Eco Tips

Green Money

How we use, spend or save our money, makes a difference.

• Protect peat bogs: don’t buy composts that contain peat, instead buy peat-free varieties or make your own.
• Buy bee friendly (and insect/ butterfly friendly) seeds and flowers to promote local biodiversity.
• If you have space, buy and plant fruit bushes/ trees and enjoy fresh fruit. 
• Even if you only have a windowsill buy seeds so that you can grow your own herbs and salads.
• Use local shops and local suppliers so that your money supports jobs for local people and the local economy.
• Buy locally produced food so as to reduce supply lines and their associated carbon footprint. Avoid foods bought in by air freight.
• Buy organic food to prevent more soils and waterways from being polluted by nitrates and pesticides.
• Buy organic foods to prevent insects, birds and small mammals being poisoned by pesticides.
• Buy organic foods to prevent wild plants being killed off by herbicides.
• Buy plant-based foods from sustainable sources in preference to meat and dairy products which have a larger carbon footprint.
• Avoid products that come with excess packaging – even if it is recyclable, the whole process is unnecessarily using up time and resources!
• Swop/ buy second hand items to cut back on waste and conserve scarce resources. 
• Maintain and/ or repair things to make them last longer or find a professional to do this for you. NB Anything electrical should only be mended by a professional; ditto boilers etc. 
• Buy gas and/or electricity from a green supplier and support the transfer to renewable energy.
• Buy a cycle and good wet weather clothes and be an active traveller. Fewer cars on the roads reduces CO2 levels and air pollution and creates quieter, less congested neighbourhoods.
• Where you go by rail rather than air, buy a train ticket. Where you can go by bus rather than drive, buy a bus ticket. Opt for the greenest travel option.
• Avoid companies that don’t pay a living wage to their employees, who don’t pay their taxes, and offer minimal support for a greener world. Instead spend your money supporting  companies that treat people and the environment with respect.
• Do buy wonky and misshapen fruit and vegetables and limit what goes to waste.
• Do buy insulation for your home, thermal linings for your curtains, and low energy light bulbs.
• Do consider a heat pump over a boiler. The former is more energy efficient and has a much smaller carbon footprint.
• Don’t buy food you won’t eat, clothes your won’t wear or appliances that just take up space.
• Don’t buy new when a good second hand option is available. 
• Don’t use banks/ insurers/ pension fund providers that invest funds in the fossil fuel industries.
• Do seek out companies that actively invest to support a green economy.
• Do support wild life funds, re-wilding and habitat conservation projects. 
• Do enjoy the outdoors and green spaces – often access is free!

Author: Judith Russenberger

Environmentalist and theologian, with husband and three grown up children plus one cat, living in London SW14. I enjoy running and drinking coffee - ideally with a friend or a book. View all posts by Judith Russenberger