(I’d love to dedicate a whole blog to sustainable fashion so if you are interested or have anything you would like me to include please DM me on my socials or leave a comment here!!)

‘Being Sustainable’ is not all about reducing the use of so much electricity, reducing the amount of meat you eat, reducing the amount of water you use in the shower etc etc. I think it is more about ‘increasing’ the way you do other things.

Eating Sustainably

For example to start us off – the ‘meat issue’. There are many people around who keep telling us to ‘eat less meat.’ Now I am no vegan or vegetarian. I do not think that simply cutting out or eating less meat is the answer here!

Many people want to reduce their carbon footprint and cutting down on meat and dairy products has proven to do this. But this is not the the option for some people and for others (like me) just not a choice I want to choose! 

How about we all start being more conscious when shopping for our meat and diary products? 

It is always good to remember that supermarkets are not the only place you can buy your meat. It is wisest not to buy the cheapest option in the supermarket – the products have most likely been mass produced and then shipped or driven from who knows where! 

What you could do if you like your meat is take the time to find out about local butchers. We have plenty of butchers to choose from near us and we also have many local farmers who sell and trade their produce too!

My family tried to start being more environmentally friendly back at the beginning of 2018.

Every Tuesday and Friday we get pints of milk delivered in glass bottles by our milkman. I’d love to know how much plastic waste we have reduced by doing this. 

It is also a good idea to try to buy free-range eggs which are not only better for you but better for the environment too! Maybe try look out for local farms or families selling eggs! You can often see people who own chickens selling eggs in driveways! A farm down the road from us sells eggs, carrots and potatoes too!

If you are a fish fan try find out if you have a fish man who comes into your neighbour-hood every week! In most cases the fish will be as fresh and local as possible. 

Buying fresh produce is also a great way to eat more sustainably. As much as you may want to snack on strawberries in the winter, it is much better for you to eat them in the season. Your food will taste better and it won’t have been treated with loads of ripening agents. Your carbon footprint will be reduced as there is no reliance on internationally shipped produce. This means you will also be helping local businesses and UK farmers.

Whilst buying free-range eggs and ethically sourced produce can be more expensive, eating these products less often reduces your overall spending. My family has tried to have at least one vegetarian meal a week and we are always using left overs in meals too!! 

Dressing Sustainably

Now eating well isn’t the only way to be sustainable. It is important to remember that fast fashion is the second largest consumer of the world’s water supply, produces 10% of total global carbon emissions and 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year.

So how can we dress sustainably?

Easy answer. Buy British or at least buy local!! This is daunting as there is the thought that you won’t be able to wear the brands you may be used. Plus you are limiting your choices in terms of trends. Sorry to have to break it to you but you most likely will have to spend a little more too. Trust me it is all worth it in the long run. 

How can you begin? Well first of all do some research! Social media is brilliant for investigating businesses. There are also so many apps too for selling clothes, accessories, shoes and more. I have found lots of fashion flip stores online too.

During lockdown there was a period of time where lots of people were ‘up cycling’ the clothes they no longer wear into something they would wear. Some quick thinkers turned it into a business! So yes – take some time, look into these businesses, research is key! You may also appreciate the items more because you know you put effort into finding the store!

You have to change your attitude!!! In 3 months will you really want to be wearing the tiny, tight fitting, floral vest top you are about to click ‘buy’ on were the postage costs more than the item? 

Emma Watson previously said: “Vintage clothing has a huge role to play in making fashion more sustainable and reducing a global footprint that includes the 132m metric tonnes of coal used yearly through the production of new fibres, dyeing and bleaching of garments and the 6-9 trillion litres of water used by the industry.”

Opt to donating your unwanted clothes to charity or good causes or even sell them to earn a little extra cash! Look after you clothes and maybe even learn how to repair clothing yourself instead of throwing out that favourite t-shirt with a tiny rip on the armpit. Go for quality over quantity (like the English teachers alway say). 

There are so many different ways to shop sustainably and it may not sound it but it is important! Just take more time to think before you buy. If I am 14 and doing all of this then why can’t you all do it too? 

I thought I’d write this to just show you some insight into one of my New Years resolutions. There are so many different ways to be sustainable but unfortunately for me at the age I am I can only act on a few. 

I hope I have given you some new ideas or at least made you think a little bit before you next go shopping on your favourite fast fashion website. Or before you are next in the supermarket staring at the plastic wrapped processed meat in the ‘frozen foods’ aisle. 🙂 

See you soon!!

Love Martha B x