If there is one word that defines the spirit of this millennium, it is ‘sustainability’. Survey after survey has shown that the millennial generation, in particular, has spoken clearly about its interest in backing sustainable, ethical brands that can help them live a meaningful life – one that has a positive impact. Recent research by IBM and the National Retail Federation found that 70% of consumers feel it is important for the brands they support to be eco-friendly. The upside for those wishing to make the switch to a greener life is that it is so much easier to do so than in decades past, with a plethora of entrepreneurs, designers, creators, manufacturers, and service providers offering clean, green alternatives to everything from food to fashion, design to construction.
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Eco-Friendly Home Features
Whether you are building a new house from scratch or renovating a current home, there are many ways to include sustainable home architecture and design principles in your planning. Just a few ideas include using solar panels (which can totally eliminate your reliance on the grid and make you significant long-term savings), minimizing the disturbance of the landscape, insulating your home (to reduce energy wastage on heating and cooling your home), and using sustainable materials such as reclaimed wood, certified timber, and mycelium. Interiors can be jazzed up with furniture and decorative details made in materials like vegan leather, bamboo, and rugs made from sustainable fibers.
Embracing Plant-Based Foods
Meat and dairy products account for a whopping 14.5% of greenhouse emissions. Even if you don’t wish to embrace a vegan or vegetarian diet, opting for ideas like ‘Meatless Monday’ or simply reducing your reliance on meat products can have a big impact on the Planet. Plant-based diets can also do wonders for your health. The high-fiber content of plants helps create a healthy gut microbiome – something that is vital for your physical as well as your mental health. One study published in the journal Nature showed, for instance, that there is an important link between depression and having low levels of specific gut bacteria.
Donning Sustainable Fashion Items
The fashion world has long been leading the sustainability game, with brands like Stella McCartney going to great lengths to rely on ethical suppliers, use recycled materials, use organic cotton, source wool from farms committed to animal welfare, and explore new ways of creating materials like silk. They also source materials like viscose (or rayon) from sustainably managed, certified forests to ensure that zero deforestation is involved in the access of these materials. Sustainable brands additionally prioritize packaging their clothing in packaging made of recycled fiber.
The Little Details Count
In addition to reusing, recycling, and reducing your general consumption of items, you can also make a plethora of choices on a daily basis that can significantly reduce your family’s carbon footprint. These choices range from relying on ethical beauty and skincare companies to making your own toxin-free cleaning products. So many popular items – including paraffin candles, treated wood, and spray-on beauty and cleaning products – pollute your indoor air. By doing a little research, you can discover green alternatives such as beeswax candles, non-toxic wood preservatives, no-spray beauty products, and cleaning products such as Thieves (which is made of a clove essential oil blend). Instead of buying products, why not clean your home mechanically, with the help of a powerful steam vacuum cleaner?
Sustainability is increasingly growing in importance among consumers. There are many ways that you can ride this wave. Relying on renewable energy, embracing eco-friendly home construction practises and décor items, consuming more plant-based foods, and backing sustainable fashion companies, are just a few major choices to make but every little step counts when it comes to leading a greener life.
