Start Small For Big Change

It’s rare for a statistic to make it through the noise and clutter these days and punch you in the gut. But that’s exactly what it felt like when we learnt that Aussies throw away 152 million plastic bottles of body products to landfill every year. And that’s just body products like shampoo, conditioner, deodorant and body lotion. If you add cosmetics to that list, there are reports with that figure reaching a staggering 120 billion bits of plastic globally.

These numbers matter, because the plastic problem with body products is a visible representation of the climate emergency. The more stuff we make, use once, and throw away, the more natural resources we’re burning through. We absolutely need to stop plastic pollution, but we also need to take broader climate action at the same time. Thankfully, there are ways to do both that are easy and achievable. You only need to start small. 

Shop Your Local

Swapping your big box supermarket for a farmer’s market (or your local fruit & veg store, butcher and bakery) comes with heaps of knock on benefits, including reduced food miles (less fuel and carbon), less packaging, no plastic bags, and increased food security by supporting small growers. 

Move Your Money

Asking, what can I do to help the environment? Ensuring your money isn’t invested in coal, gas or oil is a start. There’s $3.5 trillion in Australian super funds, so we only need to divert a fraction of that towards renewables to completely transform the future. Bank Australia doesn’t invest in fossil fuels and Future Super invest in climate solutions. 

Eat Your Food

One in every five shopping bags of food in Australia ends up in the bin. Not only does that cost households big dollars, but food waste is one of the biggest contributors to climate change producing 8–10% of global greenhouse gases. The solution? Simply use up your food before you buy more. 

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

With plastic production continuing to go through the roof, working out how to stop plastic pollution is more important than ever. The best option is buying less. If you can’t buy less, then use what you have already. And if you have to buy new stuff, then make sure it gets recycled.   

Treat Your Body (And The Planet) Like A Temple 

Aussies throw 79 million bottles of shampoo and conditioner, 25 million bottles of deodorant and 48 million bottles of body lotion into landfill every year. We’ve found a way to make it zero. By switching to Zero Co natural refillable deodorant, natural refillable shampoo and conditioner and zero waste natural body lotion, you can get all those products minus the single-use plastic. You beauty!   

Speak Up

Voting is the easiest and most powerful impact you can have on climate action. More so than ever if you choose an independent who cares about the environment, because the Government only has a margin of one vote in Parliament. Swaying that could mean quick and meaningful change.    

Go Lightly

Not everyone has the means to get an electric vehicle, but that doesn’t mean there’s not small and affordable changes you can make while getting around that help the environment. Jump on your bike, carpool to work, or take public transport next time you’re headed out. Every journey starts with one small step.