HOW TO LIVE A MORE SUSTAINABLE LIFE
For many years, long before Lentils and Lather was a thing, we’ve been striving to manage our impact on the planet. In fact, we’ve been living like this for such a long time that it’s completely intertwined with our lives.
Our shopping habits, leisure activities, the way we travel to work or the way we go on holiday are all areas where it’s easy to implement small changes that:
prioritises sustainability,
reduces our impact on the planet,
limits the amount of plastic waste that we generate.
These are some of the things that we’ve been doing that can be easily replicated by others who are interested in reducing their footprint:
1. REUSE HOUSEHOLD CONTAINERS
This is a big one! The plastic bottles you find in your bathroom and kitchen are great for the job they do: they’re strong and squeezy, durable and safe. However, using such a tough material just once and then throwing it in the bin isn’t great as it could be around for a very long time unless it’s recycled properly. If it doesn’t make it to the correct recycling facility it could end up anywhere - the stories of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are enough to make you shudder.
The answer to this is simple: once your squeezy bottles are empty, don’t bin them, but find your local zero waste shop and get them refilled! Treat them well and you’ll have many years of service from that single piece of plastic, rather than a month or two.
2. REFUSE POINTLESS PACKAGING
There are many anecdotes for absolutely pointless plastic packing, such as single aubergines wrapped in cellophane or those pictures of a solo can of coke in a plastic tray wrapped in cling film (WTF!). Our personal pet hates are bags of bananas and shrink-wrapped cucumbers - it’s not like bananas don’t have adequate protection and it’s next to impossible to find a cucumber that’s allowed to roam freely on a supermarket shelf without a polyethylene rain jacket.
But there is an alternative! Avoid the aisles and queues of the super-mega-discount-hyper-markets and search out your local greengrocer where you can buy loose fruit and veg aplenty. We’ve been using the one on Copson Street in Withington for years and can’t fault their produce and friendly service. Sure, they might not have quite the range of products you might be used to getting, but you can buy mushrooms without a plastic tray, so that’s a win!
3. LOSE YOUR BOTTLE
Another super easy switch to make is to get a reusable water bottle. Say no to the plastic water bottle industry and carry your own reusable receptacle to fill up on the fly.
There’s a great scheme called Refill that encourages businesses to offer free water to customers or passers-by. They have a handy map based app so you can easily identify places that will happily give you a hassle-free top up when you’re out and about. One of the first things that we did once we’d started operating was to get Lentils and Lather signed up to the Refill scheme, so if you’re in our neck of the woods and need a splash of water just pop in.
Of course, you’re going to need a nice shiny new bottle to make this work! Local company Shole have got your back with their range of premium vacuum insulated drinks bottles. They look great and do the job perfectly. Their range extends to coffee cups and food containers as well. Check them out in our store now.
4. ON YOUR BIKE!
We’re not ashamed to say it, but we love bikes. They’re cheap to buy, easy to maintain, can literally take you from front door to destination and do not succumb to rush hour frustrations. Become a cycling commuter and you’ll see your travel costs plummet – which means more beer tokens!
Oh, and there’s a small thing about emissions that we’re not even going to get into.
Not being very hilly, Manchester is a top city for cycling. It’s compact too: you can get from South Manchester to the city centre in around 30 minutes.
But what about the weather? We’re renowned for being a damp city, but it’s easy to protect yourself when the sky falls. Get a set of full length mudguards fitted and you’ll be reet – Withington Cycles can help you out with this. A decent set of waterproofs are a good investment too, see Planet X for some good buys.
Hopefully you’ve gathered from this that Lentils and Lather welcomes and encourage cyclists and has a bike rack right outside, so you can be sure it’s secure while you shop!
5. WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE?
As we become more aware of the problems that plastic is causing for the environment we have an opportunity to do things differently. One of the most exciting things about setting up a plastic free / zero waste shop in 2019 is the growing range of entrepreneurs establishing micro businesses to address problems they see in their lives.
Take Head in the Woods for example; a small team of creatives from Rossendale who are taking everyday items and reimagining them in a sustainable way. Things like reusable face wipes and baby wipes made from 100% organic cotton – use them, wash them, use them again. Or their sandwich bags and snack pouches made with and cellulose - an organic compound that’s tough, pliable and should last years.
We also like the Leave No Trace take on things like kitchen roll, food wrap (cling film replacement) and dish sponges. Simple ideas and small changes but big rewards. And they look great too!
AND THAT’S A (FULLY BIODEGRADABLE) WRAP
Hopefully these words will encourage you to think about ways to address your own environmental impact.
Some of you no doubt will already be doing many of these things and more – what are your tips or suggestions?