Sustainable

Living Tips

Although recycling is a great starting point to living a more sustainable lifestyle, there's a whole host of other things that we could do to have a more conscious impact on our environment.

We are always striving to become more knowledgable about how to live a more sustainable life so if you have any amazing tips, tricks and hacks that you think students should know about - please let us know at @conscious_creatives.

Hopefully, we've made a great start but there's much more room to grow!

BEAUTY & HYGIENE

1. Switch up your haircare routine with a Solid Shampoo and conditioner bar! Give your hair the love it deserves! Whilst you're being sustainable with your shampoo and conditioner, why don't you change to a soap bar packaged in cardboard or no packaging at all!

2. If you happen to have some spare shampoo and shower gel bottles laying around your house, why don't you think about getting a refill rather than buying more plastic?!

3. Deodorant is one of the hardest essentials to recommend as everyone's different, however, Earth Conscious is a lot more moisturising and gentle than most brands! Although it falls on the more expensive side, costing around £7, it's long-lasting and a nice treat for your armpits!

4. Did you know that toothbrushes can get swept into our oceans and harm marine life? How about swapping it out for a bamboo one instead!

5. Cotton rounds are an easy thing to DIY! But if you aren’t that crafty, Jar tree has a lovely selection of designs! Just chuck them in the wash with the rest of your laundry and they come out brand new!

6. Take a visit to your local Lush store for some new environmentally sustainable and ethical cosmetic and hygiene products!

7. Fancy an alternative to your regular sanitary product? Why don't you try out a Mooncup or another reusable menstrual cup?Mooncups not your thing? How about a bamboo sanitary towel/tampon to go with your toothbrush? Boots sell a line called Flo products which are biodegradable, vegan and cruelty-free! What's more, 5% of your purchase goes towards ending FGM! They also support period poverty! Check out the Union regularly as we often do giveaways of reuable products and have eco-firendly tampons and pads in a dispenser in the Union space.

8. If you're looking for a completely different alternative, why not purchase some affordable period pants and sanitary products from Cheeky Wipes?

KITCHEN & HOME

1. When heading to University or looking for new dishware to spice up your kitchen then why not look second-hand! You can find such good quality and handy kitchen essentials either at the charity shops or online second-hand such as Depop or Vinted.

2.Why not try refillable cleaning products! These can be bought at your local refill shop, check out our Sustainability Map to find your nearest refill shop! You could even try dissolvable capsules that you add to water, these are available in your local supermarkets.

3. Instead of using paper towels or kitchen sponges then buy eco friendly scrubbing products. You can get coconut fibre scrubbing brushes that can be composted or more long-lasting products such as steel scourers that can be recycled at the end of their lifetime.

4. Instead of rebuying aluminium foil for your baking tray then why not use a reusable silicone one!

5. Do your laundry on a colder wash setting, unless you have some harsh stains you don’t actually need to have your washing machine on a high temperature. Also make sure to only put the machine on when you have a full load!

6. Why not try a reusable eco ball for your washing instead of buying detergent? These can last up to 3 years. There are also eco detergent capsules available that you can get on subscription, they are plastic-free and vegan.

7. Try to buy food in cardboard, tins or glass so they can be recycled locally! You can look at your local recycling points for different materials here.

8. If you have the freezer space then try to batch cook, this can help to reduce food waste and save you time in the future! It will also consume less energy reheating your previous meal instead. Check out our blog to get some yummy recipe ideas.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

1. Do a digital declutter! We’ve all got such good intentions in wanting to stay informed and in the know but it’s time to declutter those inboxes and desktops. It’s surprising how much having a digital clear-out can improve your stress levels too. According to a recent study from Statista, we send an unnecessary 347.3 million emails every day, including ‘thank you’ and ‘thanks’. Before hitting send why not consider if this email is really necessary? Save yourself time, an extra job and a boatload of carbon

2. Turning down your thermostat, event by just one degree can save on energy and money. You could also look at getting some other items to keep you cosy and warm without breaking the bank. Using items such as hot water bottles, heated blankets and wrapping up in layers could help cut your bills and save energy!

3. Make sure you’re on the best deal! There are loads of websites that can compare the prices of gas and energy suppliers to make sure you can get the best deal. For example Money Supermarket have a comparison for energy tariffs here.

4. While your looking for which energy supplier to go with why not do some research for which company has is best green energy provider for you! What is green energy I hear you ask? Instead of using fossil fuels it uses renewable and low-carbon energy, including resourcing wind, water and the sun.

5. Turn down the radiators in the rooms you’re not using. There may be rooms in your house that you are heating when it’s not needed, such as if your housemate pops to their parents for the weekend. Have a look around your house regularly and turn those radiators down!

6. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs. If you’re renting there may already be lightbulbs in your home electrics, but consider either switching them or when they run out choosing the more energy efficient choice. LED’s consume less energy and last longer.

7. I’m sure we have all hear this one before but take shorter showers! Shorter times in the shower means less water being heated and more energy saved.

8. Dry your clothes on a drying rack instead of turning the tumble dryer on. We know this isn’t always a possibility in the cold winters of the UK but you can also now purchase a heated drying rack to help speedily dry your clothes