Sustainable living encompasses using just the right amount of earth’s resources which you need – instead of wasting it – to preserve the source of those resources and make the planet livable for the coming generation. You can adopt sustainable living in several ways – which we will talk about later in this article.

Why Is Sustainable Living Important?

Right now, humans are abusing earth’s resources – using excessive energy and causing waste at a prohibitive rate – and making earth increasingly unsustainable.

As a result, pollution, global warming, and climate change – which all cause damage to the environment, wildlife, and human beings – are experienced. The United Nations once reported that if environmentally friendly means of living are not steadily adopted, the earth will become extremely unlivable by 2060.

Here is our list of 7 ways you can do your part.

1. Clean with eco-friendly products

There are cleaning products made with substances that are unsafe for the environment. By choosing to clean with eco-friendly products, you are choosing to save the earth. You are choosing to make the planet habitable for the next generation. Avoid bleach. Instead, go for biodegradable, non-toxic, and naturally derived cleaning products made through sustainable processes.

2. Boycott plastic

Presently, it can find billions of pounds of plastic covering as much as 40 percent of the world’s aquatic surfaces. This causes thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, seals, and other marine mammals to ingest plastic or get tangled up in plastic. Ultimately, these plastics kill these aquatic animals. We use these plastics indiscriminately. But we can stop now. How? Use recyclable bags when you shop; reject single-use bags, water bottles, and straws—boycott products made from plastic or packaged in plastic whenever possible. For instance, go for unwrapped produce at the grocery store; do more local shopping than online shopping.

3. Drive less

Switching up your driving routine can radically decrease your fossil fuel emission. Instead of driving your car, try carpooling. Ride-hailing companies – Uber and Lyft – enable you to share rides with other people. Plus, most of the time, it is the cheaper option.

Another way to reduce your carbon footprint is if you are meeting friends somewhere, you can suggest that you all drive together in place of everyone taking their car. If you live in a metropolis with an extensive subway or bus system, use it! And if the weather is excellent and the distance is short, take a walk!

You can also juggle errands to make fewer trips. You can spearhead or join in on car-free days in your community. Lastly, it is essential to keep your car in great shape with routine tune-ups and tire inflations. Tune-ups improve your fuel efficiency by up to 40 percent, and if everyone in your country kept their tires properly inflated, we could reduce national gas consumption by up to 5 percent.

4. Purchase fair trade products

A product is certified Fair Trade when it has been through sustainable production. Each time you buy products imported from other parts of the world — especially cocoa, coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate, and fruits — observe the body of the product for the fair-trade designation. This designation informs you that they make such products through sustainable processes and that the local people (who live in the source area) are getting fair compensation. Products that do not have the fair-trade certification are most likely produced through environmentally unfriendly processes and maybe the outcome of exploitative labor practices.

5. Opt for paperless

To prevent wasting paper, make a decision today to receive letters over email, and printed records only if necessary. You should also request stores to send your receipts in an email instead of printing them out. Here’s a statistic you should remember: 10 million trees, one billion gallons of water, and 250 million gallons of oil go into creating receipts every year. Yet, most receipts either get lost when needed or end up in the trash. For real, do you need that extra wad of paper in your bag?

6. Conserve energy

By consuming less energy, you are helping to moderate carbon emissions. There are a few ways you can save energy at home, including turning off standby devices when not needed, turning off your lights when you leave a room, turning your heating down, and choosing to hang clothes to dry instead of using a drier.

7. Rock sustainable clothes

The fashion industry is the second primary polluting industry in the world. To reduce the impact this industry has on the planet, you should buy more of your clothes from sustainable clothing outlets and charity shops. Some popular clothing brands have sustainable options for their fast fashion offerings.

It is such good news that you can help significantly to save the planet by making simple changes to your lifestyle. We hope you do.