Mums The Working Heroes!
Mums The Working Heroes!
As you know we’re huge advocates for sharing information and advice on how we can all be more environmentally conscious, but we understand that at times is can all feel a little overwhelming. Whilst the message is clear; “we must take action and make a change”, understanding how to take that action can sometimes feel like somewhat of a minefield.
Enter the Mums…Who in the midst of being some of the busiest people on the planet are strapping on their capes (or baby slings!) and making huge changes to their lifestyles to lead a healthier and more sustainable future.
Mums, we salute you!
As a nation the UK is proudly hot on the heels of those leading climate crusades and environment-friendly missions, and the Mums are no different. For parents, the worry over current environmental challenges goes beyond this life-span to the future lives of their children, grandchildren and so on, and that motivation is driving huge changes in the home. For which we want to say a very big thank you!
In an era of eco-anxiety…
The BBC recently coined the term ‘eco-anxiety’, referring to a nation of families worrying about the future for themselves, their children, and later generations. Whilst this is certainly a true reflection we’re super proud of the go-getting Mums who are leading by example and inspiring their families (and others) to join the revolution!
Not only are they listening carefully to the challenges of this wonderful world but they’re making huge lifestyle changes themselves; embracing environmentally-friendly life hacks and educating the next generation on how to follow in their eco-footsteps.
Parents and plastics go hand-in-hand? What a load of rubbish!
Single-use plastic in particular has become one of the biggest man-made threats to our planet today and a survey by ChannelMum.com found that 88% of parents admitted their plastic use had soared since becoming a parent. Not to the fault of the parents though, child-friendly products are consumed by plastic; from prams and potties to bottles and toys.
In a bid to make sure parents don’t become a significant contributing factor to polluting our lands, Mums are on a mission to make a change.
Moving beyond the baby-steps of household recycling (although that is of course critically important), Mum’s are seeking ways to reduce the plastic that even enters their homes in the first place.
The ChannelMum.com survey also reported that mums are so serious about tackling the crisis that 7% had even turned back to traditional cloth nappies. You might think that number is small but that commitment to change is huge and we’re giving those parents a very big round of applause!
Green parenting’ is the hot topic
On a day-to-day basis Mums are finding ways to adapt their lifestyle to make healthy changes for their little ones and the environment. They’re adding paper or metal straws to their handbags, opting for cloth tote bags for shopping trips, making reusable drinks bottles a staple (shout out to all those using our Kid Kanteen products!), declaring wet wipes a thing of the past with reusable wipes in tow and using reusable and sustainable lunch pots and boxes
Mums are even taking their cleaning regimes back to basics and opting for home-hacks (like the trusty bicarbonate of soda, lemon and white vinegar formulas) to reduce the plastic cleaning bottles that often litter their homes.
Inspiring the next generation
As children grow out of their cloth nappies it’s so important to educate them how to enforce these positive lifestyle changes. Here are just some of the fantastic ideas we’ve heard from UK Mums on how they inspire their little ones to embrace these eco-friendly solutions:
Scrap your single-use plastic: This one sits at the top of our list and it’s great to hear all the ways you’re making sure it’s high on the agenda for your households too. Some Mums have tackled this by creating charts to track the use of single-use plastic items in their home each week and as a family aiming to reduce that number week-on-week.
You could even reward your efforts with new Klean Kanteen products for each member of the family and join our #BringYourOwn initiative!
- Make recycling fun: From centring your arts and craft around household items like milk bottles and toilet rolls to crafting your own in-home recycling bins or boxes, put your children in charge reusing or organising your recyclables.
- Get out in the garden: There are lots of great lessons to be learnt in your back garden like identifying birds and insects or planting flowers, veg, herbs and trees. Composting is a great way to show children the importance of managing waste and many Mums have found this to be a task the children love to get involved with…especially when it comes to finding worms!
- Watch your water use: Washing up, bath time, brushing your teeth, washing your face…take on the challenge of being water efficient as a whole family. Your children could make posters and signs for around the home to remind everyone to watch their water use.
- Car-free is cool: Rather than always hopping in the car, map out walking, cycling, scootering, skateboarding, roller-blading routes instead (the latter for the kids and big kids alike!). Be sure to celebrate what a great job you’re all doing for the environment as a family so the message to the children is really clear.
We love these top tips and it's fantastic to see the changes that are being made in homes across the country.
Keep doing what you’re doing.
Mums, you’re our heroes!
