To be bothered by how much we consume as a society...

[Cakelesswonder]

Don't get me wrong I love a retail therapy session but today just felt utterly gluttonous in the amount of ads for Black Friday, the 'deals, I couldn't move for emails offering me 20% off lots of things I don't need. I'm not suggesting everyone knits their own yogurt and lives like Mormons but I really feel we don't have the resources on Earth to keep consuming, throwing and consuming like we do. Everything is disposable, straws, clothes, we buy water in bottles then throw them away polluting the oceans and planet for ourselves and future generations. I have no idea what the overall solution is but it really got to me today .

I have recently been reading about Giving What You Can - people making a public pledge to give a certain percentage of their income to charities

There is already a large-scale system in place for this sort of thing.

Taxes.

I was going to ask about a sodastream, as I like sparkling water but worry about the plastic bottles. What are the environmental consequences of the cartridges (or whatever you use) for a sodastream?

Expanding this thread slightly, what do people think about the constant drive for economic growth and increased productivity?

We can not have constant economic growth, it is simply not possible. We have to find some other way. Here is a great blog post by a phycisist that looks at continuing growth and the energy required to support this from a thermodynamic angle Galactic-scale Energy

Not sure if this is the same thing but over the past 10 years many of my friends have lost elderly parents and relations. They all say the same "what can we do with all the furniture as no young people want brown furniture".
This brown furniture varies from well made and serviceable to beautiful and it seems sad that no one wants it. Even local auctioneers turn much of it away.

Glitterkitten, no not a specialist, just a local good one!

He restitched the sheepskin by hand, then put in new sheepskin inner soles. They're literally like new! I"m really happy with them and it cost all of £14.00!!

I was going to ask about a sodastream, as I like sparkling water but worry about the plastic bottles. What are the environmental consequences of the cartridges (or whatever you use) for a sodastream?

The cartridges are re-useable, I exchange mine at Argos. I'm not sure of the entire footprint, but it's a helluva lot better than anything other than tap water.

They're very sturdy as you might imagine, I'm sure they are re-used hundreds (thousands?) of times.

Dapple "They all say the same "what can we do with all the furniture as no young people want brown furniture".

I had a snobby ex friend comment on our old furniture once - "Is that vintage or antique or something?" !!

Why can't we focus on well being for all and recognise that happiness isn't found in accumulating stuff? Exactly

Bottled water is really the one thing that SURELY we can all just STOP!!! Fluoridation is a problem in my area. Now we could have an argument about whether fluoride is harmful or not but the fact is, I don't want to have mass medication. If fluoride is good for our teeth (BS), we don't need to ingest it. That's why I drink bottled water.
Glass bottles, organic land.

I find it so depressing at the amount of sheer tat people buy at Christmas...Just buying stuff for the sake of it. DH and I will just buy each other a couple of gifts. I don't want or need any 'smellies' that will sit in my bathroom cupboard for months. Or all of that tat that places like BHS used to sell around Christmas time.

The first toothbrush you ever used is still alive in a landfill and will be there for 100's of years!!

Engaging the brain is massive step. It's all about creating new habits.

Put things back if they are over packaged. THINK!!

Buy refillable water bottles and reuse them. Some tube/bus stations in London now have water filling stations (free) - write to local shops/shopping centers and ask for these. use them.

Take reusable bags to supermarket - weigh your fruit and veg without bags and then put them directly into the bag. Stick the price stickers on the outside, or directly onto stalk of brocc or potato.

Reduce what you buy - my Mum has just moved and was talking about all the linen she had to orgaise. Mum I said, it's just you. All you need are the sheets on your bed and a change of sheets. All you need are one or 2 sets of towels. perhaps a set for guests. We don't need cupboards full of linen.

If you want to buy something write it down. If you still want/need it in 10/20/30 days, then buy it.

Start up community sharing facilities for gardening equipment, ice cream makers & whatevers. We don't all need hedge clippers - we might just need to use a set once a month.

Recycling is good. Not needing to recycle as you didn't buy it in the first place is better.

Stop using fucking coffee pods, straws, etc

at Christmas avoid buying anything sold as a "gift".

Don't give for the sake of it.

Watch the Story of Stuff and share it:

Finally, Can I echo the PP who said why not buy French/Spanish wine rather than Australian/Chilean transported halfway round the planet. This transportation gives wine a large carbon footprint that could decrease if we drank wine made closer to home

Just to say it's not transported in bottles, it comes in enormous plastic bags and is bottled when it gets here. So it's not as bad as you think. Problem is I don't really like Spanish wine, but I do like Australian/Chilean/New Zealand wine. I do like Italian, German and English wines though.

I am guilty of the flying as I mentioned above. The only thing is that i don't do long-distance flights and I usually fly with Flybe on their turboprops which I think fly at a lower altitude and therefore create less damage to the atmosphere.

The Germans are very eco-friendly but they buy SO much bottled water. I had no idea why, their tap water is perfectly safe to drink. The bottles are deposits, but even so you have all the transport.

I try to buy in-season produce. It usually tastes horrible when it's out of season and brought in from somewhere like Morocco anyway. Only really eat strawberries while Wimbledon is on, most of the rest of the time they're forced and yucky.

PS I really don't get the coffee pod thing. What's wrong with a normal filter coffee? The filter papers are paper and go in the compost. Why would you want pods? They taste worse, too.

Take reusable bags to supermarket - weigh your fruit and veg without bags and then put them directly into the bag. Stick the price stickers on the outside, or directly onto stalk of brocc or potato.

I've been doing this. The loose veg is weighed at the till in most supermarkets now anyway so you don't need a sticker at all. I get a vegbox so don't buy much extra veg anyway, but apples, baking potatoes, satsumas, etc, none of them need to go in a bag before they go in your trolley.

The Germans are very eco-friendly but they buy SO much bottled water. I had no idea why, their tap water is perfectly safe to drink.

This might be a relic of the time when there were high levels of Atrazine in the drinking water, especially in areas where lots of maize is grown. It's been banned in the EU for well over 10 years now but the idea that tap water isn't safe might be hard to shift.

I had a German friend who used to buy bottled water in the UK as she said she didn't like the taste of tap water. As well as the expense it was difficult for her to lug back from the supermarket (no car and she didn't do internet shopping).

sorry to ask again but in case others see it and can help - is it better to buy those Easi Yo yogurt kits? I can only get yogurt in plastic pots here.

I'm not sure if there's any nutritional value in those kits either. I'm sure other kits are available but not sure how it all works?

I've had my espresso maker for over 15 years.

Had to buy new handles, but it makes perfect coffee and the grounds go on the compost.

I honestly don't get the pod thing, some people even use it for tea. Why?

The biggest thing would be to lobby the food industry to use less packaging.

We as consumers can just stop buying packaged/over packaged stuff.

Put back the mangoes or tomatoes in the tray wrapped in plastic and buy loose mango/tomatoes.

Don't buy citrus in nets - buy it loose.
Keep a box/bag in your car and make up your own "veggie box" in the supermarket/store so no need for plastic bags.

Write by all means, but act too.

I'd like to see all toilet paper wrapped in paper (preferable unbleached) rather than plastic. That's got to be a simple change and would affect every single household?

And while we are on the subject why is all our loo roll bleached? In Germany recycled unbleached loo roll is the norm. In UK you have to pay lots more for unbleached loo roll even if you can find it.

There is this company called SPOLSH I discovered via MN. They sell concentrated cleaning products you add water too at home in reusable strong plastic bottle - good idea but they still have a way to go with their products/execution.

I loved Methods super concentrated laundry liquid - amazing stuff. Five star reviews everywhere. They have now stopped making it and have started selling over scented dyed laundry liquid that is no where near as concentrated. WHY METHOD WHY???

Nyx1 yoghurt is actually super easy to make and you don't need an expensive kit flogged to you.

yogurtpedaler.com/about/

So glad this thread exists.....

I felt literally sick watching an advert fro phones where the key gimmick was a new phone every year.

I seems people haven't quite cottoned on to the idea that their children will thank them more if the world is still habitable in 50 years time, than if they have a room full of presents now.

Easi Yo yogurt kits
I use Easy Yo kits, the advantage for me is that I can have the sachets at home and make them when I want to use them and that they are definitely full of alive and kicking microbes once fermentation starts.
The disadvantage is that making milk powder takes a lot of energy, so the energy balance is probably not great.

A recommendation for people looking to cut down on tat they buy a buy and read a beginner-friendly book on advertising.

It will show you all the techniques that advertisers use to convince you that life isn't worth living unless you have the latest I-phone etc.

Once you know them, it's fun watching adverts and trying to spot those techniques, and it will make you annoyed that you ever fell for them,

It has really helped me become a saver.

Yogurt is easy, but milk comes in plastic packaging, you you're not really cutting down on plastic use.

Do any dairies that deliver still use reusable glass milkbottles? because that would be an easy win, plus no more having to bring milk from the shops.