A whopping 77% of us would like to live more sustainably, but not as many of us manage it. So what stops us? Life is busy, habits are hard to break, and it can be difficult to work out what is green and what’s not. Here’s our round up of the 10 top things you can do to green your life.

*Living the green dream at Daylesford organic cafe.*

One of the main questions that we get asked at Green Salon is what are the things that I should be concentrating on if I want to live more sustainably. So here’s our answer: our ten top tips for leading a greener life.

1. Switch to a renewable energy supplier

Around 20% of our carbon footprint come from the energy we use in our homes, so switching to a renewable energy provider is the quickest way to make a big dent in your carbon footprint. Look for renewable energy providers that source 100% of their energy from renewable sources. Check out Good Energy, which has recently become the only green energy supplier to be awarded the gold standard by USwitch.

2. Buy Better, Buy Less

One of the biggest fears we hear at Green Salon is that living a greener life is a more expensive one. It’s certainly true that greener brands that do not dump their costs on the planet, can be more pricey. But as sustainable brands are gaining traction they are going down in price.

Living a greener life also requires something of a mindset shift from “buy lots, buy cheap” to “buy better quality products and buy them less often”. Check out Buy Me Once, a company that sources the best quality, most durable products so you can save money by simply buying them once. Or, if you need to buy furniture, look for well-crafted antiques that are built to last.

*Naturalmat** sell beautifully crafted beds that will stand the test of time

3. Green your wardrobe

Talking of saving money, in the UK we throw away around £140 million pounds worth of wearable clothes each year, according to Clothes Aid. That’s a lot of money to throw away.

The cost of fast fashion is not just high for us, but also for the planet with the fashion industry producing as much as 10% of global carbon emissions. So what can we do about it? If you feel like going clothes shopping, start by visiting your wardrobe. You may be amazed what you find in the back of it.

Play around with mixing and matching items, and find a tailor to up-cycle clothes you love but don’t quite fit. Check out SOJO. If you need key pieces, search out online vintage stores like SOTT* and Vestiaire Collective* for designer items, Thrift+ and charity shops for cheaper options, or look at rental platforms like Cercle and Hurr Collective for special occasions.

4. Shop refillables

We all believed that if we recycled, we could deal with our plastic waste. Sadly, however, recent investigations have revealed that we only recycle around 12% of the plastic we produce in this country, leaving us as a nation second only to the USA in the amount of plastic waste we produce.

Luckily, however, there is another way. Sustainable brands selling pantry staples, cleaning products, beauty products and even make up, are now offering refillable options.

Abel and Cole* deliver dry food in refillable pots through its Club Zero. And Bower Collective* delivers your bathroom and cleaning products to your door in reusable plastic pouches that you then send back for them to refill for next time.

5. Eat fewer animal products

This does not mean you have to become a vegan if that’s not your thing. But if the UK is to hit Net Zero by 2050, the Committee on Climate Change says we all need to eat a bit less meat - a third less to be precise. So if you can swap out a couple of meat meals a week for rice, pasta or beans you’re on your way.

Eating meat and fish less often also enables us to eat higher quality organic pasture pasture-fed meat and dairy, and local and seasonal fish, which is a bit more pricey - but infinitely more delicious. Brands such as Knepp Meat, Pesky Fish & Piper’s Farm* pride themselves on being locally sourced and seasonal.

6. Be tech savvy

Technology has done a lot to make our lives more energy efficient, but it is also responsible for over 2% of global carbon emissions - just above the airline industry. Our computers and smart phones gobble up energy.

Here are three things we can do to counter this. The first is to sign up to Honest Mobile*, which double offsets all your phones’ emissions, the second is to buy a pre-loved phone from Reboxed or a Fairphone, a modular phone, with ethically-sourced components you can replace when needed. And, finally, resist the clarion call of the automatic upgrade and keep your phone for longer.

*The Lightyear 0, the world’s first solar-panelled car, is a bit pricey at £265,000 but is leading the way in the technology.*

7. Ditch the petrol car

According to Ipsos, the single biggest thing most of us can do to reduce our carbon footprint is to not have a car. Peddle power, and public transport, are a great way to stay fitter and get around cities. However, it’s not always a viable option to ditch the car, so moving to a hybrid or an EV is the next best thing and use it only when we really need to.

8. Swap trains for planes

Most of us love to travel, so how can we do that without getting on a plane? Taking the train around Europe is a great way to see more of the continent and avoid the hassle of airports. It also makes a big dent in your carbon footprint: taking the Eurostar to Paris instead of the plane emits 91% less carbon. Check out The Man in Seat 61 to find out how to get anywhere in the world by train.

*Why take half a day to fly somewhere in Europe when you can take overnight trains like* *Midnight Trains, due to launch in 2024?*

9. Shop genuinely sustainable brands

There is a good reason most of us are suspicious of “greenwashing”. A recent report found that 40% of companies are making misleading claims about their sustainability. These brands used vague claims and terms like “eco” and “natural products” without any evidence of their claims.

With up to a quarter of our carbon footprint coming from the things we buy in daily life, buying from genuinely green brands can make a huge difference to the impact we have.

If you’re looking for genuinely sustainable brands, check out our Green Salon Directory. We check brands against 30 sustainability criteria to work out which brands really are as sustainable as they say they are.

10. Vote with your wallet

$45 trillion. That’s the amount that we consumers spend on buying products globally each year. Yes, you read that right. We consumers pack a phenomenal amount of purchasing power in our wallets. Imagine if we all spent that money on sustainable and regenerative products and services.

Now that really would change the world.

For more information on sustainability coaching and wardrobe styling, or browse how our directory works to understand how we pre-vet brands

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We analyse each brand for their commitment to sustainability but we are not a certification body, nor are we auditors, and we have taken the approach that we trust brands to tell the truth about their sustainability policies, practices and plans.

Affiliate disclaimer: ❀ indicates affiliate links with brands to help fund the Directory so that we can research further sustainable brands. This does not affect the price you pay.

10 Top Tips for a Greener Life