Simple swaps to make when you shop

Everyday life is made up of hundreds of little choices and decisions. Nowhere is this more true than when we go shopping. As we become more and more focused on reducing our environmental impact, making the right choice every time can feel overwhelming. We don’t recommend trying to change all your habits and favourite products overnight but here are a few swaps you can make next time you’re at the supermarket.

Soap for shower gel/hand wash

Choose soap in paper packaging rather than plastic bottles of hand soap or shower gel.

Paper sticks sticks for plastic sticks

Cotton buds with paper sticks are becoming easier and easier to find.

Tupperware for disposable wrap

Buy some good-quality lunchboxes so you can kiss the cling film goodbye.

Salt or sugar scrubs for micro beads

Natural alternatives to micro beads are jojoba beads, apricot kernels, ground nutshells, sugar and salt. Check the ingredients!

Loose vegetables for prepackaged

Not only will you save on plastic and Styrofoam packaging, you’re also less likely to buy more than you need.

Loose coffee over coffee pods

Most used coffee pods go straight to landfill. Buy bags of coffee instead.

Dusters for furniture polish wipes

Say no to single-use furniture or cleaning wipes and use a reusable cloth instead.

Face cloths for cotton pads/face wipes

Face cloths not only cut down on waste, they also save money and help to exfoliate your skin.

Glass bottles of condiments for squeezy tubes

Go old school and buy glass bottles of ketchup. Glass is far more widely recycled than plastic.

Rechargeable lighter for matches

The little wooden match is not as eco-friendly as it looks.  For further information check out https://www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog/lighters-or-matches-which-better-planet/

Metal straws for plastic

If you or your kids love using straws, invest in some metal ones (you can also get little brushes to clean them).

Can you think of any easy swaps  to reduce your environmental impact that we’ve missed? We’d love to hear them in the comments!