Eco Notes: 22 ways to tread lightly on the planet
Yesterday was Earth Day 2024, when we were invited to give the planet some thought, care and attention. This year, the theme was Planet -v- Plastics, which you can read about here. (It’s pretty chilling stuff.)
At Beauty Bible, though, we’ve long believed that EVERY DAY should be ‘Earth Day’. So, for fun, we thought we’d look back at this spread from the book we wrote back in 2008, The Green Beauty Bible.
And we thought we’d revisit it – quite simply, because the advice we gave then is still (mostly) completely relevant now, even if some of the advice is more widely known, now. (In fact, we are always rather chuffed, looking back, to see how little all the books have dated.)
If the advice HAS changed, we’ve updated it in italics, below.
1 Instulate your roof: it’s the single most energy-effective thing you can do.
2 Switch to energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (we now know them as LED bulbs). Each bulb produces the same amount of light as a conventional bulb, but causes the emission of 70 per cent less carbon dioxide.
3 Draught-proof doors and windows and insulate your hot water tank.
4 Turn down your central heating. Take up exercise and wear pretty thermal vests and gorgeous warm cardies.
5 Take a train or boat wherever possible, rather than a plane or car.
7 Buy organic cotton goods. A quarter of the world’s insecticides are used to grow conventional cotton, and about 8,000 chemicals to process it.
8 Use natural candles instead of electric lights for evening meals: it saves energy and boosts romance! We love Natural Magic (now known as NEOM) candles.
9 Say no to plastic carrier bags. Plastic bags are made from non-biodegradeable polyethylene, which can last for up to 1,000 years. They’re serial killers for marine life and land creatures. They can end up in the food chain and block drains. Take your own bag and ask traders to use biodegradeable bags, made from corn or potato starch. Also avoid buying goods in plastic wrapping. This is an area that has massively improved in the UK, but we’re still shocked when travelling abroad that plastic bags are handed out like Smarties, in many countries. Pack your Bags for Life when travelling!
10 Use real handkerchiefs rather than scrappy paper tissues.
11 Buy natural cleaning products, such as Ecover or Bio-D. Or, even cheaper, use lemon juice (add to water for glasses), vinegar (spray on windows and wipe off with old newspaper), bicarbonate of soda (dissolve in warm water to clean fridges, etc.) Upcycle old toothbrushes for almost every fiddly job.
12 Mend something. It’s a lost art because so much fashion is disposable – and badly made in the first place.
13 Never wash anything hotter than 30 degrees centigrade, and use a cupful of white vinegar instead of fabric conditioner. It’s just as effective (and doesn’t smell like a salad dressing, honest!)
14 Always put lids on plans when cooking so food cooks quicker and you save energy.
15 Grow your own salad leaves, herbs and edible flowers (pots and window boxes are good for these, too). And make a compost bin.
16 If you don’t have a dual flush on your loo, put a Hippo the Water Saver in the cistern (buy here).
17 Sadly, the Ecube we wrote about doesn’t exist any more. But this point was about fridge temperatures, and our advice now is always to allow food to cool properly before putting it in the fridge, otherwise your refrigerator has to work harder (and use more energy) to cool it down.
18 Recycle envelopes and boxes: you need a paper knife (to open them neatly), sticky tape, sticky address labels – and sealing wax for fun!
Nowadays, we recommend the following:
• The Must Have Ideas Super Scraper is just brilliant for opening parcels – buy here
• We love Cascayde Paper Tape – really fun to use, just as strong as Sellotape (and honestly, so much more joyous!)
19 Buy an insulated mug and take it with you when you’re out and about. Some (but really, not enough) coffee shops will make a cup of tea of coffee for you in your own cup, which saves on plastic and paper waste.
20 Stop junk mail. In the UK, you can contact Mailing Preference Service, if you click here.
21 Switch off standby lights (on TVs etc). Turning off unneeded lights can save 10% or more of your building’s whole energy use. Unplug everything you can; appliances can still use electricity if they’re plugged in.
22 Invest in a One Click Intelligent Mains Panel (find it online here); when you close down your computer, it automatically turns off the router, printer and anything else plugged into it.
16 years on, and we stand by every word. (Except
