It’s safe to say that climate change is a topic on the world’s mind. Eight-part Netflix documentary Our Planet has opened our eyes to the devastating effect that our actions are having on the environment, and people are eager to make a change.
According to the documentary’s narrator and the nation’s favourite naturalist, David Attenborough, climate change is humanity’s greatest threat in thousands of years, and could even lead to the extinction of much of the natural world.
However, though we have the best intentions to reduce our individual impact on the environment, it can be difficult to keep up when surrounded by people that haven’t quite realised the magnitude of the problem yet.
That’s why we’ve come up with a list of five people in your life that you should encourage to watch Our Planet – because the more people that make a change, the better!
Your boss
The office isn’t the first place you’d think of when making the change to becoming more eco-friendly. However, offices use a lot more energy than you’d think – often full of computers, printers and phones that are using electricity on a daily basis and are rarely switched off at the plug.
Recommending the documentary to your boss could open their eyes to the extent of the problem we’re facing and help enforce some simple rules that would lessen this impact. This could be turning all electrics off at the switch when not in use, implementing a printing ban to save paper and energy, or switching to more efficient alternatives.
If you want to go a step further, you could even introduce meat-free Mondays to the team. Avoiding meat and dairy, alongside all products with animal products in the ingredients, would make a significant difference to climate change – with the livestock sector generating a large amount of greenhouse gas.
Your cleaner
It’s a little-known fact that the majority of household name cleaning products contain a whole range of toxic chemicals that have an extreme effect on our environment. In fact, Bio-D founder Michael Barwell discovered that many ingredients found in these cleaning products are also in industrial cleaning products – for which need heavy-duty safety equipment! Various colouring agents and phosphates that cause pollution in water courses are found in a selection of cleaning products, with some products even indicating that they are ‘toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects’.
Mentioning Our Planet as something to add to their watch list could influence them to make the change to eco-friendly products that are made from plant-based and naturally derived ingredients – like Bio-D!
And though it can be hard to avoid plastic when it comes to buying cleaning products, it is beneficial to choose companies that provide packaging that can be recycled and reused. All of our packaging is 100% recyclable, with the majority of bottled packaging also produced from recycled plastics that would otherwise end up in landfill.
Your partner
The recycling bins are in place and the light-bulbs around the house are substituted for energy efficient replacements, but it makes no difference if your partner doesn’t join in with the changes! Why not suggest watching Our Planet in place of your Friday evening film to show them why these substitutions make a difference?
Eliminating single-use plastic items is a great way to help out at home. Lots of independent stores across the UK offer refill versions of everyday products, meaning that you don’t need to buy as much as often, and don’t buy as much plastic in the process. We offer 5L refill bottles for the majority of our cleaning range, which you can store away and top up as and when needed.
Getting your partner on board could also allow for more sustainable changes to be put in place, such as better insulation in the home and sharing one car for commutes.
Your (older) children
Granted, Our Planet may not be the best watch for younger children. However, teaching the next generation about climate change can really help alter the future of our planet for the better.
Understanding how our actions in the present effect our future at a young age can have a beneficial effect, encouraging our children to be more environmentally friendly in a bid to make a change.
Your friends
Simple changes can be made in every aspect of your life, not just at home. Whilst out with friends, why not bring up Our Planet as a discussion point to reflect on each other’s views on the subject. Having this chat can help you to remind each other to keep up with simple changes – for example refusing that plastic straw whilst out for a drink! The more people that refuse plastic straws, the more likely bars and restaurants are likely to replace them with environmentally friendly alternatives.
