Learn to Shop Consciously With These Tips

How You Can Shop Consciously 

As a consumer, we’re typically more interested in value above anything else. 

However, studies have recently shown that our concerns when shopping have started to change. In the next decade, priorities are expected to alter, from concerns over price to concerns over environmental impact.  

ThoughtWorks carried out a survey of 2,000 people and found that 62% of people’s priority when shopping was minimising plastic packaging and buying recyclable alternatives. Our drive to reduce plastic waste and create sustainable products mirrors the concerns of consumers. By continuing to create environmentally conscious products – we’re providing shoppers with the products they want.

The change from price concerns to environmental concerns is most likely due to increased awareness and coverage of how a single-use, throwaway society is detrimental to our environment. Using and buying recyclable materials reduces the amount of single-use, plastic waste; waste that often ends up in landfill. 

It’s great news that there’s a new outlook when it comes to shopping and that people are seeing how they can make their own difference. This will also hopefully cause supermarkets to adapt too – to change their packaging and make their products more environmentally friendly. 

So, how can you take steps to become a more conscious shopper? We’ve compiled a list of tips to get you on your way to shopping plastic-free! 

Become a Conscious Shopper

• B.Y.O.B. Bring your own bag! Invest in a re-useable bag/bag for life, or re-use any plastic bags you may have accumulated. 
• Shop local. Buying fresh fruit and vegetables from your local fruit and veg shops means, typically the food will often have travelled less, and therefore impacted the environment less. Also, you can normally buy loose fruit and veg here – meaning no extra packaging! (Or, if you are shopping at a supermarket, try and buy loose produce rather than any that is pre-packaged.) 
• Try and find your local zero waste shops. Here you can bring glass jars, or recycled containers and fill up on dry goods: rice, pasta, grains etc. 
• Try and avoid items that have excessive plastic packaging – opt for cardboard, tins, and packaging you know can be recycled. 
• Always have a refillable reusable water bottle on you when you’re out and about – you’ll never need to buy a plastic water bottle again from the shops again! Or, even better, invest in a glass Billi bottle to ensure you never go thirsty on the go again.