If you’d like for your family to be a bit more environmentally conscious and to help your children develop habits that will encourage them to live more sustainably now and into the future, it can sometimes be overwhelming trying to figure out a starting point. Luckily, any progress is going to be good progress, and you can start with something small that your family can begin doing altogether.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for being more environmentally conscious as a family.
Stop Using Harmful Plastics
One of the first and best things that you can do as a family is to look at where you’re using plastics, especially single-use plastics. While some single-use plastics are biodegradable or compostable, most of them aren’t. So to make sure you’re not using harmful plastics more than you should be, it might be a good idea to avoid using plastics wherever you can.
Luckily, there are all kinds of alternatives to using plastics, including single-use items. Mainly, you should focus your attention on making smart swaps for your plastic usage. Doing things like replacing plastic zippered bags with silicon ones, using glass storage containers instead of plastic containers, and bringing your own canvas bags when shopping can be great ways to begin this way of thinking with your family and your kids.
Start Shopping Locally
Another way that you can teach your children to be more environmentally conscious within your family is to try to shop locally whenever you can.
There are many reasons why shopping locally is a more sustainable choice. For one thing, when you buy something locally, you’re not having to use packing materials to have it shipped to you or to another retail location. Additionally, for things like food, shopping locally can allow you to buy food that’s grown organically by local farmers. And, by doing these things, you’ll also be growing your local economy and supporting local businesses.
Become Brand Loyal
For items that you can’t buy locally or even make yourself, you should do some research into the brands that you give your business to. If you can find brands that you know have committed themselves to being sustainable in all of their business practices, those are the types of businesses that you’ll want to give your money to. This way, not only can you feel better about the products that you’re using, but you can also know that the money you’re giving this corporation is being put to good use to continue a legacy of living and working sustainably.
If you want to start being more environmentally conscious within your family, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you in doing this.
