Greenagers encouraging parents to be more environmentally friendly - so here are my easy eco switches

Modern parenting comes with a host of new challenges not faced by previous generations. Decisions over screen time and social media, for instance, are just two issues today's parents now need to navigate, and boy, are those choppy waters to find ourselves in. And then of course there's the environment.

With our future generations to think of, many parents are concerned about the planet we are leaving behind for our offspring and potentially their offspring too. And it's now been revealed 'greenagers' are leading the charge for being environmentally friendly in the home.

A poll of 1,000 parents with children aged 13-17, found 82 percent of youngsters believe it is important to be environmentally friendly and waste less energy at home. The study commissioned by Smart Energy GB also found, 41 per cent say their children have encouraged them to think more about their energy habits, and 26 per cent of teenagers consider themselves to be more environmentally friendly than their parents.

Now, it's easy for kids to point the finger when it's not them tackling a cost of living crisis, while simultaneously dealing with the sheer overwhelm of bringing up children. That's why a few years back, I shook off the ‘all or nothing’ attitude to being more eco and decided instead to just make small changes, one by one. And over time, those little changes all add up.

Many of the choices I have made for environmental reasons are also directly beneficial to my family too, by reducing the ‘forever chemicals’ in our home and saving us time and/or money, for example. I also genuinely love many of the products I have made the switch to, and honestly, I can’t remember ever loving surface cleaners or washing up liquid before.

So, if you are a parent who wants to make some environmentally positive changes to your household but doesn’t know where to start, here are the switches I’ve made, loved and stuck with over the last few years. 

Smol

The first ever subscription cleaning product I tried was Smol. Feeling like I had nothing to lose by taking up their offer of a free trial I tried their laundry pods and surface spray, and while I wasn’t won over by the spray, the pods have become a firm favourite. They leave clothes smelling gorgeous and the bcorp company has great eco credentials. More recently I have added their pink washing up liquid and foaming hand wash to my subscription.

Environmental benefits: Not only does switching to a refill brand cut down on single-use plastics, Smol also helps you cut back on nasty chemicals, for example, their bio capsules use 40% less chemicals per dose than Ariel, yet clean just as well.

Subscription: After the free trial, the 24 laundry capsule packs cost £5.80, foaming hand wash is £10 for 6, and washing up liquid is £8 for 4. You tailor the frequency of your subscription to match how much you use.

Who Gives a Crap

I’d seen a fair bit about Who Gives A Crap (WGAC) toilet paper before I subscribed. The light-hearted brand with its colourful paper wrappings was hard to miss in fairness, and while there are lots of eco-TP brands out there, I was particularly drawn to this one because 50% of profits are donated to clean water and sanitation non-profits, helping people across the world get access to toilets and clean water.

I had been spending a fortune on recycled toilet paper from the supermarket which wasn’t particularly soft and the rolls seemed to last less than a day, so when I saw Ocado stocked WGAC, I thought this was my opportunity to see if it lived up to the hype. And it absolutely does.

The extra long rolls seem to last forever and my kids love using the patterned wraps for various crafts activities. After buying a few boxes with my online shop, I decided to switch to the subscription and give myself one less thing to think about - I can confirm I have never run out of toilet paper since signing up, which I think is a massive bonus. And for some extra fun on the loo, they’ve just released a limited issue poetry edition.

Environmental benefits: All of their products are plastic free and made using sustainable materials - I subscribe to the recycled paper option but they also offer bamboo too.

Subscription: The 100% recycled toilet paper 48 rolls subscription costs £44 which is the cheapest way to buy but you can also opt for 12 Rolls at £14.50 and 24 Rolls at £28. And don't forget, these are double length rolls so it's like getting double that number of normal sized rolls. There’s currently £5 off your first subscription of the 24 or 48 roll packs, making your first box even more affordable.

Wild deodorant

After hearing about the horrible chemicals in most deodorants I made the switch to using Earth Conscious’ tinned deodorant, however, when I moved house I no longer lived near anywhere that sold it so I often ended up grabbing one of the brands I was trying to avoid from the supermarket when I ran out.

After seeing adverts for Wild deodorant, I decided to give it a go. I liked the way the packaging meant you could still use it like a roll-on but didn’t contain all the nasty chemicals. A subscription would also mean I didn’t keep running out. That’s why I signed up - the reason I’ve stayed is because it works! And because it smells lovely! They have a range of scents, including limited editions, and the reusable packaging is cute too.

Environmental benefits: The only thing leftover from each refill is a very tiny bit of card that can be recycled compared to aerosol cans and plastic packaging of ‘normal’ deodorants and antiperspirants.

Subscription: When you first subscribe you will need to purchase a reusable case, so the initial cost is £10 for a case +1 refill or £20 for a case with three refills. Your regular subscription then costs £5 for three refills.

Purdy & Figg

Purdy and Figg was my indulgent subscription - I’m signed up for both the Counter Clean and Bathroom Bliss. Made with essential oils they leave your house smelling like a spa, so, although they may be a bit pricier than other cleaning product subscriptions, they double up as air freshener, so in that sense, you’re really getting two for one. And for the added feelgood factor, this is a business set up by two mums, and I do like doing my bit to support other mothers wherever possible.

Environmental benefits: Replaces highly toxic cleaning products in plastic packaging with the power of natural cleaning in refillable glass bottles.

Subscription: When you first subscribe you can choose a half price multi-surface cleaner set (£15) or the complete starter kit including multi-surface and bathroom cleaner (£30). The ongoing subscription then costs £17.85 for three concentrated refills.

There are of course many eco-friendly subscriptions to choose from out there and I don’t claim to have tried them all, but these are the brands I have tried and continue to use because of their earth-conscious attitude, value for money, ease of subscription and, well, because they really do make me smile.