Unilever want to know the things your family does to help create a brightFuture - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

As part of their on-going brightFuture initiative, Unilever wants to hear about the little things you as a family do to help make the world a better place. We know that having children often makes parents think more about the world around them and makes you want to take steps to help provide a better, more sustainable future for your children.

Here’s some more information from the team at Unilever:

“The Unilever brightFuture initiative focuses on small changes that can make big differences and how we can build a world where everyone lives well and lives sustainably.”

“Since the launch of the Sustainable Living Plan, Unilever has helped 482 million people all over the world; for instance the Dove Self Esteem Project has helped 19 million young people have more self-confidence, Domestos has given 5 million people improved access to toilets and Persil, in partnership with Unicef, has given 10 million children access to education. This work is extremely important to us and we are really proud to have been awarded industry leadership for our work in the Household and Personal Care products industry group by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.”

“To see some of the amazing stories from the Unilever brightFuture initiative so far, have a glimpse at this short video.”

“Unilever brightFuture is looking to inspire and celebrate people who are making a difference in their local community. This is often through small acts that tackle wider, global problems and therefore make a positive impact for the planet as a whole. We want to encourage others to join the brightFuture initiative at brightfuture.unilever.co.uk which has already seen over 290 million acts shared!”

We’d love to hear what you and your family do to help make the world a better place and what you would like to do in the future. Whether it’s small things such as turning the tap off while you brush your teeth and doing laundry at a lower temperature, or helping your local community get together to help make a positive impact, Unilever want to hear from you.

Everyone who posts a comment below will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thank you and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

We used second-hand washable nappies and I'm quite evangelical about them. We walk to school (many others drive the same distance) and supermarkets, and use public transport as much as possible (do own a car which was going to be scrapped).
Hardly ever use the dryer (again, given one that would have been chucked), scrub bits off school uniform rather than wash where possible.
Opt out of consumerism to a large extent - apart from pants and socks, practically all my new clothes in the last 5 years came from clothes swap events or eBay (trying to only buy long-playing things new).
Not obsessed with germ-free levels of cleaning or laundry, so never use fabric conditioner, air freshener, not that many cleaning products.

Have a rain water harvesting system for flushing the loos and watering the garden. Solar panel for heating water. Heat exchange system so we get fresh air without wasting heat.

We have attempted growing our own vegetables this year (with variable success).
I try to make my children aware of Environmental issues and the idea of looking after our planet.

We recycle where possible, do a lot of junk modelling (or send junk modelling to nursery!) and when we make a large portion for meals, we freeze the rest.

We no longer use a dishwasher or tumble dryer. We give a lot of old clothes/toys to charity and recycle.

I've tried growing my own fruit but the results haven't been amazing to date.

We used cloth nappies. No tumble drying. Wash at low temperatures.

We don't have a car. Lots of walking, scooting and public transport.

Buying food we need daily instead of a "big" shop every week and ending up wasting food (not quite so economical mind).

Helping with community clean-ups.

Our primary school regularly hold a community cafe to help bring together people in the community who may be lonely or just fancy a cup of coffee, a cake and a chat. Some of the school children provide a short burst of entertainment. Ds and I bake and help out at this. We also recycle everything we can.

We do a meat free day, wash on 30 degrees and support charities providing a better life for children around the world.

Recycle, upcycle, never waste food as eat all leftovers, walk whenever we can!

We take care with all our utility bills - wear jumpers rather than have the heat on too early, we try not to waste water, when we use the oven we try to cool multiple items. Lights are not left on and we try not to create to much washing.

We have a veg garden which we all tend and eat from

i have started teaching my almost 2 year old about recycling. She always helps take the empty bean can to the blue bin so hopefully it will help her think about throwing certain things into the right bin as she gets older.

we grow our own food on our allotment and share out excess with family and friends. my kids all help and have learnt lots about both food and wildlife

We recycle and try to use the tumble dryer as little as possible, and have a waste food bin, an electric car is the pipedream!

We walk and cycle rather than drive, wear extra layers and use throws to avoid having the heating on, recycle as much as possible and only use the water needed

we need to protect our precious earth for when our little ones are able to find their own way in it. The world has changed so much since I was a child, from travelling freely, feeling safe on our streets, but the world has improved, our rivers, seas and air is cleaner than it ever has been, so as the world has changed we need to improve what we have, and save the resources we have for their future, as a family we only travel in the uk, always camping, buying local, and making sure everything we buy is as natural and sustainable as it can be from biodegradable washing powder, to organic potatoes, we have an allotment, in its infancy, but we are hoping for great things to come from it, and when my children help us, to provide a great future for them.

We try not to waste food. We also help the foodbank on a regular basis. It's good for them to know that not everyone is as fortunate.

Since moving to the country we buy as much as possible at the farm gate. As heating oil is so expensive we are now far more likely to put on a jumper, rather than the heating!

We are good at recycling whether it be household waste or clothes to charity shops. Energy conservation is important to us and we turn offs ight said, put the washing machine on at night and have radiator reflectors fitted. My overriding concern is animal conservation and what we are doing to our and their planet therefore I donate to animal conservation charities.

Save energy turn heating thermostat down a notch, only use dishwasher occasionally, always use energy saving bulbs and make sure we recycle everything possible.

Making sure the children know about money and how to handle it, espcially saving it. An investment for each child is a good start.

We never leave the lights on if they are not needed and always save water when we can

We never leave the lights on when not needed and save water when we can

We just try to think positive and we recycle when we can and all try to save electricity etc by turning off light, pulling plugs out when not using electrical appliances etc

We've recently moved to the countryside and are making a real effort to explain to the kids much more about our new surroundings and the impact that we can have both positive and negative.