The ability to drive positive change really is in our hands. Small everyday choices we make can help protect and enrich this beautiful, crazy world we live in. Whether it's meat free Mondays to help reduce greenhouse gasses, using an eco re-usable cup when buying your morning coffee to help reduce landfill or choosing fairly sourced products, such as The Body Shop Body Butter, to help marginalised communities get a fair deal and a sustainable income; we can all help to protect and enrich the planet and its people.
Go veggie!
To encourage more people across the UK to embrace their inner-activist, The Body Shop has launched #INOURHANDS; a movement that is asking people to make small pledges of support to the planet on Twitter. Here are nine small changes we can all make to our routine today:
Recycle and reduce landfill
Did you know that the average UK family throws away six trees worth of paper in their household bin every year? Think before you throw and start recycling; challenge yourself to reduce your general bin waste by 1/3 each week!
Think before you brew: save water & energy
Did you know over 30 million litres of water are boiled in Britain every day only to go cold again? You can save electricity and water by only filling up the kettle with the water you need.
Switch off at the socket to save energy
Did you know appliances use electricity when they are in standby mode or even when they are switched off? A TV set that's switched on for three hours a day and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.
Save water with speedy showers
Did you know for every minute you cut down during your shower, you will save around 10 litres of water? Saving the planet and saving your water bill!
Go veggie to reduce greenhouse gases
Around 18% of greenhouse gases are caused by livestock farming - the production of one beef steak emits more carbon dioxide than driving for one hour. To help the environment and your health, try to go meat free for a few days or introduce 'meat free Monday'.
Reduce your carbon footprint
Locally sourced food can help cut down food miles and therefore reduce your carbon footprint - try eating seasonal local fruit and vegetables from your local greengrocer.
Awaken your purchasing power and choose fair trade
Use your buying power to deliver a strong message to companies by choosing products that are made from or contain fairly sourced ingredients to ensure everybody benefits. You still get high- quality products and marginalised communities get a fair deal and a sustainable income that enables them to invest in their future. It's a win win!
Upcycling: Get crafty to have positive impact
Transform your empty packaging and unwanted clothing into reusable items to be loved once more. When you upcycle you remove items from the global garbage stream, without the need of energy or water to break down the materials. Pretty much anything can be upcycled; plastic bottles into earrings, wine bottles into candlestick holders as well as refashioning old jeans and t- shirts.
Get neighbourly & volunteer
By giving your time or skills to help other people and local charitable organisations you can help strengthen the community and environment in which you live. To find out about volunteering projects in the UK visit neighbourly.com.
It's never been easier to make a difference, head to www.inourhands.help now where you can take a short quiz to find out how much you currently enrich the planet and what you can change in your routine to up your eco & ethical game. And if you Tweet your pledge @TheBodyShopUK using the #INOURHANDS the ethical retailer will make a donation to its Bio-Bridge projects to help restore rainforests in Vietnam and to protect endangered animals in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Visitors to the site will also get the chance to enter a competition to win a trip to join The Body Shop on a visit to a Community Trade programme or a Bio-Bridge project in 2017 to see first-hand the difference the brand is making as part of their ENRICH NOT EXPLOIT™ Commitment.
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