Smart buys, big gains: Deliver a big impact on sustainability with the right purchases
The trick here, is to start with the Everyday.
Sustainable and eco-friendly daily items go a long way in the fight for climate change. Photo: Shutterstock
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Singaporeans appear to be on the right track when it comes to embracing sustainable practices in their daily lives. A 2018 survey by the National Environmental Agency revealed six in 10 households recycle regularly. But what if there was more one could do, simply by shopping right?
When it comes to change, it’s worth examining the first two prongs of “reduce, reuse, recycle”. If one makes smart purchases and transforms consumption at the source, we effectively adopt lasting sustainable habits that don’t even require recycling. And as consumers indicate their preferences through purchases, the producers of goods can only move towards greener measures.
And the best way to begin, is with the essentials.
A KITCHEN DETOX
When it comes to the household, food waste is one of the biggest concerns in Singapore. Singapore’s Zero Waste Master Plan reports that in 2019, 744 million kg – or 51,000 double decker buses’ worth of food waste – is produced locally. A small piece of good news is that food recycling is up 1 per cent to 19 per cent in 2020.
The movement to better food management has multiple impacts. From reducing resource strain to carbon footprint from the import, every household can contribute to effect positive, sustainable change at their level. And of course, there’s no better place to start than in the kitchen.
Composting is a great way to fully extract utility from food waste, thereby reducing the load on a national level. The National Parks has some tips, but you can buy home a ready Composter Kit from The Green Collective for a fine-tuned approach. Under this community’s expertise, you’ll find composting a convenient, odour-free affair, returning you with rich soil that you can use for growing houseplants.
To step up your efforts, there are also multiple eco-friendly options at The Green Collective you can include for your kitchen routines. The store sells Soap Berries that contain saponin as a natural detergent, and CocoKlean sheets that eradicate grimy floors using coconut enzymes. If you’re a coffee addict, save on hundreds of filters with its Organic Cotton Coffee Filters. Pick up these planet-changing buys at 10 per cent off and get free delivery when you quote HSBCGOGREEN with a minimum spend of S$50 on HSBC credit cards.
CLEAN UP FOR GOOD
Hygiene is truly a full-time endeavour, and along with it comes an army of chemical cleaning solutions housed in plastic. The Sustainability Project (TSP) believes that nature does it better and reclaims the cleaning culture with sustainable and effective finds.
Bamboo, for example, is a choice material because it grows fast and requires less land. Having high-use items like bamboo toothbrushes and toilet rolls can save on resources, and are biodegradable to boot.
As for plastic bottles, swap them out for organic alternatives. TSP’s Soap Flakes become hand soap easily with just some hot water, and you can customise the scent with your own essential oils. For dishes, its Dish Washing Bar cleans without any of the usual palm oil or harsh chemicals such as sodium laureth sulfates and parabens that bear corrosive properties and are skin irritants. With TSP’s Cleaning Tablets, there’s 500ml worth of naturally-derived cleaning solution always ready for you to attack counter tops, bathroom tiles and mirrors and glass alike.
“The main aim of TSP is pretty simple: We make sustainable living easy for Singaporeans, which encourages everyone to be a conscious consumer,” TSP’s founder Joline Tang shared. And it helps that with HSBC credit cards, one gets up to S$20 off with free shipping with a minimum spend of S$150 by quoting HSBC20.
BRING YOUR OWN
Plastic waste generated from food packaging has grown exponentially the past year with food delivery and takeaway on the rise. It currently makes up a third of domestic waste.
Ditching single-use packaging helps, but you can take it one step further with sustainable offerings from Mamashop. Its eco-ware such as EcoHusk lunchboxes and Nubo reusable straws are upcycled from agricultural waste like rice husk and wheat fibres. Rice husk contributes to a staggering 100 million tonnes of waste and potential pollution just by rice consumption in Asia alone. These materials, combined with recycled plastics and plant starch, are given a new life.
The result is not only a sleek dining container to eat out from (because who enjoys eating out of styrofoam packs, right?) but one that is crafted with antibacterial properties and made to last. The kids will also love those sporting Disney-themed designs. HSBC helps out with 20 per cent off for regular products and 10 per cent off for the Disney collections.
GREEN GIFTING WINS
Want to make an impression with a gift? Make a clever choice with innovative crowd-funded sustainable living options at Interstellar Goods.Â
The minimalist Supply Shaver, for example, uses injector cartridges with thicker blades, so it saves four times the amount on plastic replaceable cartridges. There is also a selection of ever-practical water bottles that your colleagues or friends will love. For that road warrior with limited space in their bag, the MemoBottle is ideal with its slim profile. For every bottle sold, the brand provides a person in an impoverished country clean water for five months. Your germaphobe friends will appreciate its LARQ self-cleaning bottle that zaps up to 99.99 per cent of bio-contaminants within using an in-built UV-C LED light or the breathable DET30 reusable face masks made from anti-bacterial treated fabric.
If your giftee loves their caffeine runs, the chic reusable wares from Made by Fressko will likely be their best companion. Sporting an elegant silhouette in understated colours, the cups even come with stylish leather sleeves and customised gift sets with tea pouches. This last selection is an affordable gifting option as it comes with a sweet S$10 off with a minimum purchase of S$50, using the HSBCGREEN promo code with HSBC credit cards. To top it off, bring your new tumbler with you for your coffee runs and get S$1 off any handcrafted beverage at Starbucks with HSBC credit cards.
Live and shop more sustainably with the HSBC Revolution Credit Card – now made from 85.5 per cent recycled printing and packaging waste. Apply now to earn up to S$200 cashback, as well as enjoy up to 10 times rewards and special offers at our green partners.
