Apps, Shops and Services that are helping me be a greener Londoner.
This year I have been trying more than ever to take actions that align with my values. This has included following the 4 R’s of Environmentalism and I wanted to share with you the apps, services and shops online and offline that I am using to make my life in London more environmentally friendly!
Living in London has its ups and downs. One thing, for better or worse is it’s size. Sure this means I spend nearly 10% of your year nestled on the tube under one of the millions of armpits that grip the handrails on the tube. But what it also means is that all kinds of amazing networks and communities exist for us to be part of and use. With scale, comes diversity and this makes ethical shopping much easier. However, as you’ll see below rather than buying ‘eco-friendly’ products, I am much more looking to buy and use less and get products that second hand rather than buy products that make spurious claims.
Shopping for Food
Globally, 1/3 of all food produced is wasted. This stat is shocking to me and this waste occurs all the way along the supply chain, in the production, at the point of sale in restaurants and supermarkets and in our homes too.
Here are some of the apps and services I am using to help cut the amount that is going to waste.
Too Good To Go
Too Good To Go is a great network for helping hungry Londoners find food that would otherwise go to waste. It allows restaurants and cafes a chance to sell the spare food at a discounted rate at the end of the day.
It’s not just for old baguettes there are all kinds of restaurants and cafes using the service and I’ve always found the food to live up to its name often get £10 worth of food for around £3.
It’s might have had a negative impact on bin-divers/freegans as there is less for them to forage for now, but I think this kind of service is going be here to stay and help cut down the amount of food that is wasted in the food industry.
Download here.
OLIO
OLIO connects neighbours with each other and with local shops so surplus food and other items can be shared, not thrown away.
I have only tried using this one so far for a training weekend for work, when I was cooking for 70 people and I ended cooking more chickpea curry than needed.
I made a listing for collection but unfortunately, I was unsuccessful on my first attempt and no one was interested in collecting my food :( I’m putting this down to being in the rural Peak District rather than my cooking skills and I going to try again to use the service.
BYO — Zero Waste Shop
Along with food waste, the packaging associated with food is another area for environmental concern.
After reading the Plastic Tide by Lucy Siegle I have tried to reduce the amount of single-use plastics I use but in reality, it’s hard to completely ditch when supermarkets insist on packaging everything in plastic — 800, 000 tonnes of plastic are used in UK supermarkets annually.
For now, what I am doing as an individual is opting for minimal / no packaging where possible and BYO is helping make this possible. It’s plastic-free shop in Tooting Market, run by a super friendly owner and is now my go-to for lentils when making my weekly dahl and white vinegar for cleaning. It’s only reduced my plastic slightly for now, but it makes a small difference and I always look forward to popping into the shop and supporting a local business.
You can find out more about the BYO market here or find your own local Zero Waste shop check out this national map of Zero Waste Shops from the Beeswax Wrap Company
Homewares
One of the biggest switches I have tried to make when making purchases around the house is buying second hand.
Buying second-hand lessens your own personal carbon footprint and extends the life of a product that might otherwise go to waste — which could lead to pollution or just energy in its disposal.
Once I know I am after a particular thing, I actually really enjoy the searching for this second-hand bounty, even if it can take a bit longer than just simply buying new.
You can find second-hand stuff locally at charity shops, house clearance/ junk shops or antique shops. Or there are a few sites that help you find what you are looking for a bit for more effectively.
Gumtree
Gumtree is a great place to find furniture and over the last couple of months we’ve picked up:
- Wine rack
- Coat rack
- Bookcase
Everything I have bought has been in basically brand new condition and I find it really satisfying to know that I have got more life out of an item that might have found its way into the bin prematurely.
Search Gumtree now to start finding your own treasures, and have a read of their guide on shopping safely.
Freecycle
The Freecycle Network is a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.
Like the other networks mentioned, there are people genuinely giving away high-quality stuff on there — we got a £100 vacuum cleaner from an Australian couple who were moving back down under.
To use Freecycle you subscribe to local groups and people post listings as either ‘Offered’ or ‘Wanted’. You can get daily emails as well which helps you get a first look on the goodies!
The Library
My final valued resource is the local library. Libraries are about so much more than about books. They are a great public resource that democratises education and literacy and the more people that use them the better. Whilst buying books is hardly top of the list of causes of climate change, I have realised I don’t always need to own a book to read it and the library often has books I can’t find elsewhere. They also have a printer!
I hope you find these useful and if you have any shops, apps or services that are helping you be greener I’d love to hear!
Find out more ways to reduce your carbon footprint when shopping on the mustard site.
