This is a sponsored article on behalf of The Mindful Shopper.
Did you know that, in 2020, the average volume of household waste collected by local authorities amounted to a massive 399 kilos per person? That's roughly the same weight as a grand piano — or half a London telephone box — and most of that is incinerated.
Suffice to say we should all be doing our bit to reduce, reuse and recycle. Luckily, there's a brand new guide to make that a whole lot easier. Introducing The Mindful Shopper: a website on a mission to help Londoners make more planet-friendly purchases.
The Mindful Shopper is the brainchild of ReLondon: a partnership of the Mayor of London and the capital's boroughs to improve London's waste and resource management. Its goal is to speed up London's transition into a low-carbon circular economy — and The Mindful Shopper is helping make that happen by shining a spotlight on sustainable businesses.
On The Mindful Shopper website, you'll find a carefully curated selection of almost 30 London-based brands — spanning fashion, homeware, food and drink, personal care and more — that all help reduce waste.
This includes products that are built to last, so you only have to buy them once, as well as those made from recycled materials and ones that come with minimal or recyclable packaging. The Mindful Shopper also highlights platforms that let you rent, borrow, share or sell things — helping to reduce the number of new resources that are extracted from the earth to make stuff.
Featured brands include Petit Pli, which designs clever children's clothing that grows alongside your little one. Parents can also take the pressure off their wallets and the planet by renting clothes rather than buying them, with Bundlee (for babies) and The Little Loop (for older kids, too). And clever new app Young Planet, allows London parents to give and receive for free.
Looking for an elegant solution to single-use plastics? Try refill delivery service Topup Truck, sustainable and refillable cleaning brand Homethings, or KANKAN London's body wash in a can.
Other options include wardrobe rental platform HURR, and Buy Me Once, a does-what-it-says-on-the-tin company that only sells durable products with long lifespans.
The Mindful Shopper even highlights waste-busting services that won't cost you a penny — from giveaway app Ferris to Save Your Wardrobe, which helps you make the most of the clothing you already own. Saving money and the planet? Sign us up!
Go and take a look for yourself. Some of the brands featured have won awards, and you might even recognise one or two from Dragon's Den.
Not only is The Mindful Shopper a place to get some brilliant product recommendations, it's also an opportunity to change your shopping mindset and your relationship with stuff in general.
"Do I need it? Can I get it preloved? Will it last? Can it be repaired? Does it reduce waste?" Start to ask yourself these questions and you'll find yourself making more environmentally-friendly (and budget-friendly!) buying decisions in no time. Oh, and you'll probably end up with far less clutter in your home, too. Result!
Fancy winning a mega bundle of sustainable and refillable cleaning products from Homethings? Enter The Mindful Shopper's prize draw by 10am on 26 September 2022 for the chance to take home £55's worth of pods, tabs, compostable sponges, and refillable bottles.
