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In recent years, our daily choices of shopping, self-care and even banking have begun to affect everyone, and this is the perfect time to change how we live. In the sustainability video series, the Just Love Brum Community have provided top tips on living in a way that will positively impact both the planet and others.
But why should we care?
As Christians, faith should impact our decisions and actions, prompting us to make ethical decisions in all areas of life. Amos 5 states that we should participate in an “endless river of righteous living”, and that includes doing the very things that Just Love Brum encourages in living more sustainably. God also longs for practical worshi, making these choices in sustainability effective in worshipping God and the world he created for us in Genesis. By worshipping in this way, God is glorified in the sacrifices we make just as He sacrificed His son for us. God seeks progression instead of perfection, making any ethical decisions we make worth it for the glory it gives to God.
The sustainability series provides 8 ways we can glorify God in living more sustainably both as students and beyond. These useful tips are simple, easy and worth every sacrifice as we can live to protect both other people and the planet.
Sustainable Fashion
According to Oxfam, 11 million pieces of clothing arrive in landfill every week. A lot of materials used to make clothing are not biodegradable, including polyester, meaning that these items can remain in landfill for hundreds of years.
We can prevent this by being more intentional with our shopping. Ask yourself, do you really need this item? Another way to stop clothes waste is to shop second hand (you can often find many brands in charity shops!) and borrow from friends and family. Don’t buy a new outfit every time you go to a party, borrow that top you’ve been eyeing from your housemate, or your sibling’s jacket.
Be sure to download the 'Good on You' app or check out their website to find out how sustainable your favourite brands are, and consider shopping elsewhere if other brands are more sustainable and better for the environment.
While these changes are small, they can make a huge impact.
Ethical Eating
There are so many great ways to make your weekly shop more sustainable. As well as purchasing a new bag for life and swapping plastic produce bags for cheap reusable ones, shopping Fairtrade makes a difference not only to the planet but also farmers. Coffee and Maltesers are just two examples of Fairtrade items, meaning that the farmers have been paid a fair wage and have not used excessive amounts of water or harmful pesticides.
This is great for workers and the environment, making shopping Dairtrade worth sacrificing your favourite chocolate bar!
As well as this simple change to your supermarket shop, we continue to hope for an increase in plastic-free products as promised by so many supermarkets. In the meantime, try buying loose bananas instead of packaged ones, and loose potatoes are often cheaper than those in a bag.
In your next food shop try challenging yourself. How many items can you find that don’t have any plastic? This is such an easy change to make, and can make shopping more enjoyable when you find a plastic-free item!
Veganism and Vegetarianism
Veganism and vegetarianism are becoming more popular. But why do people make this change to the way they eat?
Consuming less meat is both cheap and easy, as well as reducing land, water and oil resources that contribute to pollution. The keeping of livestock emits 7.1 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases every year, making eating less meat highly beneficial to the reduction of pollution.
Vegetarians and vegans also contribute to reducing the amount of water used to produce items such as milk and beef, with the production of 1 litre of milk using 1000 litres of water and 1 pound of beef requiring a huge 9000 litres of water.
This is the perfect time to change your diet. Can you eat at least one veggie meal a week? Or something as simple as swapping your regular milk for oat milk can make a huge difference.
Meat and dairy alternatives today are amazing. With every major supermarket having shelves dedicated to such alternatives, becoming vegetarian or vegan has never been easier!
There are so many vegan and vegetarian bloggers, Youtubers and influencers, so it’s not hard to find inspiration for making dietary changes.
These conscious decisions surrounding what you eat can affect people and the planet positively, so it is definitely worth exploring what changes you can make to your diet. You might even find a vegan alternative that you absolutely love, so why not give it a go!
Plastic-Free Periods
In the UK alone, 200,000 tonnes of sanitary waste ends up in landfill each year. While periods themselves are unavoidable, plastic-free periods certainly aren’t. There has been an emergence of environmentally friendly period products in recent years, so do some research and find what’s best for you and most comfortable for your body.
One alternative is reusable pads that can be bought in different sizes depending on your needs. These can be bought from Eco Lily, Bloom and Nora, and a multitude of other sites. These pads are washable and reusable, and are a one-off payment, saving a lot of money that is normally spent on plastic pads.
Menstrual cups are also becoming popular, with many YouTube tutorials explaining how to use them. These cups are emptied every 10-12 hours (depending on the brand), meaning that you can forget about your period while you’re out and about! Just boil to sterilise between periods and you’re ready for next time. Brands such as Mooncup come highly recommended, and produce different sizes so you can do what’s right for your body.
Whether it’s period pants from Modibodi, reusable tampon applicators from Dame or plastic free tampons from TOTM, these plastic-free period alternatives save money and the planet, making it a very worthwhile investment.
Renewable Power
Recently, power produced by sustainable sources has become a more popular way of providing electricity. Solar, wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal and biomass are the most popular and sustainable alternatives to non-renewable power, such as that produced by fossil fuels. Changing your electricity provider makes a huge difference by releasing less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. There are also three times more jobs in renewable energy than non-renewable, meaning that there are huge economic benefits to making this change.
As students who rent houses, it is important to consider your energy provider. Octopus energy is extremely popular due to their use of 100% green energy! Other ways of using less electricity can be as simple as unplugging devices and appliances not being used, defrosting your freezer regularly, and using small pans with lids to make cooking more efficient.
Even turning down your thermostat by one degree can save up to £80 a year!
Fully loading your washing machine on a 30 degree cycle can also reduce electricity by 57%, and prevents 20 kilograms of CO2 from being released every year.
These are such simple changes you can make today in your homes, and it is well worth the long term benefits!
How ethical is your bank?
The Switch Campaign is currently raising awareness of how the money in your current and savings accounts are being invested by banks unethically in harmful trades and fossil fuels. Banks such as HSBC, Barclays, RBS and Santander are known to fund arms trade, providing weapons to fuel conflicts around the world, including Israel’s latest assault on Gaza.
High street banks including Nationwide, Co-op, Triodos and Charity Bank are highly transparent about their investments, as well as e-banks like Monzo and Starling Bank. Why not switch your bank account to one of these that don’t fuel conflicts or fund unethical and harmful trades?
If it is not possible to switch to a different bank, you can write to your CEO asking them to stop funding fossil fuels and the arms trade, reducing emissions and saving lives.
Search @the_switch_uk for more information and a letter template for writing to your bank.
Anything we can do is worth it for the benefits of saving lives and the planet, so why not support ethical investments instead?
Sustainable Skin Care
Skin care is something that seems to always produce plastic, whether it’s the packet of cotton pads or tubs of moisturiser. However, there are plenty of alternatives!
For hair care, shampoo and conditioner bars can be stored in tins and are highly cost effective, often ranging from £4-9 but lasting for months! They can also be in carryon luggage for flying, so there are plenty of benefits to this swap! Lush have some amazing ones, so pop in on your next visit to your nearest shopping centre! There are even bars for face-wash, both exfoliating and non-exfoliating in Boots, Superdrug and Lush, so you’d be missing out if you didn’t go on a bar haul!
More investments, as with period products, can be found in reusable cotton pads that can be washed and reused. They are also very cheap, saving you a lot of money! For reusable cotton pads, Eco Lily's pads are popular.
Other plastic-free products include safety razors that include no plastic, reducing more waste! An amazing site for all of your plastic-free needs is Peace with the Wild. Affordable and long lasting, you can do your bit for the environment.
Eco Bricking
Emerging as a new way to prevent plastic from ending up in landfill or oceans, eco bricking consists of a plastic bottle stuffed with thin plastic, whether it’s your bread wrapper or plastic bags! These eco bricks can be donated to organisations who use them to complete building projects.
91% of plastic is not recycled, and takes 400 years to degrade! However, this non-biodegradability makes them perfect for building blocks, making them long-lasting and effective.
It is super easy to make your first eco brick. Just wash and dry your plastic and cut it into small pieces so it is easy to pack. Make sure to pack the bottom of the bottle with a single colour to make it stand out, and don’t forget to pack the bottle with a 0.33 density. This density makes them solid enough to bear the weight of a person without deforming, while reducing flammability and simultaneously increasing durability and re-usability!
Fancy making some eco bricks? More information can be found @ecobricks_uk, @realliferebs.blog, and @ecobricks.plastic.transition.
Glorify God in the sacrifices we make today
So whether it’s wearing second-hand clothes, becoming vegetarian or making some eco bricks, there is so much we can all do to protect the environment! God is glorified in the sacrifices we make today, so what can you sacrifice today to live more sustainably and save the planet God created for us?
Blog post by Hannah Buck
With special thanks to all those involved in creating the content for the sustainability series. You can find the full video series here on our website or on our Instagram :)
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