Top 5 Surprising Ways to Be Eco Friendly 

Are you looking for more ways to be eco friendly? Do you want to reduce your footprint on the environment around you? If so, then there are plenty of ways that you can go about doing just that.

It all starts with learning as many different methods of going eco-friendly as possible. From there, you can decide which ones best fit your lifestyle. You can start to become more conscientious about what you do and how it affects the world around you.

See below for several key ways to be eco friendly and use sustainable tactics to improve the environment that you live in.

1. Sustain Your Food

One of the most wasteful aspects of modern-day life is the way that we use, purchase, and throw away food. You should make it a goal to eat every single food item that you purchase and bring home from the store.

First, don’t just write down what you need from your visit to the grocery store, write down what’s already in your refrigerator. This will prevent you from purchasing double and wasting food.

Second, try to limit the amount of food that you purchase. You’d rather buy less food and consume all of it than buy too much and have some of it go to waste.

Once you get home, dissect different foods and ration them out throughout the week. For example, you can get home and cut the ground beef you purchase in half. Place half of it in the fridge to be used that night and the other half in the freezer for later in the week.

Next, don’t pay so much attention to the expiration dates on your food. Remember that these are cautionary dates, not cutoff dates that are set in stone. If the food still looks good when you open it up, then it’s safe enough to consume.

2. Vegan Leather Shoes

Some of you out there are very active against animal cruelty. In the race to meet the demand for the marketplace, many leather suppliers overkill animals to make shoes, jackets, and so on.

While leather is a fine material for clothing, it shouldn’t come at the cost of killing so many animals and affecting nature’s circle of life. 

Fortunately, vegan leather offers an amazing solution. In fact, the amount of vegan leather out there might surprise you. 

Vegan leather can be made from mushrooms, grass, wood, banana, flowers, pineapple, cork, corn, recycled paper, fungi, coffee, and more. You can get vegan leather shoes, as well as many other leather products from these renewable sources.

Better yet, this cuts out the need for pleather. Pleather was once made as an alternative to killing animals while still offering a leather material for clothing. However, pleather (plastic leather) is made from oil, which is a non-renewable source for the environment.

Now that vegan leather is trending in the right direction, there’s less of a need for both animal leather and pleather altogether. Vegan leather is as great a conversation starter as it is a fashion statement!

3. Slow Down on the Roads

Imagine the horror of driving down the road, day or night, and running over an animal that you didn’t see in time. Unfortunately, this happens many times every day and many animals are killed in the process.

There’s only one solution for how to fix this dilemma: slow down while driving. Typically speaking, many people are driving too fast to appropriately respond to surprises on the road.

Each state’s department of transportation establishes its speed limits based on the fastest speed they think a driver can go while still having ample time to respond to emergencies.

Therefore, drive the speed limit and you’ll be able to reduce roadkill. Nature will thank you, and so will your car’s tires, windshield, and frame.

4. Use LED Lighting

Did you know that the light bulbs you use affect the environment? Using fluorescent, halogen, or incandescent bulbs will drain the energy, and make your energy bill skyrocket from month to month.

However, if you were to opt for LED lighting instead, you could help the environment and cut costs on your energy bills.

Studies have shown that LED lights use a majority of their energy that they absorb as light, and last far longer than any other type of lighting.

5. Choose Local

As it turns out, becoming eco friendly and embracing your local community has a direct correlation to one another. 

You can do this in several ways. Shop for groceries at the local farmer’s market. Adjust your grocery list based on the seasons. Go to thrift stores and garage sales whenever you’re looking to add furniture.

There are also ways in which you can get the community more engaged in eco-friendly activities. Start or join a community garden that you and your neighbors can use. Clean up the trash around your local park. Start a farmers market of your own if there isn’t one.

Before you can change the world with your eco-friendly ideas, start by trying to change your life, your neighborhood, and your local community. 

Adopt These Ways to Be Eco Friendly in Your Life

Now that you’ve seen several amazing ways to be eco friendly in your own life, it’s time to start applying them to your daily activities.

Remember, it all starts with prioritizing these things. The more aware you are of how your actions affect the environment, the more change you can create in your town.

Be sure to browse our website for more articles on sustainable ideas, as well as many other topics that you might find helpful.