% free – like many of the best and at the end of the day most important things in life.
Nature is the best healer, let’s help heal her…x
Moroccan Palm Leaf Tote Bag (main image) from Dunlin & Diver