The climate crisis is worrying for everyone, and there’s been an increase in awareness around eco-anxiety. While mostly thought of in young people, it can seriously impact parents too.
In fact, two out of three British parents believe that climate change threatens their children’s future, and 38% admitted to worrying about climate change more since becoming a parent.
Sadly, it makes perfect sense to be worried. Another recent study showed that the average 6-year-old will live through roughly three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents. At the same time, Unicef reported that nearly every child in the world is at risk from at least one climate hazard.
The good news is that this anxiety can spur people to take real action, which, in turn, decreases their worry about the problem. We can see this effect in real life. The number of individuals and families taking climate action has skyrocketed in the past few years.
Since 2020, only 15% of consumers have not made lifestyle changes to lower their carbon footprint, showing that most people are trying to make a difference. Yet, after doing a few basic (but helpful!) things such as recycling your waste or keeping the lights off, many still get stuck and don’t know what to do next.
So, how can we find ways to help our families live more sustainably?
Making Small Choices with a Big Difference
Having children and pets in your home will increase your household’s carbon footprint. Depending on age, having a child can increase your emissions from anywhere between 210 and 5,000 tonnes of CO2 – an enormous amount.
While the numbers may seem daunting, it actually goes to show how much more impactful it can be for families to lower their footprint together.
It can feel overwhelming at first, but there are millions of different ways you can choose from to live more sustainably. For example, eating just three vegetarian meals a week can lower a person’s carbon footprint by 600kg, the equivalent of driving from London to Egypt. If you’re a family of four, that number jumps to 2.4 tonnes.
And that’s just one of the changes you can make. Put plants in your garden that support bee populations, find fun ways to repurpose old items instead of throwing them away, or even just pick up bits of litter you see on the street.
All of these little changes add up to make a big difference, and if every family were to do them, it would have a tremendous positive impact. It also has the added benefit of teaching your kids the importance of being eco-conscious and instilling sustainable habits in them from a young age.
With just a little effort on our part, we can create a culture of living in harmony with nature for generations to come.
Reduce, Repair, Regive
At Play it Green, we have a unique 3-step solution to climate change: Reduce, Repair, Regive. This can be applied to anything, including how to lower your family’s carbon footprint.
By signing up, your family will receive articles, tips, and discounts on sustainable products, all designed to help lower your footprint in the simplest way possible. We also plant 13 trees per month for each adult in your household, enough to rebalance your entire carbon footprint and 7500 miles of travel.
Children and pets aren’t left out either! For kids, 7 trees are planted every month and 3 for each pet.
The trees are planted in Madagascar through our partner Eden Reforestation Projects and bring benefits to the land and the people. Local communities are employed to plant and care for the trees. This means the families there can begin to afford daily necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, and medicine.
On top of all that, 10% of everything you give to Play it Green is passed on to a good cause of your choice, ensuring you make a social impact where it matters most to you.
Your family’s progress and impact can be tracked through your personalised Forest Garden provided to you when you sign up. Here you’ll even be able to run sustainability campaigns, allowing others to plant trees and donate to your good cause.
The best part? It only costs £5 a month (or the price of a cup of coffee a week) to sign up one adult! Kids and pets are even cheaper, at £2.50 and £1.50 respectively.
So take control of your climate journey and feel empowered knowing you’re having a positive impact at home for people and the planet.
Find out how Play it Green can help you or your business