Simple sustainable swaps for busy mums

We all want to save the planet, but sometimes it seems as though being sustainable means a lot of extra effort - washing cloth nappies, catching the bus instead of driving, repairing, going to zero waste shops, there's a never-ending list of 'should's. And with two small children, I already have a long enough list of things I should be doing.  

But luckily there are some easy eco wins that are actually easier than the fossil-fuelled alternatives. They can reduce your carbon footprint and your ‘to do’ list at the same time - the holy grail! 

Simple sustainable swaps for baby toys

My daughter's stacking toy has a carbon footprint of around 4.4kg CO2e, which is the same as driving 6 miles in a car. By the time they're 5, the average child will have owned 190 toys. That's about 8% of your child's annual carbon footprint (assuming they are quite eco)!

But it's not just the environmental cost - studies have shown that especially for children under 5, having too many toys can have a negative impact. They feel overwhelmed and can't concentrate on one thing to learn from it. 

So the solution here is simple. Buy. Fewer. Toys. But if it was actually that simple then we’d all be doing it already.

Under an increasing amount of pressure to be 'good' parents, we often turn to shopping for a quick fix. We hope that buying endless new toys will entertain and educate our children so we can put our feet up for once. Changing this ingrained behaviour is hard. However, there are some baby steps we can take in the meantime:

1. Try a 'one in, one out' rule so that at least you're not increasing the amount of toys you have.
2. If you have space, just move all except a few toys out of sight and see what effect it has on you and your child for a day or so. Cycle toys around if you're getting bored. 
3. Buy secondhand.
4. Rent/borrow toys. If you have friends with children the same age, organise toy swaps so you can get all the fun of new toys without the cost to the
   planet or your bank account. Whirli is a company that offers toy rental for a monthly subscription so you can access new toys in an environmentally-friendly way.
5. Buy open-ended toys such as blocks, trains and dolls which encourage creativity and can be played with in many different ways.

Remember that every toy you don't buy is less fossil fuel dug up to turn into plastic, to transport it, to recycle/incinerate it. Possibly more appealingly, every toy you don't buy, is one less that you have to pick up off the floor.

Simple sustainable swaps for baby clothes

The carbon footprint of a baby grow is approximately 10kg CO2e, assuming that it's worn 25 times (using data from the Carbon Trust). If you have 30 items for your baby in one size, that's 300kg CO2e. Multiple that by the five sizes they go through in their first year and you've got 1.5 tonnes CO2e, or 15% of your child’s total carbon footprint for that year! If you can chose organic cotton for those clothes, you will have reduced your global warming potential by another 46%. But buying new organic clothes is pretty pricey, which is where renting comes in. Renting baby clothes means you can access organic sustainable clothes for a fraction of the price of buying them new. It also means less work for you as you don’t have to sort items for donating, recycling, or resell. Another thing off your list!

Simple sustainable swaps for baby care

Reusable wipes

Reusable wipes are hands down my favourite eco swap. Not only do they prevent thousands of single use baby wipes ending up in landfill or clogging pipes, they actually work a LOT better. I've used both single use baby wipes and reusable wipes for everything from bums to the kitchen floor, and every time a reusable wipe works better. It cleans much better and you don't need 10 of them to do one bum. Yes, there is a bit of hassle as you have to get it wet, but I just used to have a tupperware with water and wipes in next to the changing mat, then when they're dirty, you can put them in a wet bag and then into the wash. Reusable wipes work really well if you're also doing cloth nappies, but you don't have to do both. Now both my kids are well out of nappies, I still use reusable wipes every day for: removing my makeup, wiping kids faces, cleaning the kitchen, wiping up spills, cleaning anything else around the house. When they're dirty I put them straight in the washing machine to get washed with the next load. No more makeup wipes, baby wipes, or kitchen roll!

Bar shampoos/soap 

These are another great swap - they last at lot longer than bottled shampoo/soap (which means less shopping) and you're obviously cutting down on the plastic. I never really used much soap on my babies as I found water worked just as well and was worried about too many chemicals near their skin. Now their older though I always opt for a bar soap and shampoo which is much easier for them not to just pour all into the bath and is easy for them to use themselves. They're also generally more chemical free than the liquid kind.

Simple sustainable solution

The one golden sustainable rule that will also save you a lot of time and hassle is - Don't buy anything you don't actually need. This is pretty obvious, but websites like Amazon now make it so easy to buy things, it's hard to resist. I found this especially true when my kids were babies as I was so desperate for any gadget that might make them sleep, or any toy that they might want to play with by themselves for 5 minutes, I was happy to buy anything. But then I realised I had a house full of cheap tat that I was then responsible for picking up off the floor, putting away, replacing the batteries for, repairing, or disposing of somehow. Now when I'm thinking of buying anything, I try to remember that I will have to look after that item, and ask myself whether it's really worth that effort and commitment from me. After all, I feel as though I have enough people, and things, to look after already! A good plan is to sleep on it for a night at least (ideally a week) and if you still feel you need it, go ahead and buy it then.

I hope some of these swap ideas have been useful and might actually help save you time as well as reduce your carbon footprint! 

Carbon footprints taken from How bad are bananas? The carbon footprint of everything by Mike Berners-Lee. Yearly carbon footprint percentages based on 10 tonne lifestyle.