Greener shopping habits

Shopping is a major part of all of our lives and more often than not it can be a bit of a chore. OK there is the excitement of which offers are at the end of the aisles or the `two for ones` in the chiller cabinets but, in the main, we tend to wander around the same supermarket route buying the same products week in week out.

Often the longer we do something, the less we think about it and the more routine it becomes. With a little thought, there is an opportunity to make a real environmental difference with our weekly big shop. Have you ever stopped to think about what you are buying, the environmental impact that it has, and of course, whether you could buy greener? It is easier than you might think to go green in the supermarket.

Generally, the further products have to travel, the more energy is needed to get them to us and the bigger their carbon footprint. So the less distance the things we buy travel, the better - including how far we travel ourselves to get them. Have you ever considered buying Cumbrian? We have lots of local butchers, green grocers and farm shops selling superb quality Cumbrian produce. There are now even Cumbrian sections in our major supermarkets. Buying local not only helps our environment but our local economy too so it is always worth doing so wherever possible.

Do you still have a shopping list? The humble shopping list is an age old practice but nevertheless useful. This helps to focus the shopping trip and avoids the purchase of unnecessary products or items that we still have plenty of at home. And when we consider that the average family throws away an estimated £610 of perfectly good food each year, a shopping list becomes a really useful tool.

It is not just what we buy that can have a negative impact on the environment, it is also what it comes in. It is estimated that packaging makes up 25% of our bins. While some suppliers have made efforts to reduce packaging it is still argued that packaging actually prevents waste as it prevents damage and goods subsequently being discarded. It is important here that you make the call on the necessity of packaging. If you can buy less packaged goods then of course do so. However, if packaging is a necessary evil then it is always worthwhile considering whether you can easily recycle it. Does your local council collect this material as part of its kerbside collection?

And of course try to remember your reusable bags. Carrier bags can take up to 500 years to decompose in landfill and with each person using an estimated 290 carrier bags each year, this equates to some 140 millions bags being used in Cumbria every year.

These are just a few ideas to get you started but there really is no end to greener shopping. If you spend a little time and consideration before and throughout the shop you can not only help the planet, but maybe even spend a little less at the tills. And of course, every little bit helps.