To think you can't be environmentally friendly on a low income?

[Mummamama]

How do you be green on a low income? I try and find ways to reduce my impact but the green options are expensive! Particularly lately i've been looking at all the plastic waste of bottles of shampoo/shower gel but when i've looked for alternatives shampoo bars are really expensive considering I spend 90p on a bottle of shampoo!

On the contrary OP. Its rich people who need to change their behaviour, people who take multiple plane journeys, big cars, overheated huge houses, loads of clothes and gadgets and so on. Those of us who live modestly don't have such a huge carbon footprint. Dont worry too much about your shampoo.

Some of the best ways to go green are also the best to save money.
bike or walk rather than car
buying less in general
buying second hand
fixing rather than buying new
going vegetarian
etc

Definitely the rich who need to change. Drives me mad people who could afford to shop better choosing fast fashion and then flying all over the place.

You’re doing the best you can but you shouldn’t be going short because of it.

People should change what they can reasonably afford to change.

www.friendlysoap.co.uk/shampoo/

I’ve been getting this shampoo bar for years and it’s one of the cheapest I’ve found about. I agree spending over £5 on one is a bit much.. but they do last a lot longer than bottled shampoo.

Also find you’re nearest zero waste shop and check it out. Not everything is cheaper but figure out what is and where you can actually save money and plastics.. herbs for example will always be cheaper but some stuff isn’t worth it

YABU with your example. Okay so you can’t afford the £5 shampoo bar but do you walk and cycle? Compost? Use food waste apps like Olio and Too Good To Go?

Shampoo bars last a lot longer than you think.

You can buy bars of soap for showering and hand washing and they are always cheaper, especially if you get supermarket own brand.

Washing powder is cheaper than liquid or pods that come in plastic packaging.

You can really cut down on disposables for cleaning - washing up liquid and hot water with boosters like salt or bicarb or soda crystals will clean almost everything. Cut up old shirts for dusters, old t-shirts for cleaning cloths. You don't need wipes or even paper towel, sponges or dishcloths if you put your mind to it.

Move you money into a bank that doesn't invest in fossil fuels.
Change energy suppliers who only invest in renewable energy.

I can almost guarantee that your carbon footprint is already smaller than a rich person's. Aside from that, it's companies that produce the vast amount of greenhouse gases and that's the real issue. Blaming individuals is just a distraction. It's good to not be wasteful but don't beat yourself up over something that is beyond your control. Voting and campaigning will make a much bigger difference than whether you throw away an extra shampoo bottle or not.

But, yes, I agree. The really wealthy are of course fucking up the planet. But still hopefully everyone else can do their bit anyway.

Changing your diet to eat less meat would be a money saver as well as an environmentally friendly one.

People on low incomes tend not to fly lots which helps! If you aren’t going on long haul holidays cut yourself some slack on the smaller stuff.

Giving up meat is the most significant difference you can make, and will generally save money.

Things like shampoo bars are cheaper in the long run because they last a lot longer but the upfront cost can be prohibitive. This is often a trap that catches poorer people - they don’t have the funds to make a large upfront payment which would save money in the long term.

I agree with pp's. If you are on a low income you need to lose the guilt and prioritise based on your situation.
On a bigger scale, it's the responsibility of richer nations to help poorer ones on tackling this.

If you want to feel like you are playing a part, do things that don't cost you any more than you would normally spend and don't eat into your time - recycling, planning meals/using leftovers to cut your food waste, using pulses and lentils to bulk out any meat dishes, buy loose fruit and veg if it's cheaper than packaged, etc - but don't feel bad about buying shampoo in a plastic bottle or having to use the car if there's no feasible alternative. Your mental load will already be high enough, you don't need to add saving the planet to it.

The best swap we did was shower gel to bar soap, we used to go through so much shower gel it was ridiculous. I still buy shampoo though because I don't get on well with the bars and can’t afford to buy loads to try until I do find one that works for me.
I do what I can but it’s a drop on the ocean compared to some.

My children are still little and I have noticed that it is hard to be 'fashionably' environmentally friendly on a budget. I'm thinking scandi organic cotton clothes, the latest cloth nappy prints, fancy cloth pads, Kleen kanteens for the whole family, eye wateringly expensive wooden toys etc etc.
Some changes are easier to make on a budget, most of my DS's clothes were my DN's first I use public transport or walk and I holiday in the UK if at all.

Thanks everyone. I should have added we already walk whenever possible, and we live in a village so post office and a couple shops nearby which makes that doable for certain things, however my job is 40 mins away by car so unfortunately I cannot cycle it. We drastically reduced meat a few years ago and enjoy veggie options which does also save alot of money so win win there! Our vegetable waste is fed to our chickens.
Zero waste shop is a good idea but I've just checked there isn't one local. Hopefully in the future more shops will offer this and brands will stop using so much plastic.

Oh and I am already a lover of second hand clothes. DD is 14 months and 90% of her clothes and lots of toys too are preloved, saves us a fortune. I started buying my own clothes second hand off ebay just before DD was born and I'll never go back now!

@CatNamedEaster

I agree with pp's. If you are on a low income you need to lose the guilt and prioritise based on your situation. On a bigger scale, it's the responsibility of richer nations to help poorer ones on tackling this.

If you want to feel like you are playing a part, do things that don't cost you any more than you would normally spend and don't eat into your time - recycling, planning meals/using leftovers to cut your food waste, using pulses and lentils to bulk out any meat dishes, buy loose fruit and veg if it's cheaper than packaged, etc - but don't feel bad about buying shampoo in a plastic bottle or having to use the car if there's no feasible alternative. Your mental load will already be high enough, you don't need to add saving the planet to it.

Thank you. I think I do need to learn to let go of what I can't control

Making ethical choices in what you buy new is - generally - not for those on a limited budget/low income e.g. eco toiletries, organic food, organic and sustainable clothing and shoes. But as others have said, there will be lifestyle factors that limit your carbon footprint in any case.

I am on a higher than average salary and recognise that I have a responsibility to make more ethical choices in how I spend my money precisely because not everyone has that choice.

We use cloth nappies. They are white. I don’t understand the craze at all with ‘fashionable’ new nappy prints, as they just encourage buying more which defies the whole point. Ds nappies are worn under clothing, so no one sees them anyway

Bars of soap rather than hand liquid soap or shower gel are far cheaper. They last longer too. We use dove which isn’t a super eco friendly soap, but just bog standard bar in cardboard box for about 50p. Can be used as shampoo on occasion ( I do when travelling to save taking extras products)

op..you already do loads!

It sounds like you are already really doing a lot.

I struggle watching people not bother at all - like our neighbours who all drive huge 4x4s and constantly seem to be getting new kitchens etc.

It helps me stick to my principles just to hear from other people who are trying.

90p for a shampoo bottle that lasts how long?

my shampoo bar in Sainsbury was £3 and last 3 months

I started using bum loo roll thats £36 per 48 rolls, but they are double the size of the cheap rolls and last twice as long. we used to get through 3/4 bog rolls from supermarket per week but now 1/2 per week

might be false economy buying cheap

Op I agree, even in terms of having the time to give brain space to it. We certainly try and could do more but I notice far more well off friends who have more time and money are able to think about it more and so more

I agree with PP about not worrying about the small stuff. Changing your bank to one that doesn't invest in fossil fuels or deforestation (like the Co-op) will make a lot more difference than using a shampoo bar.

Plastic free seems to have become the frontman for being environmentally friendly. I'm a sucker for it, recently I spent money on 'non paper towels', they are just bits of bloody fabric, could've made them myself! There are a lot of pointless 'green' products out there that we could just make at home. We should 100% be reducing our plastic, but often that means spending loads more money and its easy to slip up when you need to buy an emergency bottle of conditioner and then feel guilty for being an eco failure.

Eating less or no meat, not flying, walking rather than driving and changing your bank are cheap but powerful ways to do your bit.