How environmentally friendly are you?

[Plocket]

I'm becoming increasingly concerned at the gunk that goes into our water and land, and am therefore trying to do more to care for our planet than just recycling.

I like to think that I do a bit better than most: I recycle as much as I possibly can; I use Ecover products in the dishwasher and washing machine; I use deodorant free from synthetics, parabens and aluminium (and it's in a glass bottle); I use shampoo free from parabens and SFCs...

My friend is a bit of an Eco-warrior though: she cleans with bicarb-of-soda and lemon juice; she uses Pitrock deodorant (I'll give you more info if you want!); she makes her own shampoo, moisturiser and toner using natural oils; and she uses a Mooncup (men don't even bother googling it!)

What do you do, other than recycling and making compost? And do you think being an Eco-warrior is to difficult or perhaps too expensive?

[MamIDdau]

I'd double the "men don't google it" about mooncup because I've heard of it before and it even made me feel queasy LOL

I hate to say it but being a full eco warrior, to me, does seem more expensive. We're trying to save every penny we feasibly can (and still live) and therefore buy special offers for things like deoderants. I do however make my own cleansers and what not because I have all my aromatherapy stuff. With regards to shower gels etc, once again, that's whatever's on offer/cheap.

I do still have some stuff from the body shop (bought whilst on offer) which is better to use than other stuff I guess!

[Cheerypeabrain]

I recycle whenever I can....use the bus or walk to & from work. (unless post on-call...can't walk after a 24 hour shift)...swop clothes with sisters ;D or take them to Oxfam when I don't want them anymore. (usually cos I'm too fat), I also try not to throw any food away...I used to be a devil for chucking stuff out/buying too much...but nowadays I make darned sure we use up leftovers.


Today I was having a sort out, and I gave my student son a huge pile of notepads, folders and pens leftover from when I was studying a few years ago. Also made up a charity bag to drop off next week, clothes that are beyond repair all have the buttons/buckles etc removed. We save glass jars for pickles, ice-cream boxes for when eldest son visits so that he can take shedloads of leftovers home with him ;D ...

Compost whatever we can, including cardboard and newspapers...

I don't always use ecovere as I can't always get it at a reasonable price. ....

We turn everything off when not in use (altho our son's a b*gg*r for leaving stuff on)....& OH and I share the bathwater (altho we usually use the shower) ;D

We're pretty good at make-do and mend as well...OH is brilliant at fixing things, and saves offcuts of wood, packing crates, pallets etc to make things for the house and garden. (at work they call him Stig of the Dump)...he's always rescuing things from skips

[Plocket]

You are both doing really well. Which is my gripe in a way - I think people WANT to do well, but to be environmentally friendly costs money and the Government aren't doing anything to enourage us. I had a look at hair shampoos today and to get an environmentally friendly shampoo costs £5 upwards - some were £10 a bottle! Yes I bought a new bottle (wishing it was glass and not plastic) of shampoo but I'll have to do without something in the week to pay for it.

Aprilaydee where do you get your aromatherapy stuff from? I want to get some oils to make my own moisturiser but they are SOOO expensive.

[MamIDdau]

I get it from a few places. Because I bought a lot, I could get them wholesale.

I used Essential Oils Direct (who have a wholesale site and you can buy all you moisturiser bases from them too if you like) and also Abbey Essentials who also used to have a wholesale site. Not looked at the sites for ages because I haven't needed to...

www.abbeyessentials.co.uk/index.php

www.essentialoilsdirect.co.uk/index.php?PHPSESSID=3fc86837e0202802ffd7892a39f8b159

Ebay is also good for the odd bottle. There are occasionally a few people on there offering them for sale with no p&p charges. It's useful having a look at the wholesale pages on some companies' websites because they normally offer an RRP so you know when you look elsewhere whether it's a good deal or not.

The basic oils for a sort of "first aid kit" I would suggest getting are Lavender, Tea Tree, Peppermint, Chamomile, Eucalyptus, Geranium, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon and Clove. And I would recommend the book by Valerie Ann Worwood- The complete book of essential oils and aromatherapy. Those essential oils should be everything you need for practically anything you want to make/heal/soothe.

Another good thing you can get and that I haven't used for a while because I've not bought anything wholesale for a while, is solid shampoo. It's basically a bar of shampoo that's like a bar of soap. No packaging, no waste and normally made with essential oil stuff.

The shampoo and conditioner I use at the moment is Tresemme because they're huge bottles for less than £4. They were also on offer ;D

[JennyWrenn]

I'm not sure I do very much but think I might

I buy Ecover products and cos they are more expensive I use a little less than I would if I bought a cheapy big bottle of washing up liquid for eg

We were taught at Housekeeping at School not to buy Big packets - this way you are more apt to use bigger portions

I always buy small tubes toothpaste etc etc and I really do only use a small amount

Buy small, think small

[MamIDdau]

Yeah but I think buy big, buy bulk, cheaper and less packaging per product. 1.5kg of powder would have a larger packaging to product ratio than a 7.5kg packet does.

[isabella]

I am not as good as some of you

I do recycle when and where I can.
I suppose the biggest things we do are to grow most of our own veg,grow lots of plants for widlife and the fact that we have NEVER owned a car - we walk or catch a 'bus.
When I have to buy veg I try to buy local and in season.
In the last few months I have had to buy a new fridge and a new freezer so I have made sure I have bought the most energy efficient ones.

[Plocket]

Goodness I can't imagine not having a car! And the point is that you are doing your bit Isabella, rather than just thinking that someone else can do it.

Thanks for the oils sites Aprilaydee - I'll take a look

[JennyWrenn]

If I buy a BIG packet bikkies for eg April - I will eat the lot - so buy an ickle tiny chokky bikkie packet and that does me

I really do think that when you see you have lots and loads you will not be an economical as if you had a small packet then you would use less and be thrifty- well that's my way of thinking not necessarily correct ;D

[Plocket]

I always use less than the recommended quantities of washing liquid etc. because I'm convinced they over estimate what is needed. And I often buy huge quantities of cleaning stuff because it keeps for ever. For example, handsoap has been on special offer for a couple of weeks so I've got three bottles (two unopened) in each bathroom. And I've got about four bottles of clothes washing liquid, loads of packs of dishwasher tablets and lots of rinse aid because the supermarket were doing buy 2 get another free.

[MamIDdau]

I couldn't do without a car because of the shifts I work, there aren't many buses at 5am!! And I ain't standing on the streets in the dark in the middle of winter...

I only buy things in bulk that keep. If I lived alone I wouldn't buy biscuits anyway LOL I'm not saying I wouldn't eat them if they weren't in the cupboard but I don't really think about eating biscuits if I'm home alone. I normally eat a proper meal and then drink water. I don't really "do" snacking.

[Juliet]

Sept 6, 2008 8:29:19 GMT Plocket said:

I'm becoming increasingly concerned at the gunk that goes into our water and land, and am therefore trying to do more to care for our planet than just recycling.

I can't use anything with chemicals in, Plocket, so I have a lot of info. about cleaning stuff and toiletries & so on which are better for the planet (as well as for me!). Too tired to list them now (I was just having a lurk before going to bed when I spotted this thread!) but I'll aim to come back when I'm more awake (someone may need to remind me!).

[Plocket]

Do you use soap-nuts? My friend swears by them I can't wait to hear what you use.

[MamIDdau]

I was looking at soap nuts but only to get when I get enough points from my carbon cred.it card.

Dunno if I've told you about that site before

www.carboncred.com/

You get points when you buy stuff by clicking thru their site and then you can get free green stuff

[Juliet]

I've not tried soap nuts yet - keep dithering about it, as I saw a programme where they tested different environmentally friendly products against each other & the soap nuts were the least good at getting things clean.

I mainly use Clear Spring laundry liquid now, though I must admit I do also still have some Waitrose Ultima sensitive, which is what I used before my chemical sensitivities got so bad. It's obviously chemical-based but doesn't have any of the nasty ones, & unlike most shop-bought laundry detergents, it's not scented with artificial fragrances, so I still use it sometimes and my parents use it so that I can go near them when I see them!

I also use Clear Spring dishwasher gel. Both it & the laundry detergent come in 1 or 5 litre bottles (which can be recycled) - I started with a 1 litre bottle and now get 5 litre bottles, which work out cheaper and means you use less packaging - I use them to fill the 1 litre bottle as that's easier to pour from.

Clear Spring things are made by Faith In Nature, who also make toiletries, but I can't use any of them because they're all scented with things which effect me. This is their website: www.faithinnature.co.uk/index.asp
But I mostly get my laundry detergent & dishwasher gel from Natural Collection: www.naturalcollection.com/natural-shop/Clear%20Spring.aspx

I also get some Bio-D things from Natural Collection: www.naturalcollection.com/natural-shop/Bio-D-viewall.aspx - mostly the toilet cleaner, but I have some of their polish as well.

Other than that I mostly use soda crystals, white vinegar, and bicarbonate of soda - all extremely cheap, which offsets some of the more expensive things we have to get because of my chemical sensitivities. We have one or two things with mild chemicals in which R uses when I'm out of the room, but we could easily manage without them - we just get them because he prefers them.

Soda crystals: www.dri-pak.co.uk/soda-crystals.html are great for keeping drains clean, washing floors, cleaning bird baths etc.

A solution of bicarb. can be used for less grubby cleaning jobs - I use it for cleaning things in the kitchen, but also for cleaning plant pots!

White vinegar is good for cleaning chrome, mirrors, and windows, descaling kettles and water jugs, and we also use it as rinse aid in the dishwasher.

Got to go now - I'll tell you what toiletries we use later (I've probably forgotten some cleaning things too!).

[Plocket]

Mmm I'm a fan of soda crystals and use them a fair bit around the house. And I swear by vinegar for cleaning windows.

It's interesting to hear from you Juliet because you are forced to use alternative products. It must have been difficult to work out what you could and couldn't use.

[Juliet]

It's an ongoing process as different products are taken off the market (or have new scents etc added) & I have to find new ones. I currently have a tea tree & eucalyptus cleaner which I got from Lakeland for cleaning kitchen surfaces & bathroom, & they don't do it any more - I can use bicarb for the surfaces but I'll have to find something new for the bathroom. The Bio-D one has orange oil & I'm allergic to citrus - I can cope with the little bit of citric acid in their toilet cleaner, but I don't think I could bear the whole bathroom smelling of oranges!

I realised I left out the Ecover washing up liquid - it's the only one of their products we get because they're all scented & I'm allergic to the others. And their toilet cleaner contains bitrex, which is worse than bleach as far as I'm concerned!

I also left out boiling water, which I use a lot - if in doubt about something's cleanliness (eg flower pots, bird baths, bins, loo), I tend to pour a kettle full of boiling water over/into it!

[Juliet]

OK, here's the toiletries list:

I use Toms of Maine toothpaste: www.tomsofmaine.com/toms/product.asp?dept_id=400&pf_id=TP-nonFL (it's an American company, but their toothpaste is available in all the UK supermarkets we shop in now).
Other people I know use Kingfisher toothpaste, but I can't because it contains citrus.
If anyone wants to try this type of toothpaste (free from artificial sweeteners) & has never used it before, be warned, for the first few days you will probably hate it. Persevere & you will find you like it but your old toothpaste will taste unbearably sweet!

At the moment I use Simple soap for shower, which is annoying because I'd rather have something a bit less slimey, but every time I find a nice soap they either take it off the market or add citrus to it!! I also have Ecosoapia unscented liquid soap for handwashing: www.naturalcollection.com/natural-products/Indroducing-our-Fantasic-New-Ecosoapia-Liquid-Soap.aspx - which costs rather more than I'd like to spend on soap, but not as much as some of the other Soil Association certified ones!

In the past I've used one of these liquid soaps: www.naturalcollection.com/natural-shop/Bentley%20Body%20Care.aspx before they were taken over by Bentley, who added something I can't use (can't remember what now), and one of these: www.yourhealthfoodstore.co.uk/details.php/p4893_avalon_organics_glycerin_liquid_soaps.html - but again, the ingredients seem to have changed. Both good if you're not allergic to citrus or lavender or whatever it was they've added though!

I used to use Simple shampoo too (you have to be careful to get the right one as some of their fancier ones contain parabens & all sorts of things!), but - hurrah! - I finally found a nice alternative which doesn't contain anything which effects me. It's this one, which is meant to be a children's shampoo (& unlike most children's shampoos available in the shops, isn't packed full of potential allergens!): www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/detail/909499_Lanes_Tea_Tree_Shampoo__200ml.html

Oh - and R uses Duchy originals bergamot & lime liquid soap and shampoo: www.duchyoriginals.com/bodycare.php (available in Waitrose) - I wouldn't be able to, but the smell of lime isn't too strongly citrusy for me to be able to go near him!

I use a crystal stick deodorant - I think it's this one: www.thecrystal.com/product.cfm/id/5/ccid/6/scid/6 but not entirely sure as they've changed the packaging & I get it in a local health food shop. It lasts for ages & works well, though it's only a deodorant, not an antiperspirant, so if you're doing anything energetic you do have to get used to washing & re-applying it a bit more often than you would with a chemical one. I also have one of these: www.naturalcollection.com/natural-products/Amazing-Body-Stick.aspx which lasts for ever, but I don't think it is as effective - fine if you're sitting around, but not much good if it's sticky weather &/or you're doing lots of gardening!

Handcream is the thing I'm having most trouble with at the moment. I used to use E45 cream because it's gentle and unscented - but it contains paraffin! - which obviously isn't very environmentally friendly (as well as a few other things which aren't too good for me), and I'm increasingly noticing the smell of it too. A friend sent me a little bottle of hemp oil to try, but I found it left my hands very greasy, so I couldn't touch anything for ages after I'd used it - not ideal. I also didn't like the smell. I've now got Shea butter: www.naturalcollection.com/natural-products/Hearts-of-the-World-Shea-Butter.aspx - which is horrendously expensive, and I'm not terribly keen on the smell of that either. It's not bad as a hand cream though, once you get used to the fact that it isn't a cream at all - it's more like the texture of butter which has been kept in the fridge, so you have to scratch the back of your fingernail in it to get any out of the tub & then roll it between your fingers until it becomes soft enough to use! You only need a tiny amount, & it seems to be very good for dry skin - but I'm still looking for a cheaper, more creamy, and unsmelly alternative!

I don't use any make-up or (obviously) perfume.

This post is getting a bit long & it's nearly dinner time so I'll come back & do some more later!

[Barbara]

i use a steam cleaner a lot of the time, no products used at all with that.

[Juliet]

We have one of those, Barbara, but we've only used it for stripping wallpaper so far . I was a bit worried about how wet everything gets with it - we've had a lot of problems with mould in the past & I don't want to encourage more mould to develop by getting the house too humid.

What do you clean with yours? And do you find things dry very quickly afterwards or do you need to air the house to get the humidity levels down again?

[Plocket]

Your links are brilliant Juliet, and it makes me realise that I'm not doing nearly as much as I could. LP uses Tom's toothpaste and loves it but I haven't converted yet - I'm very fussy about toothpaste but won't go into details!

[Juliet]

Glad you're finding them useful Plocket - I've got lots more, including some info. about which chemicals are the ones to avoid. I'll keep posting!

I've noticed my teeth have improved since using the Tom's toothpaste - I used to have a filling pretty much every time I went to the dentist, but since I've been using that I haven't had a single one and the last few times I've managed to see a dentist (very difficult with chemical sensitivities) they've all said that my teeth are really healthy.

Anyway, here's my next lot ... most things like cotton wool, loo roll, and sanitary products are processed using chlorine bleach - bad for the environment and it can't be terribly good for people using them either, even if they're not allergic to it! Cotton wool is also often made from synthetic fibres, not cotton, and of course some loo roll is dyed, which is not very healthy.

I use organic cotton wool: www.naturalcollection.com/natural-products/Organic-Cotton-Wool.aspx
Cotton soft loo roll: www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/sect/HP-Eco_friendly_Paper___Cotton_Products.html which is made from organic cotton waste, not from bleached or dyed paper.
Natracare towels (warning - this link also contains mooncups! - but it has a useful blurb about the nasty chemicals in most sanitary products): www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/sect/NFTPC-Feminine_Care.html
and for the squeamish the towels & tampons are also here: www.naturalcollection.com/natural-shop/natracare-viewall.aspx

I also collect paper bags whenever I get shopping in them (prescription bags are particularly good, for anyone who gets or knows someone who gets lots of those) and use them to dispose of sanitary products in the bin rather than flushing them.

I'll post some more links later!

[JennyWrenn]

Vinegar is supposed to be a good weed killer

[Plocket]

Just a thought Juliet - do all the natural products work out much more expensive than the bog standard stuff?

And slightly off the subject, I urge people to shop around - I was looking at prices for Ecover stuff online and found one product for £1.79. I then looked at Waitrose where it was £1.39, and Tescos did the same product (same size too!) for 88p. I was shocked at the difference in price between the supermarkets, but the online place added delivery costs on top of their prices!

[Barbara]

juliet, i use it on wall tiles, cooker cleaning, doing the fridge and frezer, i always have windows open, so i dont get steamed up.

[Juliet]

Thanks Barbara - maybe we should try it on the oven - it needs to be cleaned & I can't have oven cleaning products in the house!

Jenny - I think the problem with vinegar is that it's likely to kill the plants around your weeds too! - it's only really supposed to be suitable for weeds growing in something like a drive, not ones mixed in with other plants. I've always been too nervous to try it!

Plocket - it's been so long since I've used all the bog standard things that I can't really tell you exactly. I think you can look at it in different ways - someone who can't or doesn't want to afford the expensive products could just use the really cheap alternative things like Simple soap & crystal deodorants, white vinegar & soda crystals and they'd at least be doing something for the environment & probably saving money as well; or you could say that because of the money you're saving using the cheap alternatives you can also afford a few of the more expensive ones, like the Clear Spring and Bio-D products or the Toms toothpaste. Or you could look at it from the long term point of view that the extra you spend on buying organic products now will benefit not only the environment but also your health and the health of your family & the people around you over the years to come, which from a financial point of view may well save you medical bills (as well as the stress of being/seeing someone being ill) in the future.

Along the lines of the latter, I only buy paint from Ecos: www.ecospaints.com/ - they are very expensive, but if I used normal paint it would make me very ill indeed (when my parents painted their spare bedroom I couldn't go into it for about 6 months!). Bog standard paint is really bad for anyone with anything like asthma or the more normal type of allergy, not just the chemically sensitive - Ecos paint on the other hand is completely free from solvents & VOCs & I can use it myself, without even wearing a mask while I'm painting. So I don't really care that it's expensive, & if I needed to go without other things in order to be able to afford it I would - you can't put a price on someone's health. It is, incidentally, also really excellent paint (unlike some alternative products, which aren't always as effective as the chemical ones!).

I really agree with you about shopping around though - with online stores (especially ones which charge you a fortune in postage) it's also worth waiting until they have a sale & then buying a lot of things all at once. I'm on Natural Collection's email mailing list & they often send out an email saying something like "10% off everything & free postage if you spend over £50, this week only" - at which point I order all the things I'm going to want over the next few months. I also get offer codes a lot for Goodness Direct, because they often give 20% off to members of Action for ME and the Soil Association, & I'm a member of both.

[Juliet]

A few links about what some of the issues are, which chemicals are bad (for us & for the environment), which are the greener/less green companies, some other places to shop for green products, relevant charities ...

Chemicals in toiletries & beauty products: www.channel4.com/health/microsites/T/toxic/toxic-chemicals_2.html
Chemicals in the home (click the links on the left for different rooms): www.wwf.org.uk/chemicals/home.asp
Pesticides in food: www.pan-uk.org/Projects/Food/index.htm
Electronics companies: www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/how-the-companies-line-up
Suppliers of chemical free products (NB the "back" button at the top of the page won't work because of the way I've had to do this link, but the back button on your computer should, once you've clicked on any of the categories): www.chemicalfree.co.uk/Suppliers/Suppliers.htm
Organic search engine: www.alotoforganics.co.uk/
Recycling: www.recyclenow.com/
Why Organic (register for access to organic directory, competitions etc): www.whyorganic.org/default.asp
Soil Association website: www.soilassociation.org/
Friends of the Earth website: www.foe.co.uk/index.html