OK confession time: I haven’t done as well as I’d have hoped this week. I’ve driven 16 more miles than planned and will add another 3 today as I need to get some shopping; and yesterday I bought some new curtains and bedclothes. In my defence these were planned purchases, I just hadn’t planned on getting them this week but I found myself in Wilko’s and somehow got into a furnishings frenzy. (If you’ve never been in a furnishings frenzy there are organisations to help you rehabilitate but I just came home and did some deep breathing.)
So, what did I buy and why was it not good for the environment? Well, first-off I bought some new curtains. These were badly needed as the old ones were not only horrid but cumbersome and kept knocking things over (when they were pulled, I mean, they didn’t go knocking things down of their own accord. Though sometimes I wonder…) I also bought a new duvet cover, equally necessary and not something I’d consider buying second-hand. And we did need another sheet.
So what about the carbon footprint? Well, new clothing is well-known for its environmental impact, so it seems logical to assume that bedclothes will be also. From the growing of the cotton to the energy and water used in manufacture and not forgetting the air-miles from producer to consumer, it’s not good news. But as I’ve said I’m not prepared to buy bedclothes second-hand, so the deed is done. Therefore off-setting would seem to be the way to go. There are companies you can subscribe to which do this but at the moment my method is to use Ecosia, a search engine which plants one tree for every 40 searches. It’s perfectly good, just as effective as Google and better for the planet. Unfortunately it can’t be installed as default on all browsers so I just have it as an add-on.
Sometimes you try not to do the damage, but sometimes it’s a matter of limiting the damage. On the plus side, the bedroom looks great!
Kirk out
Sarada Gray 