How to reduce your carbon footprint in your home

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The gold standard in sustainability is carbon neutrality—meaning that you off-set your carbon emissions. The first step is to follow the three Rs—reduce, reuse, recycle. Some examples of how to introduce these practices into your lifestyle include:

• Avoiding single-use plastics, or reusing them where possible
• Composting your food scraps whatever food you don’t finish
• Recycle paper products like bags and cardboard boxes
• Purchase pantry ingredients and household essentials (i.e. spices, cleaning sprays, and body wash) in bulk quantities where possible
• Shop from local markets and food producers to avoid unnecessary packaging and racking up “food miles”

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Fast fashion brands are constantly producing clothing, which means those items aren’t made with durability or longevity in mind. Instead of trend-led clothing made from non-biodegradable plastic fibres (i.e. polyester, nylon, acrylic), look for ethically-made clothing that’s built to last, a.k.a. slow fashion. If you’re new to the slow fashion movement, here are some things to look for:

• Small collections—less volume, less chance of overproduction
• Use of natural, recycled, or plant-derived manmade fabrics
  
• A commitment to ethical production processes (fair working conditions, clean or renewable energy, and reduced water consumption)
• Recyclable or biodegradable packaging

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One of the best ways to offset carbon emissions is to plant trees, and while you can donate to reforestation initiatives to help the planet, you can also improve your air quality at home with houseplants. Not only are plants a rental-friendly way to add colour into your home, but they also purify the air by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. For a better night’s sleep, look for aloe vera and snake plants, which are known for producing oxygen at night. Both are easy to propagate, so you can avoid plastic pots and “plant miles” entirely by growing them from cuttings.

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Besides improving animal welfare, consuming fewer animal products is also good for you and the environment. Did you know:

• The largest driver for deforestation in the Amazon is cattle farming (forests are razed to accommodate ranches, farms, and crops to feed the livestock)
• Cattle accounts for 65 percent of the livestock sector’s carbon footprint (Food and Agriculture of the United Nations)
• Someone who halves their daily intake of animal products from 100 grams to 50 grams can save the equivalent of a round-trip flight from London to New York in carbon dioxide emissions a year (University of Oxford)
• Thanks to food tech advancements, you can still enjoy plant-based or lab-grown meat, fish, and “dairy”

An easy but effective way to reduce your carbon footprint is to replace everyday household items with eco-friendly alternatives. Take bedding, for example—cotton is one of the most common materials used for sheets. But even though it is a natural fabric, it takes an estimated 10,000 litres of water to make a king-sized set of cotton bedlinens, making it far from environmentally friendly.

Instead, consider lyocell, a silky and lightweight fabric made from organic bamboo pulp. Here are just a few reasons this has been called the “fabric of the future”:

• It is made from bamboo, which is so fast-growing and hardy that it doesn’t require any irrigation or pesticides
• Bamboo is naturally antibacterial and moisture-wicking, which keeps your clothes and sheets fresh for longer, meaning that you save water by washing them less frequently
• Lyocell is naturally thermo-regulating, so it feels cool and breathable in the summer but warm and cosy in the winter
• Pure lyocell feels like silk, but its fibres can be spun into other fabrics like flax or hemp to enhance them with bamboo’s properties while offering a wider range of textures

But it’s not just fabric—bamboo can also be used as a substitute for wood and bamboo fibres can be compressed into a plastic-like material. And since it grows fast enough to be harvested within three to four years, bamboo is a more sustainable material than traditional lumber.