Zero waste week is a national awareness week which aims to help consumers reduce their household and landfill waste. It can be really hard to reduce waste when you have young kids, and daunting knowing just where to start. Here are our 4 top tips which are easy to implement and will have a huge and immediate impact:
1. AVOID PLASTIC PACKAGING
The majority of plastic packaging is totally unnecessary. Fruit, vegetables and clothing items all too often get wrapped in plastic before they’re sent out to consumers. Send a clear message to plastic-wrapping brands by choosing food and clothing items which don’t have any sort of plastic packaging.
2. CHOOSE CLOTHING WHICH OUTSMARTS GROWTH SPURTS
Discarded textiles items are one of the biggest contributor to landfills. It’s estimated that the garment industry is responsible for around 10% of global carbon emissions. If we all doubled the useful life of each clothing item then this would reduce this figure by half! Increasing the longevity of your children’s clothes is a quick and easy way to reduce your landfill waste and help reduce your carbon footprint. Buy clothes which last longer than six months, choose uni-sex clothes when possible and pass items down from sibling to sibling, cousin to cousin, or donate old items to your local charity shop or textiles bank.
Pure Earth Collection’s organic kids clothing range is not only made from totally natural, organic fabrics, but each item is designed to growth with your child, fitting for a minimum of 18 months. Our organic baby sleeping bag is perfect for kids aged between 3 months and 3 years (in fact, my nearly 5 year old still fits in his!).
Our organic robes and jackets have added length and foldable sleeves so they can grow with your child over the years. And our organic snoods fit toddlers and grownups alike!
3. AVOID SINGLE USE PLASTICS WHEN OUT AND ABOUT
When grabbing food or drinks on the go, avoid anything packaged or served with single use plastic. It’s always good to keep a water bottle and coffee cup on you for cafes and juice bars.
4. CHOOSE NATURAL, BIODEGRADABLE TOYS AND PLASTIC-FREE STICKERS
Luckily there are an increasing number of natural toys on the market as people wake up to the environmental cost of plastic products. Choosing toys made from natural, biodegradable and non-toxic materials not only reduces your families impact on the planet. It’s also a lot better for the long term health of your little ones, and teaches your children strong environmental values from the start. And stickers are a less obvious but just as important switch to make too, especially when biodegradable stickers are so easy to find these days.
We have a range of toys and nursery products made from 100% natural and biodegradable materials. Our organic sensory toys are designed with the health of babies and the environment in mind. And our natural teething toys use off-cut fabrics from our other products which would have otherwise gone to waste.
If you’d like more tips on how to reduce your families household waste, there’s a fantastic book written by eco-blogger Kate Arnell called Six Weeks To Zero Waste.