8 Sustainable Lockdown Life-Lessons

1. WE’VE WOKEN UP TO FOOD WASTE

We throw away ⅓ of ALL the food we produce - that’s 1.3 billion tonnes every year. And around 815 million people worldwide are hungry (this figure does not include any knock-on effects from Covid-19). For those of us that usually take a full cupboard for granted, this could be the wake-up call we need to understand what it’s like for others and how we can do our bit in the future. Simply just buying what we need and what we know we will eat, as well as freezing food to make it last longer, could make a massive difference to food waste numbers, while donating to food banks both now and after the crisis will help those who struggle to put food on the table everyday.

2. WE’VE LEARNT TO LOVE LOCAL

While big supermarkets struggle to cope with demand, many local shops have stayed well-stocked and have been going above and beyond to adapt to help their communities. Understanding that our supply chains are complex, and often unnecessarily long geographically-speaking, could see us make more effort in the future to support our local producers, shops and businesses. Perhaps we will even take the time while we have it to grow our own fruit and vegetables.

3. WE’RE GETTING ON OUR BIKES

Because once this is all over, we will still remember what it was like when we were only allowed out once a day. Switching short trips in the car to a walk or a bike ride is great for your physical and mental well-being, pandemic or no pandemic.

4. WE’RE TAKING STOCK OF OUR TRAVEL HABITS

It’s not yet clear when we will be able to travel abroad as freely as we used to, so learning to embrace what your own country has to offer might be the way forward in the near future. And as things get back to normal, we might realise that we don’t need to take a long-haul flight and stay at an all-inclusive hotel to have a lovely vacation. Getting a train for hours will be positively exciting in comparison to three weeks indoors!

5. WE’RE APPRECIATING THE BIRDS AND THE BEES

For many of us, hearing birds singing in the joys of spring from our open windows and balconies has been the uplifting sound we’ve needed every day. Watching bees going about their pollination duties is a joy, and even city pigeons making nests on our windowsills has been a welcome distraction. You can continue to support your local wildlife by providing window boxes of flowers, feeding birds and setting up bug hotels. Remember to take the time to stop and watch them for a few minutes every day when things get back to normal.

6. WE SEE THE BENEFITS OF BUYING BETTER

Many of the items that have been panic-bought are products that when bought sustainably are never anything to panic about running out of. Buying eco-friendly toilet paper in bulk from companies like Greencane and Who Gives A Crap means you will always have a plentiful supply, using reusable sanitary products like a Mooncup or period pants ensures you have what you need every cycle, and subscribing to washing tablets from Smol will see it delivered through your letterbox, contact-free, at a frequency of your choosing.

7. WE’RE GETTING GOOD AT SEWING

With any luck, we won’t collectively go back to our fast fashion habits after the Covid-19 outbreak. And many people have been using self-isolation as an excuse to reach for a needle and thread to mend clothes that have been neglected at the back of the wardrobe. Some are even learning to make clothes themselves - try platforms like Tilly and the Buttons for patterns to keep you busy.

8. WE’RE ENGAGED AND ACTIVE

Lastly, we’ve seen how coming together the world over can affect real change, really quickly. When we have healed as a human population, we can turn our focus to the climate and our planet, with protests, petitions, movements and action. We’ve never felt more like a global community. Let’s not waste the opportunity to continue to make a difference for everyone who lives on planet Earth.