As a B Corp, the team here at Eva have spent a lot of time analysing our environmental impact and trying to improve wherever we can. And we get it - it’s not always easy being green! But luckily, there are many small ways to adjust your daily habits to be more eco-friendly that will barely affect your day-to-day.
Recycle, turn the lights off when you aren’t in the room, buy a reusable water bottle - it’s been the routine for years. The next step is to find ways to live a greener lifestyle that also improve your life. And for that, we recommend starting at home.
So here are five new(ish) ways to make your home more eco-friendly that will make your everyday life a little better, too.
1. Plant herbs
We know plants absorb CO2 and release oxygen into the air, so they’re not only eco but they act as pretty cute air-purifiers. We recommend herbs because they’re easy to plant and maintain. And the next time you’re cooking, you can just pick what you need! Here’s a guide on growing your own herbs.
2. Thrift your home decor
A solid bed frame and the perfect sofa are non-negotiable when it comes to your home. But when it comes to home decor, to add your final touch of style to a room, finding items in thrift stores is not only the best way to find a unique piece, but it’s also environmentally friendly. Second hand home decor has already been manufactured, so spending your dollar on it isn’t contributing to the energy required to make such products.
For a beautiful vase or a gilded mirror at a fraction of the price, op shopping is the way to go. You can score high-quality goods at low prices, plus the proceeds go to charity.
3. Use eco cleaning products
This may be an obvious one, but often people don’t consider the impacts of all the products they buy for their home. Is your laundry detergent eco-friendly? What about your glass cleaner? Or shampoo? Or hand sanitiser?
These are just a few items where you can make a simple swap and instantly do a little better for the environment.
Check out our friends at Dirt, for example. They create laundry detergent that’s 100% plant-based, biodegradable, and minimises waste in the process. In fact, over the past three years, they’ve prevented more than 50 tonnes of plastic from ever being manufactured.
As an added bonus, these planet-friendly products tend to also be a little less harsh on us, too. Without microplastics, chemicals such as parabens, SLS and SLES, you’re giving yourself and those in your home the little gift of detoxing as well.
4. Compost!
If you’ve got the herb planting down to a T and you’re looking for the next step, then try composting! Composting is a great way to minimise your carbon footprint, as it reduces food waste that goes to landfill as well as the emissions that those food scraps produce. This is because, in a landfill, food is often buried under other waste, and when food breaks down without oxygen it produces methane - one of the most impactful greenhouse gases.
Composting is also great for your garden, as it recycles the essential nutrients back into the soil, making it perfect for growing plants. Click here for a comprehensive guide on how to compost.
Fun fact: our hemp linen sheets are biodegradable, so they can be composted if the time ever comes! (although we’re pretty sure you’ll be using them forever)
5. Buy sustainable, quality furniture
Of course, we couldn’t skip this one. Furniture is a necessity for every home, so it’s not a light decision when picking yours. The energy and resources required to make furniture and get it to your home is no small amount, and with fast furniture making it ever more tempting to buy cheaply and quickly, we know it’s tricky to know what to do.
So, we have to give ourselves a few pats on the back and share with you what Eva comes with:
- Certified B Corp status
- Sustainable materials
- High quality furniture that is made to last, not to be replaced after only a few years of use
- Ethically sourced timber
- A design team that carefully considers environmental impact in the earliest stages of the design process
And all that along with free next day metro delivery and free returns (which are donated, not sent to landfill) if you change your mind.
Let us know if you found these tips helpful, we love hearing from you! Send us a picture on our Instagram @eva.home too.
