To ask what sacrifices you make for the environment

[HarryElephante]

So, do you make any? And I mean actual sacrifices. Not just putting recycling outside your front door or re-using old shopping bags.

And for the sake of this question, I will assume you agree we are harming the planet. If you don't agree that is for another thread!

I make annoyingly few sacrifices but am going to start.

Sacrifices? None.

I’d like the option to commit suicide when I’m older. It’s perhaps not a popular view but I think a voluntary cull (rather than Thanos style destruction) would help the environment.

Now that I could go with. Not for environmental reasons but because my life really sucks with no real chance for improvement and I'm going to be even more sick of it if I live another 20 years or so.

What's wrong with pets? FGS. We have a cat. We love cats and also we were overrun with mice.

We don't have a car, I haven't flown since about 2003, we recycle & buy second hand stuff if possible, including furniture. I don't eat much meat, I don't eat soy, or palm oil unless it says it's sustainable. We always choose food that has been locally produced over something grown further away. I grow some food in pots in our back yard, & am starting composting as we don't have a green waste collection. I mend clothes if possible rather than just chucking them, & we don't do fast fashion. We don't use disposable wipes or dish sponges, I made some cloths for washing up, general cleaning & mopping up small spills etc, out of cheap crochet cotton - they are incredibly sturdy! We don't throw food away just because it's out of date... some people would get the heeby jeebies about it but we mostly just cut off any bad bits & use the rest, often for soup etc, it's fine for all fruit & veg. Smell test for meat, fish & dairy. (None of us have ever had food poisoning.) In winter we just put on more jumpers, blankets on the bed & over the legs on the sofa etc, before we increase the heating, I often wear a hat indoors during the day as it seems silly heating the house just for me. Insulated hot drinks cups are used all winter too, we know summer is coming when we can switch to regular mugs.

Ha, totally forgot, reusable sanpro, 1 child only. No pets either. I use bar soap & shampoo, & flannels. It's strange the things that you forget because they're just a normal part of your life. Also, that almost none of it feels like a sacrifice.

I don’t think I make many.

We rarely fly, try to walk instead of drive as much as possible and definitely don’t use the car for short journeys, don’t eat meat at all and limit dairy, use reusable water bottles/coffee cups/Tupperware, use reusable nappies and wipes for baby DS, use plastic free dishwasher/washing tablets, try to air-dry as much as possible, recycle literally everything going and always try to give clothes to charity shop if they’re in a decent condition.

One of the worst things for the planet is buying cheap clothes that won’t last at all like primark as a big example so I avoid that too.

Pets consume resources, especially the ones that eat all or mainly meat. Some much more so than others. I wouldn't use the term 'wrong' per se, they just have an environmental impact, as do most things we have and decisions we make. Some people have working pets too, of course. Maybe if we had constant mice I might make a different decision about cats?

@zoomies1 almond milk actually has less environmental impact than dairy. Oat or hemp have the best though.

Bubble bars, shampoo bars, moon cup. Re-usable coffee cup (bamboo) and water bottle. Increasing frequency of meat-free and dairy-free meals. I don't use carrier bags generally. 90% of my clothes and my two DC clothes are bought second hand. Have ruled out 3rd child. Am generally conscious about single use plastic and make purchasing decisions with this in mind when there is an easy alternative. Think that's about it...

Nothing

Cutting right down on palm oil products

Eat very little meat

Eating less food in general

Heating on less than 17°C

Wash at 30°C and hang outside

Not getting a new phone at upgrade when the one I have works perfectly well

Got rid of big, powerful diesel car (it was old & knackered) and swapped for a v small 1l petrol car (I don't think electric cars are actually better for the environment)

Growing some of our own food (carrots, plums, rhubarb, lettuce, cayenne, sweetcorn)

I've only ever been on an aeroplane 4 times in my life and don't plan on going on another any time soon (any holiday has been in the UK - mainly due to having no money)

Agree, not sacrifices.

I read somewhere that a large dog in the west has the same environmental impact as a Vietnamese person.

Obviously not all let’s have the same impact.

I read somewhere that a large dog in the west has the same environmental impact as a Vietnamese person

This has properly made me laugh

Bubble bars, shampoo bars, moon cup. Re-usable coffee cup (bamboo) and water bottle. Bamboo toothbrushes. Increasing frequency of meat-free and dairy-free meals. I don't use carrier bags generally. 90% of my clothes and my two DC clothes are bought second hand. Most toys are second hand too. Donate unwanted stuff to charity shops or sell online or at car boot sales. Have ruled out 3rd child. Am generally conscious about single use plastic and make purchasing decisions with this in mind when there is an easy alternative. Think that's about it...

None of these are sacrifices, more borne out of opportunity and money-saving. The mend-and-make-do-attitude my grandparents had is the same attitude I've naturally taken on and I am glad my husband is the same.

So, where possible, my children have/ had second-hand clothes when younger, given to us by family and friends and likewise, we have given all our baby and toddler clothes, toys and prams to friends if they were still in a good state. For consecutive children, almost no new toys have been bought by ourselves and very few books - all passed down from older to younger children within the family. Most toys are wooden, because they are sturdier than cheap plastic. We make use of our local library.

We both don't buy many clothes, tend to go for well-made clothes, which last many years rather than fast fashion and I use stained/ un-mendable clothes to sew patchwork blankets/ coverings, toys or bags.

Broken items get repaired or re-purposed in crafts. Christmas cards and decorations get re-used or made into new ones, to give away again.

We buy second-hand furniture because we are too tight to spend £400+ on a new wooden cabinet when we can have a similar-quality one for £100 from a charity shop, but it helps we like old-fashioned styles.

I cook from scratch almost daily, buy seasonally and locally where possible - again, all of which is cheaper than imported, out-of-season and ready-made food. We also waste very little food, because we buy just enough to last us a week and I freeze leftovers regularly for lunches or days I cannot be bothered to cook.

I don't shop online much and prefer to walk where possible.

We use very little technology, so our energy costs are way below average compared to other families our size. Don't see the point and prefer to use our brains/ have a life away from screens. Our hobbies are naturally environmentally friendly as we walk, camp and are DIYers/ crafters.

I wash four full loads a week and dry washing outside using free sun and wind energy on a washing line, even when temperatures are low.

We also have bee-friendly plants, bird feeders and bug hotels, as well as a homemade compost heap.

Lots of little things, which all have an impact and mean that we, as a whole, are actually quite low-impact for an average British family.

I went vegetarian for the environment and for ethical reasons and I've cut down on dairy too.

I don't use single-use cups or cutlery at work; I bring my own in.

I also don't drive and I don't fly much - but those are more monetary considerations tbh.

I won't consider having more than 1/2 kids, but again there are more reasons for that although the environmental impact is part of it.

I am going to do more.
Apart from the reusable bags/coffee cups which I do already.
Def eat less meat - don’t eat much anyway but barely eat red meat. Only DS really likes it.
Dd v environmentally conscious and she generally buys vintage or charity shop clothes.
I never throw clothes away unless undies. Always pass on or charity shop them.
Try and buy fruit/veg without plastic. Not always easy if you do a lot of online shopping.
Walk where possible
I did use cloth nappies for first DC and gave them away once I’d finished with them.

I refill shampoo/conditioner/ dish soap.
Use soap rather than shower gel.
Stopped using fabric conditioner.
Trying to eat less meat/ dairy.

I tend to use natural cleaners anyway.

I'm trying to do more.

Try to avoid palm
Oil too

My environmental upkeep has increased massively since I had kids - notably we have a car now, as Britain's notoriously expensive and shit public transport really is too much for transporting more than one around. Before, all travelling was curtailed. Never went flying to exotic destinations, and we avoid cheap flying in favour of trains. We still buy a lot of local and organic food to support biodiversity at the local 'bioshops' and more environmentally friendly cleaning products for house and selves, which cost more. Plus a mooncup, which doesn't over time. We minimise uses of machines such as dryers, stuff that uses power to speed up what happens naturally: and we take environmental costs into account when buying household goods, including cars. We don't bother with unnecessary clothes and cosmetics, which regularly gets me comments as a woman because Britain can't see beyond such crap. We've paid extra for renewable electricity suppliers for years, all we can do as private tenants. We are veggie too: although there are complications in a country that predominantly suits animal farming everyone can and should cut down on meat.

We do what we can without having many resources: as a pp said, it's harder when you don't have much. Sometimes environmental and economic frugality coincides. It annoys me that Britain's rich middle classes, who really do have resources and options, have rarely done much beyond consider their own convenience and precious 'lifestyle', on the whole. Wealth and high status is associated with high consumption, which needs to change. Every little bit helps.

I don’t fly and I do try to buy second hand where I can.

I have no option but to drive for work and I do eat meat a couple times a week but I try to buy local meat

I recycle and also food waste

I did have a water butt but it wasn’t working very well and had gone all stagnant I need to work out a better plan

I could do way more

The only thing that really feels like a sacrifice is restricting flying, I managed 10 years without and then restricted to one short haul every two or three years, however I'm not planning to fly again in the foreseeable future. I have very mixed emotions when I hear about friends holidays. Other people often ready badly if they hear about my choices and one of my adult children is rebelling at the moment.
Other restrictions appeal to thrift or ingenuity and are not so challenging.

Oh I also have solar panels

You're quite well off if you can afford trains. They cost a fuckload here.