13 sustainable living tips for 2023 from the people of Pod Point
Posted by David: Feb 02, 2023 • 5 min read
We polled Pod Pointers to find out their favourite methods to be sustainable in their everyday lives in 2023.
It should come as no surprise that everyone at Pod Point loves electric vehicles. After all, they form a key component in our mission to stop travel from damaging the earth and moving past the transport industry’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Every Pod Pointer is united in this common purpose; it guides literally everything we do in our working day to make transport more sustainable. But what about outside work? How do we as individuals help to combat climate change and protect our planet?
To find out, we asked Pod Pointers to share their top tips for sustainable living in 2023. Here’s what they had to say.
Quick links:
Everyday cleaning
We received a lot of responses extolling the virtues of all the companies providing plastic and detergent-free products to make everyday cleaning chores more sustainable:
smol
smol’s mission is a simple one with a big impact. To clean up our planet, they’ve created planet-friendly cleaning products such as their plastic-free laundry capsules which they deliver through your letterbox.
Bide
Bide, who recently appeared on Dragons’ Den, is another company that makes eco-friendly products for cleaning. Their products can be used throughout the home, including the toilet, bathroom, and kitchen, and only use vegan ingredients and natural oils.
Naked Sprout
No one likes lugging big packs of toilet rolls around during their regular shop. Instead, why not try Naked Sprout’s unbleached bamboo toilet rolls, which one Pod Pointer described simply as the “best loo rolls!”.
Buy local
To cut down waste, many Pod Pointers buy local, refilling lots of their cleaning and hygiene products from local stores. One Pod Pointer said “I buy 5l refill containers for shampoo, hand wash, and cleaning products”.
Food and drink
Many of our team have switched to a vegan diet, which is becoming increasingly popular across the country. But besides taking part in Veganuary, there were some other nifty eco-friendly food and drink tips from Pod Pointers:
Milk refills
Instead of buying a plastic milk bottle every week, one Pod Pointer takes a trip to their local coffee shop to use their milk refill machine, which they claim has massively saved on their plastic consumption.
Oddbox
According to Oddbox, some 40% of all food grown goes to waste because it’s either too big, too wonky, or simply too much. Instead, they gather up all this 'unwanted' fruit and veg, pop it in a cardboard box, and post it to people to reduce waste. Best of all, they deliver overnight, so you don’t need to worry about missing a delivery!
Recycle coffee machine pods
Lots of us can’t function without coffee (present company included!), but many coffee machines use pods which typically can’t be recycled as the spent grinds are tricky to remove. Not so with Hotel Chocolat's Podcycler, which easily gets rid of the grinds from the pod so the aluminium can be recycled.
Make your own
One of our Pod Pointers has recently started making some of their regular purchases on their own such as yoghurt, ginger beer, and even kombucha, which they claim is “really easy and fun to do once you get into a bit of a routine”.
Clothing
The fashion industry has come under massive scrutiny in recent years, and quite rightly! Clothing waste is a huge issue for the planet, but our Pod Pointers have identified a number of ways to get dressed sustainably:
Buy less
A pretty simple piece of advice is to buy fewer clothes of better quality. This way, they last longer!
Avoid certain brands
Some clothing brands have excellent sustainability credentials, but unfortunately this isn’t the same for a lot of the major companies. Even worse, many of them are shops you’ll regularly see on the high streets, making them harder to avoid. Fortunately, there are alternatives…
Buy second-hand
Although the used EV industry is still developing, second-hand fashion has made huge strides in recent years. A quick search online reveals dozens of brands doing amazing work to cut down on clothing waste and promote recycling.
Popular Pod Pointer picks include Vinted, thredUP or Thrift+ for everyday clothing and HURR for renting dresses for special occasions like weddings. You could also check out your local high street for some specialist thrift stores, and of course charity shops.
Honourable mentions
Here are a couple more great tips from our Pod Pointers:
Get the train instead of flying
If you’re travelling in Europe, ditch the plane for the Eurostar for an easy and quick way to hop between most European countries. Plus, you’ll get views you’d definitely miss out on in the air. The same goes for the UK’s rail network, making trips across the country a doddle. Something for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to consider.
Invest sustainably
A lot of firms on the stock markets have holdings in the oil, mining and tobacco industries, which is terrible for the planet. Instead, consider moving any ISAs or pensions you hold to funds that focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing.
And the best for last…
“I drive an electric car”. Thanks for that Mike!
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