A checklist of all the lifestyle choices that could have ethical and environmental implications

 

Step 1 - take the ecological footprint test and/or the carbon footprint test (more detailed, and comes with recommendations for improvements)

Step 2 - audit your lifestyle

 

      1. A checklist of all the lifestyle choices that could have ethical and environmental implications
    1. Household
    2. Personal
    3. Food and drink
    4. Transport
    5. Further reading
    6. Useful links

 

Household

 Area  Issues  Solutions
Cleaning products
  • Many cleaning products contain chemicals which are harmful to the environment and to animals, birds, and fish
  • Washing your car swills harmful chemicals into rivers
Furniture and textiles
  • Was the producer of the furniture fairly paid for their work?  (is it Fair Trade?) 
  • Was it made from a renewable resource?
  • If the fabric is made from plant fibre, was the plant grown organically?

 
Disposals
  • Anything you throw away will end up in a landfill site, emitting methane into the atmosphere
  • Many materials are from non-renewable resources (e.g. metal & plastic)

 
  • Think before you throw it away. 
  • Can it be recycled? 
  • Could you give it to a charity shop / thrift store / goodwill store? 
Energy use
  • Is your electricity coming from a sustainable source?
  • Have you considered solar panels?
  • What about wind power?
  • Switch to a green energy supplier
  • Don't leave electrical items on standby
  • When boiling the kettle, only put in as much water as you need (this makes the tea taste better too!)
  • You can get grants to switch to solar panels
Heating
  • Gas is extracted from the Earth and is a non-renewable resource. 
  • Electricity is frequently generated from nuclear energy (and 25% of the power is lost in transmission through the National Grid) or from coal-fired power-stations, another non-renewable resource.

 
  • Consider using a wood-burning stove (it's carbon-neutral)
  • If you have central heating, turn your thermostat down a few degrees and put a jumper on instead

 
Insulation
  • No point having green energy if it escapes out of the roof. 
  • Is your loft insulated? 
  • Is the insulation material non-polluting and from a sustainable source?
  • Do you have double-glazing?

 
Recycling
  • Glass, plastic, clothing and textiles, paper and metal can all be recycled
  • Sort your waste 
  • Don't buy items with packaging which cannot be recycled
Lighting
  • Uses electricity
  • External lighting can cause light pollution and disturb animals
  • Use energy-saving lightbulbs
  • Don't leave lights on
  • If you have an external security light, make sure it is only triggered by a sensor, not left on all the time

 

 

Personal

 

Area Issues Solutions
Clothing & shoes
  • Was the producer of the clothing fairly paid for their work?  (is it Fair Trade?) 
  • Was it made from a renewable resource?
  • If made of leather, was the animal humanely treated?
Jewellery
  • Was the producer of the jewellery fairly paid for their work?  (is it Fair Trade?) 
  • If it contains gemstones, were they strip-mined?
  • Look for the fair-trade label
  • Check that the gemstones were not strip-mined
Personal hygiene products
  • Was it tested on animals?
  • Will it pollute the environment?
  • Buy only from ethical suppliers
  • Look for the mark  "Not tested on animals" or "Against animal testing"
Gifts
  • Is it fair trade / organic / sustainable?
  • Make your own gifts and cards
  • Send e-cards
  • Buy someone membership of an organisation, or shares in a forest project
  • Buy gifts from charitable organisations

 

Food and drink

 

Area Issues Solution
Meat, eggs and dairy
  • Factory farming
  • Antibiotics in the animal's diet can kill the flora and fauna in your gut which you need to digest your food properly
  • Buy from your local farmer's market
  • Buy organic and free-range
Vegetables and fruit
  • Air miles - how far was the item transported?  (causing pollution and carbon emissions)
  • Only buy local produce when it's in season
  • Get your fruit and veg delivered in a box
Bottled drinks
  • Plastic and glass bottles accumulating in landfill sites
  • Plastic is made from oil (a non-renewable resource)
  • How far has the water or other drink been transported?
  • Is it drawn from underground aquifers, which can cause land collapses
  • Buy Thirsty Planet water, which supports Pump Aid
  • Filter your tap water
  • Reuse and recycle plastic and glass bottles
Fish
  • Sustainability - the fish species may be endangered
Genetically modified foods
  • Allowing one company to own genetic material
  • Decreasing biodiversity
  • Cross-breeding of GM crops with wild plants
  • Lack of consumer choice
  • Once farmers have bought GM seeds, they are stuck with them
  • Unpredictable effects on the enviroment
  • more details

 
  • Campaign against GM crops
  • Look at the GM foods checklist to avoid buying food with GM ingredients

 
Pesticides in food
  • About half of all UK fruit and vegetables contain pesticide residues
  • Some of these can bio-accumulate in our bodies or harm our hormone systems. They also pollute drinking water; removing pesticides costs the UK £120m a year
  • Buy organic vegetables & fruit (from a farmers' market or a box scheme)
Disposal
  • Putting it in the bin means that it ends up in a landfill site

 

Transport

 

Area Issues Solution
Driving to work
  • Pollution & carbon emissions
Flying
  • Pollution & carbon emissions
  • Do something to offset the carbon emissions - e.g. tree planting
  • Go by train (if possible)
Going by ship
  • Pollution & carbon emissions
  • Noise of propellors prevents long-distance communication by whales
  • Sail

 

 

Further reading

 

  • Pagan and Plain? by Sarah Sutterfield Winn (this article was the inspiration for this page)

 

Useful links

 

 

 


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  • Recent comments:
    Yvonne:We scored about 50% on this audit, but we're aiming to improve on that. Also last time I checked, my ecological footprint was 3.3 hectares (which would immediately drop to the required 1.8 hectares if I stopped driving to work).
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