Live Green w/o Spending Green

Crack open that window and breathe in that fresh air. Too hot? Draw the curtains. Too cold? Wear your partner’s favorite hoodie. There’s a lot of ways to keep ourselves in a comfortable temperature that does not involve consuming copious amounts of energy. Thinking of air-conditioning as a nice-to-have instead of a must-have will not only help you live greener but also save you money in energy bills. In fact, this is just the tip of the quickly dissolving iceberg (#climate change pun). Switch off lights when you leave a room, unplug devices once you’re done using them, take shorter showers, hand-wash clothes when possible, and keep finding more and more ways in which you can reduce your energy footprint. Every small step you take to live green is going to count towards making a big impact.

A lot of things we buy actually contribute negatively to the environment: Sanitary napkins and tampons amount to 3.2M kgs of waste annually at a global level and those plastic bags and bottles we use for convenience amount to 8 million metric tonnes of waste in the ocean. Shocking, right? Well, there’s a lot we can do to reduce this number. For starters, use a re-washable cloth instead of cotton swabs, switch out paper towels for sponges or rags, bring your own bags instead of using plastic bags, try menstrual cups instead of sanitary napkins or tampons or start using home-made cleaners instead of industrial ones. There are a million small things you can do to start living a green life. Best part? Most of them don’t leave your wallet lighter.

Local shops have a much shorter and simpler supply chain than your larger brands. When it comes to food, local produce is relatively more organic, hormone-free, and pesticide-free. All this makes shopping local an eco-friendly and sustainable choice. Moreover, local brands put a lot of thought and care into offering quality produce and service. This ensures that when you buy local you’re making a choice that is great for the environment, society, and economy.

For a lot of us living green equals spending green. The notion around this lifestyle is that it requires higher purchasing power and extreme commitment. While living green can seem daunting it is actually super simple if you break it down into smaller steps. If we take one step towards a greener life we’re still doing better than before. So it doesn’t matter if you start late or start small as long as you start. Need more perspective? Check out what some trailblazers in the green space have to say about living green at the Pitch It Green conference.