EVERYDAY ECO-FRIENDLY SWAPS

We're approaching 22nd April aka 'Earth Day'. And while it seems strange to have just one day of the year dedicated to protecting the future of this wonderful orb we call home,  it's no bad thing to use Earth Day to raise our consciousness of the role we all need to play in protecting our planet's future, every day of the year. So what would a more Earth Friendly everyday look like? Here's a few ways we can integrate Earth-friendly swaps into our daily routine - from sleep to cleaning, and even personal care, there are some simple switches that will add up to make a big impact on the planet.

Choose organic bedding, which puts less chemicals in the environment and next to your skin. Crisp Sheets only use fabrics that are thoughtfully sourced and manufactured in Turkey and Europe. The Smoothy duvet covers are made, in Portugal, of super-soft, certified organic sateen cotton, so you're guaranteed to sleep like a baby in these soft sheets. The factory is OEKO TEX certified, GOTS certified and has A rating by the BSCI committee. 

What makes wool bedding a good choice for the planet? It grows back every year! Shearing is part of the natural, annual cycle for sheep.  It's also biodegradable - enzymes in the soil can break down wool in a matter of months and release essential nutrients back into the ground. And, in the case of Floks - their wool comes from specialised herds on British farms, from which they manufacture within a 20 mile radius, minimising their carbon emissions.  Floks combine British wool and luxury, organic cotton in pillows and duvets that good for the planet, and offer superior comfort, thermoregulation and benefits for allergy, asthma and eczema sufferers. 

A productive day protecting the planet starts with a great night's sleep. But when more than 1 billion single-use products are used and thrown away every year, don't let that include your earplugs. Made by Swedish company - Happy Ears, these new recycled earplugs are made from their own production waste to further reduce their carbon footprint. 

Switch your synthetic underwear for natural and organic materials - like cotton and hemp. It's better for your most delicate areas, and since underwear is one of the most washed items in your wardrobe, synthetic underwear is a big contributor to micro-fibre shedding, causing plastic pollution. Our underwear collection on PARO - featuring Ceu Label, Earth & Mama and Archivist studio - is all ethically produced in Europe, and made from all-natural materials. Ceu Label dye all of their pieces with plant dyes, to keep them as natural as possible, while Archivist makes their boxers from disused hotel linens, diverting waste from landfills. 

Your most undervalued, overworn, and easily discarded items. To reduce the environmental footprint of your socks, buy the best quality you can, so they last for longer. Socksss are without a doubt the best quality we've found. A Swedish brand, who aim is to create optimistic impact while perfecting their product to make it as great as it can be. The quality, in every aspect, and care for mother nature is their number one priority. Socksss are made with 80% organic cotton,  they're thinner on top for breathability for all seasons, thicker underneath, with invisible stitching on the toe, and ribbed cuffs for extra comfort.

According to Fashion For Good, wearing your clothes for an extra nine months can reduce waste and water usage by 20-30 per cent. EDO GOODS are a Berlin-based brand that produces fair, climate-neutral and climate-friendly, durable and recyclable clothing. A flexible uniform of high quality, season-less and versatile pieces for people, regardless of gender, age and occasion.  They focus on the use of existing textile industry surpluses or bio-fabrics, low- and no-waste design and increasing localization of production.

Another wear-every-day item - tights - are generally made of nylon and elastane, which are plastic based materials. Much like underwear, this creates the issue with micro-fibre shedding in the wash, but has the added problem that tights are seen as much more disposable item. Once tights ladder they're in the trash, the founders of Billi London found tights wearers “binned 1-2 pairs per month”. Billi London's solution was to develop these durable tights that will biodegrade in landfill - taking around 5 years, versus 40-100 years for traditional tights.

Irish brand, Riley, are on a mission to end period plastic with sustainable, subscription period products. They use 100% certified organic cotton, keeping synthetic pesticides out of your products and the environment, and mostly compostable packaging. Made in Europe with an ethical manufacturer, everyone involved in bringing Riley products to your door is paid a fair wage and has safe working conditions. Riley partner with Development Pamoja, an Irish registered charity in Kenya, to help tackle period poverty and provide education.

A good way to clean up your beauty regimen is to ditch plastic bottles and avoid chemicals that pollute in production and wastewater. Go back to basics with a more traditional soap bar which you can use for everything from your face to your body, hands and hair. We love Friendly Soap (yeah, they had us at the name too) who pour, cut, stamp and pack their soaps by hand in the UK. They are vegan friendly, contain no nasty additives (like SLS and parabens) and even replaced microbeads with poppy seeds and hemp bran instead. You can find a full friendly selection on Vera Bee along with other natural, sustainable and plastic-free products for you and your home sourced from small and local brands.

Any idea how many of these you've thrown away in your lifetime? If it's anything like me, A LOT. These Last Swab reusable cotton buds are an alternative to single use cotton swabs made out of either plastic, paper or bamboo. One swab replaces at least 1,000 single use cotton swabs which saves a large amount of waste (often plastic based), and its also much better in terms of CO2 emissions to produce and ship just 1 reusable earbud instead of 1,000 disposable buds. Find the Last Swab on Eco-Sal along with a wide range of reusable and plastic free lifestyle products.

Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world and needs no pesticides to grow - making it renewable and sustainable. It grows 30 times faster than trees, produces 30% more oxygen and absorbs 35% more carbon, so it's a much better environmental choice for your everyday papers and rolls. The Cheeky Panda make biodegradable, naturally hypoallergenic, vegan approved,  bamboo products without plastic or chemicals, for a healthier happier future. They've got a huge range so you can switch everything from your toilet roll, tissues, face wipes, kitchen roll, antibacterial wipes, and even nappies to eco-friendly bamboo alternatives. 

Hemp is a wonder plant for everything from clothing to cannabis, and our go-to daily dose of calm - CBD. But not all CBDs are created equal; choose one that's organically grown, ethically made and earth-friendly. RAIN is a London Cannabis Wellness company making best-in-class therapeutic products including a CBD pen, balm and candle. RAIN ensure all products are all-natural and organically grown, fully recyclable and plastic-free, while taking care to make them beautiful. Very much in line with the PARO vision, who knows, maybe you'll find them in the PARO community soon....

Choose eco-friendly garment and shoe care products to help you take good care of your clothing and make it last for longer.  Attire Care makes eco-friendly, biodegradable, plant-based and, where possible, organic products to do just that. Their lineup includes detergent and cleaning products for clothes and shoes, as well treatments that preserve and reduce the need to wash such as stain repellent protectors, and a refreshing garment spray. Made in small batches in a small family run factory, they also use recycled glass packaging for lower impact.

A large part of our clothing contains synthetic materials. During washing, tiny plastic fibres break and enter rivers and oceans via the wastewater, harming our environment. Washing with the GUPPYFRIEND washing bag helps prevent fibre shedding and traps micro-fibres in the bag, preventing them from entering the water and causing plastic pollution. GUPPYFRIEND have even made a handy guide to other ways we can improve our washing habits for the good of the planet.

Plastic particles washed off from synthetic clothes contribute up to 35% of the primary plastic that is polluting our oceans, so if you really want to stop your laundry to stop adding to the problem then consider adding a filter to your washing machine that traps the microfibres. The Planet Care filters stop 90% of all microplastics from getting past them - which could make a huge impact when you consider that tens of thousands of microfibers go out with the wastewater in each load of synthetic washing! 

Kitchen cloths and brushes are about as low interest a purchase as you can get,  but most are made of (you guessed it) plastic. In around 400 years the first piece of plastic ever made will have decomposed. By then, trillions of particles of plastic will be contaminating our planet. To be more Earth-friendly choose long-lasting and biodegrable options, like Eco-Coconut cleaning utensils that combine FSC certified wood with coco-nut, which are completely plastic-free down to the packaging. 

Water comprises more than 90 percent by volume of what’s inside every bottle of a standard household cleaning agent. This creates a huge amount of unnecessary environmental impact because every drop of that water has to be packaged, distributed, merchandised, and transported. Kinfill is a home care brand from The Netherlands producing beautiful cleaning products devoid of single-use plastics and harmful ingredients. Supplied in their purest forms; 100% biodegradable concentrates, that are formulated to be diluted at home with tap water in a long-lasting refillable bottle.

Nature has approximately a 100 million year start on developing the most effective ingredients for our needs, so why not work with nature? mccāla seek out the finest botanicals to create innovative products to support mind and body. Their formulations include only the most effective natural ingredients for each function - no fillers, nasties, or useless additives. Highly conscious of their impact, mccāla is made in the UK, with, as far as possible UK and European ingredients, and glass bottles (with just a tiny amount of plastic in the seal, while a better solution is sought out).

We're all working out every day, right? Consider switching your whey protein for a plant-based alternative with a lighter production impact on the planet. Form have crafted plant-based proteins for your body and responsibly-sourced, natural nootropics for your brain. As a certified B Corp, Form believes business should be a force for good -  they have developed their own compostable packaging printed with water-based inks, don't include plastic scoops (we all have spoons already lol) and have a take-back programme to re-use your old bottles.

If you've been paying attention, you will have already read that we're big fans of bamboo! So when you need to replace your utensils, opt for a certified organic bamboo alternative from an eco-friendly and renewable source. Bambu is a B Corp and fellow One Percent For The Planet member who is the only brand out there sourcing certified bamboo, to make a huge range of handcrafted products you can cook, serve, eat, and travel with.

Did you know chewing gum contains plastic? I probably wouldn't have swallowed as much in my youth if I'd been told that. OH MY GUM! is your plant-based, very much plastic-free and biodegradable alternative.  It's made with what chewing gum was originally made with: a natural biodegradable tree sap called chicle, and is sugar and aspartame-free; sweetened instead with tooth-friendly xylitol. Currently coming in two flavours; cinnamon and mint, and the most chic gum packaging around.

Around 1/3 of all of the food produced for human consumption is wasted. An easy way to help reduce the amount of food wasted is by storing your food better. Onya has a range of food storage products that keep food fresher and help you avoid single-use plastic bags by taking them to the shop with you.  Working towards a circular economy Onya use recycled materials to make their bags, and they also offer a take-back scheme in partnership with TerraCycle to reuse, up-cycle or recycle at the end of their life.  Find a local retailer on the Onya site.

If like us, you can't fully commit to a digital diary then you might want to consider a stationary switch to use recycled and FSC certified materials. VENT for Change is a Bristol based stationery company that uses recycled materials we'd never even considered possible for their notebooks with covers made from materials like recycled cotton, wool, leather, and even coffee beans, kiwis, and cherries. They also make pens from recycled CD cases and single use plastic bottles. Shop VENT on &Keep a UK based retailer of sustainable lifestyle products.

Dedicate some of your daily reading time to focus more on the world around you and it will undoubtedly inspire more lifestyle changes. Atmos magazine is an exploration of climate and culture, a biannual magazine curated by a growing ecosystem of adventurers, creatives, and journalists - including Jamie Hawkesworth, Yoko Ono, Ryan McGinley, and more - dedicated to pioneering progress around the world. Each volume places a different element of our relationship to the Earth under a microscope, from the latest developments in neo-natural resources to collapsing ecosystems to the nature of being human.

Content has the power to bring about real change, and that's exactly what WaterBear Network is hoping to tap into. According to Global Web Index, the 'Attenborough Effect' led to a 53% reduction in single-use plastic usage in 1 year, after viewers watched the iconic environmentalist cover the problem of plastic waste in Blue Planet II.  Waterbear is a free-to-use, environmentally-focused, streaming platform that wants to empower viewers to turn intention into action. They have documentaries across a broad spectrum from nature to fashion and society, with a community of NGO partners you can take action to support directly in the app. Less Netflix & Chill, more WaterBear & Act each day will make a big difference.

You can help to set the agenda for your elected representative and government. If you tell them that you want them to protect people based on proven science and good policies for the planet, they’ll listen. Tell them the same thing a week later and get a few friends to say the same. And if they don’t listen to you? Vote for someone else who will take you seriously. Add your name to petitions like this one organised by Earth Day Calling on Governments to Commit to Urgent Action on Climate and Environmental Literacy at the Conference of the Parties (COP 27).