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The 22nd of April 2023 is World Earth Day!
Here at Bump, Baby & You, we love to get involved with everything that promotes an eco-conscious way of living, because we want our children and future grandchildren to inherit a safe, healthy and beautiful world long after we're gone. Everything we do leaves an imprint, and whilst no one can be the perfect paragon of environmental excellence, we can certainly make small tweaks that actually, overall, make a big difference - particularly as parents!
What is World Earth Day and why is it important?
Good question! World Earth Day was established in 1970, and since then has rapidly grown into a movement with over 150,000 partners across 192 countries globally, all working together to raise awareness and drive positive environmental action for our planet.
"Our world needs transformational change. It’s time for the world to hold sectors accountable for their role in our environmental crisis while also calling for bold, creative, and innovative solutions. This will require action at all levels, from business and investment to city and national government.
That’s where you come in: As an individual, you yield real power and influence as a consumer, a voter, and a member of a community that can unite for change.
Don’t underestimate your power. When your voice and your actions are united with thousands or millions of others around the world, we create a movement that is inclusive, impactful, and impossible to ignore.
Every Earth Day can drive a year of energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to create a new plan of action for our planet."
How can I be kinder to the planet as a parent?
Our habits as parents, and secondarily as consumers of products for parents and children, are a great area to scrutinise in the spirit of World Earth Day. You could learn so much, and take some new good habits forward for life. Some of the ways that the eco-friendly parents in our community try to be eco-conscious in their consumerism is;
- Using cloth nappies and cloth wipes instead of disposables.
- Using cloth sanitary products and moon cups instead of disposable sanitary products
- Using reusable breastpads
- Breastfeeding (if they can, of course - if you struggle, that is absolutely fine) as this reduces waste in formula manufacturing
- Trying to shop with brands who have an eco-friendly and ethical reputation
- Second-hand shopping with Vinted and charity shops where possible - sometimes new is needed, of course
Our top 10 eco-conscious parent & baby brands...
Feeling like making some life changes and tweaks to the products you use? Well, we've put together this handy list to give you a head start when it comes to hunting for planet-friendly essentials for you and your baby. Here are our top 10 eco-conscious parent and baby brands for your planet-friendly needs!
Little Gubbins Reusable Baby Wipes
With a range of cotton terry and microfibre reusable baby wipes, wet bags for out and about, and other essentials for anyone using reusable baby wipes, Little Gubbins has you covered.
Since joining the climate action movement Greenspark in Summer 2022, Little Gubbins have made a huge impact on the environment. So far, thanks to their work, 351 trees have been planted, 1370 plastic bottles recycled, and 1.661 tonnes of carbon offset!
We LOVE this Little Gubbins essentials kit; with 10 of each type of wipe, a large waterproof wet bag, 2 colour coded laundry bags and a 100ml spray bottle, you're set. You'll also save a large amount of money long term when you consider how much you'd spend on disposable wipes!
Wear Em Out
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Did you know the average period uses 22 disposable sanitary products per period - that's quite a lot of waste, and most of them end up in landfill or even in our waterways and on our beaches, which is terrible for the planet. We love the ethos of Wear Em Out, and their gorgeous reusable sanitary products! With free UK shipping when you spend over £60, they're a great eco-friendly brand to look at for mums; it's worth noting that their products are available in a wide range of sizes and flow types too as well as for post partum bleeding.
Child's Farm
Already a firm favourite amongst parents, Child's Farm is a fabulous brand for eco-conscious parenting. Gentle on the skin, with no added nasties, Child's Farm products also smell utterly divine and are mega soothing on dry and sensitive skin. They're made with sustainable and environmentally-friendly ingredients and are multi-award winning products - what's not to love?
Method Cleaning
Method are 'the people against dirty' with an ambitious mission to remove toxic products from Britain's homes with their own range of non-toxic cleaning products. You can choose from their fantastic range of antibacterial sprays, laundry products, and washing up products, all of which can come in recyclable bottles that can be refilled using the Method refills range.
Vinted!
Some pieces have lived beyond repair, and it’s time to recycle them. Vinted is proud to announce its participation in ReFashion’s RRR initiative. This partnership helps us to make fashion more circular everyday. #RRRrepairreuserecycle #circulareconomy #refashion pic.twitter.com/3ldgcWsC2d
— Vinted (@vinted) October 9, 2020
So many of have been prone to just throwing away clothes and household items when they actually still have so much for potential for a second lease of life - as well as going out and buying brand new items when second or even third hand versions are available for so much less! Of course, sometimes a new purchase is absolutely necessary, but it's so much kinder on the planet to try to utilise second hand marketplace platforms like Vinted as the textiles industry is a massive global contributor towards waste and pollution. Vinted also takes part in the RRR initiative by ReFashion, aiming to recycle 99.5% of collected textiles that are no longer usable.
Plus, you could make some decent money destashing your house which is always a bonus during the cost of living crisis.
Who Gives a Crap
You'd be surprised by the impact something as trivial as toilet paper has on the planet - most of it isn't recycled, and contributes to deforestation. The toilet paper at Who Gives a Crap is shipped via carbon neutral shipping, and is plastic free as well as being 100% recycled unlike typical toilet paper that we'd purchase in supermarkets.
We also love that Who Gives a Crap donates 50% of their profits to ensure everyone has access to clean water and a toilet within our lifetime, as a whopping 2 billion people don't have access to a toilet on our planet! Due to this, around 289,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation - equating to almost 800 children per day, or one child every two minutes, according to Who Gives a Crap.
Bambino Mio Cloth Nappies
Cloth nappies may be a little extra laundry, but when you consider the huge water and textiles pollution caused by the manufacture of disposable nappies, as well as the 500 years a disposable nappy spends in landfill (yes, really), cloth nappies are a fabulous way to be eco-friendly, as well as a fun new hobby for those of you who love to collect different prints and styles.
Amongst the 'cloth bum mums' in our online community, Bambino Mio is by far the most popular brand of reusable nappies. We spotted this HUGE 124 piece starter set - when you calculate the costs of disposables, this is actually a huge annual saving, and your local council may even offset the cost if you contact them to ask if they run a scheme. You can find out more about using cloth nappies here.
Mooncup
If you know, you know... No more horrible tampon shenanigans will be had if you switch to a Mooncup, the popular menstrual cup made within the UK using sustainable materials, as well as being hypoallergenic! One purchase now will be offset by the savings you'll make on disposable sanitary products for years to come, and you'll be reducing how much landfill you contribute to as well as improving your carbon footprint.
They're so easy to use, too. The first time may be a little daunting, and perhaps messy as you learn how to use it properly, but after that first period, you'll regret not buying one sooner.
Frugi Clothing
Frugi are renowned for their bright colours, exciting patterns and of course, their very environmentally friendly and ethnical ethos. Frugi is the UK’s leading ethical and organic children’s clothing brand and can be found globally in over 550 retailers across 30 countries - they're clearly great at what they do! They say;
"We have a story to tell and a mission to accomplish - to show that superb design, great ethics & passionate people can help to change the world! We only use organic cotton grown by farmers we trust, our outerwear is made from recycled plastic bottles and we’re always exploring new ways to innovate."
How gorgeous are these Frugi finds we spotted at Very? They're currently on sale so be quick, as Frugi bargains get snapped up quickly.
Bamboo Weaning Utensils by Bamboo Bamboo
Bamboo eating utensils are a really good way to ditch plastic and be kinder to the planet - Bamboo Bamboo use organic bamboo (of course) alongside food-grade silicone to produce the most incredible suction cup plates and drinking cups for little ones who are weaning onto solids! They're created with zero nasties, so there's no toxic chemicals used in the processing of these products, and bamboo is considered a highly sustainable resource compared to other materials, making these products a brilliant option for those of you making eco-friendly tweaks. We could NOT resist putting these limited edition Peppa Pig items in our basket!
Our verdict...
Even small changes can make a big impact to the planet we live on, and the type of legacy our children, grandchildren and their own children will inherit in years to come. There are so many fantastic brands with an ethos of sustainability, who work to minimise their impact on the environment, who prioritise recycled materials and offset their footprint in various ways - as parents, we could make such a difference as we do indeed yield a large amount of power as a community. Our purchasing power means that the more we lean towards purchasing eco-friendly products, the more we drive businesses to adopt these practices as well as encouraging new businesses to develop innovative new products that are kinder to our ecosystems and better for our planet.
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