What are your tips for being more environmentally friendly? Tell Unilever for a chance to win a £300 voucher!NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

Unilever have asked us to find out what Mumsnetters' tips are to make sure that your family is more environmentally friendly.

Here's what Unilever say, "At Unilever, we believe there has never been a better time to create a better future for our children; a world where everyone has enough food to eat and no child goes to bed hungry; where everybody can enjoy life today while protecting the planet for future generations.

"If we all work together to take small actions every day that make a real difference, we can build a world where everyone lives well and lives sustainably.

"We're committed to taking positive action on climate change within our business, but we also want to inspire our consumers to make those small changes that can make all the difference."

So, what positive habits have you got in to which help you be more environmentally friendly which you can pass on to other Mumsnetters? Maybe it's as simple as getting yourself and your DCs into the habit of switching off the lights as you leave the room? Are you a champion for only buying sustainably sourced products or managing down the food miles in your weekly shop? Perhaps you're now using reusable instead of disposable products, everything from batteries to razors to ink cartridges? Or maybe you've ditched the car in favour of cycling? Whatever your tips are, we'd love to hear them!

Everyone who posts their tips on the thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher!

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Hang dry
Get a clothesline or rack to dry your clothes by the air. Your wardrobe will maintain color and fit, and you'll save money.

Your favorite t-shirt will last longer too

I always recycle & compost. I do my washing on a one hour economy wash & always take showers rather than a bath & switch off the shower while applying shampoo, conditioner & body wash. I use my leftover washing up water for the garden, unless it's very greasy. Instead of using insecticides I spray my plants with pure soap flake water.

Recycling is key . I'm teaching my children to recycle including putting items in our blue bin and taking clothes to charity shops and bottles to bottle banks .

Recycle, donate and buy clothes from charity shops, hang washing outside, have leftovers for work, cycle to work, walk as much as possible (we always walk to school) and breastfeed your babies!!!

I use the slow cooker a lot for meals - uses much less electricity than the oven.

I try to line dry clothes and not use the tumble dryer, and fold them when I take them off the line (and when they go in the washing machine) to minimise the need for ironing.

I make double portions of meals, and freeze for later.

Add a jersey instead of turning the heating up.

I make an effort to buy secondhand toys, books and clothes where possible - from charity shops or car boot sales. We pass on all our old clothes, toys and books to friends or charity shops. If buying new, I opt for eco-friendly rather than plastic toys! If my son asks for something, he knows my first destination is Gumtree rather than Amazon, and he's actually starting to enjoy the fact that his toys or clothes have been enjoyed by other kids before him!

Cycle and walk, buy recycled products, only buy and use what you need, dispose of rubbish responsibly

We just do the basics, recycling everything, use our legs or bikes when the weather allows, we switch off appliances/lights that are not in use. Also bought a combi boiler so that we only heat the water that we use...

Recycle as much as possible, and turning appliances off at sockets.

Walk instead of using the car, recycle paper, pastic bags, do no throw food away unless is off, buy rechargeable batteries, don't let the water run while you're brushing your teeth or having a shower, pay bills online, stop bank stastements

I don't really have tips...just that almost everything is reusable or recyclable.

Also, if you are not using it turn it off...saving the planet and saving money :D

don't buy packaged veg and fruit, weight it up and buy it that way.. it's cheaper too

Most things can be recycled just stop before you put something in the bin and ask yourself can it be recycled, clothing,carboard, plastic, food and more can all be recycled.

Do bird and butterfly count surveys.

we keep lights off when not in use, doors closed to keep heating costs down and we recycle as much as we can . When my kids were in nappies I used reusable ones as well

we do recycle, reuse, we use only public transport and walk wherever possible, we buy part of our food organic, only use eco cleaning and washing products, only natural olive oil soap instead of any other soaps or shampoos, we buy a lot second hand, and sell or take to the charity shop our staff that we don't need anymore, I have been using mooncup instead of sanitary towels for about 9 years now, eco nappies for kids. I make compost for our garden etc etc, the list is long :)

Well, having just watched this story about tea plantations that Unilever buy from in India I think you could do well to start there.

Recycle everything you can.

Compost all food waste.

Turn lights off if not using them and also use energy saving light bulbs. Donate and buy from charity shops and also take carrier bags so they can reuse them.
Use your bath water and water from a dehumidifier to fill up the toilet cistern.

Use a quick cycle on the washing machine if you do not have a lot to wash.

Central heating is on low but on constant which costs less.

I'm sure there are many more things that we do but I can't think of any at the moment!!

I've taught kids from young age about waste and how we avoid it. We have our recycle and food waste clearly laid out for kids to consciously sort through. We recycle whatever we can, be it books/clothes/shoes.

PlentyOfPubeGardens - try Viburnum bodnantense for pinky flowers in November.

Thanks JeffrysMum for the new thread, I'll post on there shortly.

And thanks to you, BIWI, for the link. I was looking for that story earlier and couldn't find it.

MNHQ you should not be advertising firms with dubious practices such as Unilever. Please tell them that you won't deal with them until they clean up their act - and the polluted ground at Kodaikanal, and the disgusting practices in the tea plantations!

The rest of us should boycott Unilever products (not easy, I know), starting with Lipton's Tea.

Unilever also own PG Tips

It's surprising how much difference doing the basic stuff like always switching off lights, putting on a jumper instead of putting the heating on, recycling clothes and turning left over food into a new meal can make and it's important to teach the next generation too which is why we make sure our children are aware and follow the same habits.

I buy most of my clothes from charity shops - and donate them back too.

I also try and save water by using left overs to water the garden and making sure I don't leave taps on unnecessarily like when brushing teetch