Buying nothing is better than being ‘tricked’ by eco ‘buzzwords’

Lisa Marley

Lisa Marley, who lives in Margate (right), says buying things to be eco-friendly often defeats the point (Picture: Shannen Lythgoe/Getty)

Plant-based chef at ProVeg UK Lisa Marley lives in a converted dance studio, and she’s making moves towards being more eco every day. Alongside buying second-hand furniture, Lisa sometimes uses zero energy to cook. Now all she needs to do is cut down on the fashion and books…

Where do you live?

I live in a village near Margate on the Kent coast with a beautiful sandy beach. We live in a non-traditional property, as in it used to be a dance studio. The plus side to this is we have panoramic views and solid walls and floors. It also has really great size rooms with floor-to-ceiling corner windows.

Have you always been into eco living?

I’ve been plant-based for over five years and it has affected every part of my life and lifestyle. Over the past few years, my husband Nathan and I have tried to educate ourselves as much as possible on everyday items and questioning our choices.

The more you research, the more knowledge you have, the better the choices you can make. Every decision we make has a direct impact on our health, our community and the planet.

Cling film is one of the first things Lisa stopped using to reduce waste (Picture: Getty)

What kind of decisions?

Sometimes it’s a really small swap, such as boxed, eco-friendly washing sheets as opposed to detergent in a plastic bottle. We started with washing sheets, eco-friendly soap and cling film. Easy swaps that take no effort but have a big impact and we built from there. We have a subscription with Eco Green Living, so it’s all delivered to your door.

How have you made your home eco?

We had a good look around and thought about what we could change immediately to improve our day-to-day consumption. Again, it’s the small, minimal effort decisions that build good habits and have a positive impact. This could be as simple as unplugging all devices and powering down phones, laptops, computers at night and not keeping anything on standby. We changed all of the lightbulbs to LED and removed the dimmer facility.

We wash our clothes as infrequently as we can and at 30 degrees and always make sure it’s a full load. We’ve turned down the thermostat and we are mindful when washing dishes.

Another really simple habit we do is recycling and repurposing. We buy furniture from second-hand shops, we are lucky as Margate has some fantastic designers that upcycle such as Burley and Field and Yard Girl Margate.

Unplugging electronic devices helps save energy and money (Picture: Getty)

Favourite eco gadget?

In terms of gadgets, I have a few that I really love. The Little Sun Diamond is fantastic. I use it as a reading lamp and its faceted lens is inspired by nature. I also really like Click & Grow indoor gardens. They’re great for growing herbs and they look really colourful and vibrant in the kitchen.

I did buy myself an eco-friendly Bento lunch box but unfortunately my appetite is bigger than the box. In the winter my favourite investment is a heavy blanket. It keeps you snuggly and warm. I don’t like to have the central heating on very often. It’s expensive and it dries out my skin.

What mistakes do people make when eco living?

I think there’s a danger of trying to be eco friendly and it having a negative impact rather than a positive one. If you are buying new gadgets when your older version is still working, it defeats the object. We are seduced by buzz words such as ‘sustainable’, and ‘climate friendly’ but sometimes the best thing to do is buy nothing.

Sometimes it’s best to buy nothing, Lisa says (Picture: Getty)

What eco fad is overrated?

Green labels. It’s easy to be tricked into buying something that you think is organic/eco friendly. Clever packaging can disguise a whole heap of sins, so make sure you read labels carefully.

How can you be more eco?

It’s a work in progress and I can definitely do more. I am guilty of having way too many clothes, and I also buy books where I could use a device instead. It’s about balance and moving in the right direction.

Dream eco home?

A sustainable house that was energy efficient, innovative and was designed to have as little impact on the planet as possible. I’d like to stay by the sea and be as close to nature, with a little luxury, as possible.

You can find out more about Lisa on her website or via Instagram


MORE : The climatarian diet: Easy swaps to make your meals more eco-friendly


MORE : Eco-friendly mum saves £5,700 a year with zero waste lifestyle

For all the latest Lifestyle News Click Here 

 For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! TheDailyCheck is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected] The content will be deleted within 24 hours.