Here’s how you can genuinely help to save the planet

We know that our planet is in trouble, vital resources are polluted or exhausted and time is running out

Large scale production of our food, goods and services is a major cause of environmental change and damage

We can’t trust the majority of manufacturers, retailers, producers and governments to act in the best interest of the planet and it’s inhabitants. Or to be transparent about the damage they do.

The safety and security of our food is under threat.

Every time we spend money, we support all the practices, good and bad, of that product or service, from the beginning to the end of its life. Unfortunately, the situation is often extremely complex and most of the information about these practices is hidden from us.

Without knowing it, we might be saying it’s ok to clear the rainforest to plant soya beans to feed the cows that supply the restaurants where we buy our burgers. We might be saying it’s ok for a clothes manufacturer to pollute a local water supply or pay their workers pittance. We could be saying it’s ok for fishing trawlers to decimate the ocean floor of an area so local fishermen can no longer make a living and an important ecosystem is destroyed. Or that it’s ok for the people who grow our coffee to be paid so little that they can’t keep the farm that’s been in their family for generations.

And even if we do know some of what goes on it is still very hard to weigh up whether one product is more damaging than another.

But if there is an easy way to get this information, then we will be able to start to make more informed, more considered decisions about how and where we spend our hard earned money. And we’ll be able to use the power we hold to create a better world.

We’ll also be able to expose those who are making millions out of destruction and are never brought to account.

Each and every one of us really can make a real difference to the planet and it’s inhabitants and create a better world for our children

Because we actually hold all the power when we buy things

The planet is burning and time is running out. Our oceans are filled with plastic. Our food is contaminated. Whole species are dying out. Ancient ecosystems are disappearing. Communities are being decimated and displaced. Individuals are being abused.

As unpalatable as this might seem, most of this is happening to maintain our own privileged lifestyles.

Most of us feel our governments aren’t doing and won’t do enough.

And whilst many of us are busy recycling, buying second hand clothes, eating less meat or buying locally, we feel that this just isn’t enough

Not only that but it seems that each choice we make has a downside and may not be better for the planet at all. For example swapping cows milk for almond milk may be saving cows’ pain and reducing methane released from them into the atmosphere, but almonds take up valuable water resources. Swapping meat for fish might seem like a good idea for environmental reasons but it might only be addressing one area and might be causing problems in another. It also really depends on what fish we are consuming, where it’s from, how it’s caught and by whom. Without knowing it, there may be a huge impact on fishing stocks or local communities. And is it better to buy clothes made from organic cotton or fair-traded cotton? One might be better for the environment whilst the other is better for the people making the products. How can we know?

Production processes and their impacts are incredibly complex and the science can be confusing - information we get through the media is muddled and often biased by those wishing to protect their interests with huge budgets to do so