Certain studies have shown that women are generally more environmentally conscious than men. A French study found that women emit 32.3 kilograms of carbon each day and males emit 39.3 kilograms each day as well. One difference between males and females is that their attitudes towards green products differ. While males may have more socially acceptable attitudes, women tend to be more environmentally conscious because they are thought to be more aware of the risks associated with pollution. So let’s look at some ways women can be a little more eco-friendly through their actions.
Cosmetics
When you buy cosmetics and toiletries, remember that many of them are packaged in plastic. However, it may be beneficial to consider whether they really need to be! Not only is plastic harmful to the environment and our health, but if you use less of it this will cut your carbon footprint as well.
- You could purchase items in bulk and use less packaging material which is usually plastics
- Recycle everything and use responsible packaging. Remember that 9 out of 10 plastic bottles that enter the landfill never decompose and take over 450-1000 years to degrade.
- When it comes to cleaning your face, you’d want to opt for reusable washcloths and dishes as opposed to disposable ones.
- Nail polish is sold in glass bottles, with plastic lids. It might be worth re-using a glass bottle for nail color if you have one around.
Clothes
There is also a way to go green through the clothes that you wear. There are a number of things you can do like-
Buy second-hand- Buying second-hand dresses does not mean you’re just saving up on money. It also means that you’re not buying from brands and markets that do not take the environment-friendly approach to manufacture clothes. It is a step against big industries and their disregard for nature.
Buy sustainable- Buying something sustainable means that you’re buying from places that use environmentally friendly ways to manufacture clothes. Production lines that manufacture sustainable dresses do not use single-use plastics and keep wastage of water to a minimum. They also do not use chemicals and products that harm the environment.
Make your own- Instead of buying you can weave your own cloth and make clothes. This is obviously a very time-consuming option but sometimes people do take out time for such activities as it can be fun and productive.
Upscale instead of buying- You can easily negate your need for new clothes by getting your old clothes upscaled. It is basically the process of modifying the clothes to make them look new.
Hygiene items
Women menstruate, and in doing so they will use a lot of disposable sanitary towels and tampons during their lifetime. These articles are not good for your health! They often contain chemicals that aren’t natural, like plastic, and that many people want to avoid. You may also find that these items are often treated with chemicals during their manufacturing process. This makes it hard to learn about how the product is made, which can be a great concern if you’re buying clothes for yourself or your children. While tampons and other hygiene items carry a risk of developing TSS, it is usually small.
Without these items, the effects on your health are minimal, but their effect on the environment is huge. If a woman uses 16,000 disposable items in her lifetime, that’s a lot of waste for landfills. This is because these disposable items are overlooked by many people and end up clogging the nation’s trash dump sites.
It is important for women and everyone else on this planet to start going green. Being environment friendly may be a cool thing these days but it is more of a necessity than a fancy lifestyle.
