30 Jan My personal peek at eco trends for 2017

Water conservation, less waste, diets with more plant protein and diets with less sugar are without a doubt our headline trends of the coming year, if not years. The focus on probiotics and gut health is likely to continue to grow because it is smart if not common sense and I also believe that the demand and success of hemp in all industries will continue to snowball. Trends like these are what they are because of necessity and also because of a mix of consciousness and science. For example, we can feel the benefit of lessing our addiction to sugar, and the scientists are on the sidelines cheering with their growing research as to how sugar causes disease. Do you know that many scientists maintain that sugar is actually more addictive than cocaine?

And did you know that by choosing not to eat one steak, you will save the same amount of water, as by not showering for 3 months? The water crises is no longer a looming doomsday theory but a reality of our time. Every drop literally counts now.

It is estimated that by 2015 the mass of plastic in our oceans will be greater than the mass of all fish. We are waking up, albeit slowly, to the insanity of single use plastic like straws, bags, and coffee cups.

With this in mind, I’ve selected a bunch of star studded every day products that I believe will be leading the ethical industry in the year and years to come. All of these trends have the potential to make immeasurable differences to your footprint in big and small ways, because sometimes smart but simple changes can make a massive impact.

1. Kuro-Bo 100% Natural Charcoal Water Filter

This 100% Natural Charcoal Water Filter is the first water filter in Africa that is plastic free, but that’s not all. The charcoal attracts positively-charged toxins and heavy metals, and draws them out of the water, while depositing beneficial minerals into the water. Activated charcoal also balances the water’s pH. A single stick of Kuro-Bo charcoal can give you up to 3 months of cleaner, healthier, better-tasting water. And once’s its done, just chuck it in your garden as a natural fertiliser. I believe that this could be one of 2017 most revolutionary finds!

2. Biodegradable food packaging

If you absolutely need to use disposable goods look no further than GreenHome, a local brand of biodegradable food packaging and utensils. Plastic and polystyrene are major sources of pollution and so GreenHome replaces these with sustainable materials made from cornstarch, sugarcane and FSC certified wood. These simple but attractive products give you all the convenience of regular disposables, with none of the environmental harm.

They last as long as they are needed and no longer.

3. Install a grey water system yourself for next to nothing

This nifty little grey water gadget will help you to save water where it really counts by reusing the grey water from your home to water your garden. It’s a simple grey water waste-pipe connector that attaches to your 50mm or 40mm outlet pipes. It is made from high density PVC and is UV protected, with a simple and low-tech system that uses gravity instead of expensive pumps.

4. Grow your own probiotics

Did you know that this awesome Kombucha Probiotic kit was in our top 20 most popular products for 2016? Which means thousands of households are now growing their own probiotics. Amazing stuff!

5. Convenient probiotics

The influx of probiotic drinks to the market like our new single batch water kefir are making it much easier for us all to get on the gut health train. This is a great option for anyone who has not yet tried kefir and is unsure of making their own at home.

6. Pack your own straw

Disposable plastic straws are sucking the life out of the planet. Switching to EcoJarz stainless steel straws will make your lifestyle so much greener! Reusable drinking straws are among the top accessories for a waste-free lifestyle – they show your commitment to keeping it green, and add instant elegance to your favourite drinks.

7. Be inspired by how sweet your life can be without sugar

My family have been conscious about sugar for years so I didn’t really expect to be as inspired as I was by Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar cook book, but I read the book from cover to cover in one sitting. I have since baked my own vegetarian version of Sarah’s awesome paleo bread, and lots more. I highly recommend getting a copy of this to inspire or invigorate your sugar revolution.

8. Embrace sugar alternatives

Rice Syrup is one of the best natural sweet baking aids you could arm yourself with in your sugar revolution. I do expect we will see a rise in popularity for this unassuming but powerful pantry addition.

9. The Everyday essentials

Whilst these are not the sexiest tools in your shed, our unbleached toilet paper, recycled rubbish bags, environmental toothbrushes all go a long way to making sure your day to day living doesn’t harm the earth.

10. Woman are saving the planet through their periods

The name says it all. This is the option for the real goddesses who are serious about saving the planet. By using a menstrual cup you can save up to 12 000 tampons ending up in the landfill in your lifetime. It’s one of those small things that can make a massive difference!

11. Up with hemp and down with chronic disease

Every major civilisation in history has recorded Hemp as top on its list of important plants. In addition to the long list of properties that Hemp’s Cannabinoids possess, modern science has discovered what may be the most exciting one. We are hard-wired with a system of Cannabinoid receptors throughout our brain and body. When these receptors are activated they permit 2-way communication between body systems, something that the science books had previously thought was impossible. Bringing the body back into harmony could be as simple as replacing this lost nutrition.

The most popular applications for this tincture are, anxiety, pain, epilepsy, alzheimer’s, parkinson’s, ADD and ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder, cancer, ulcerative colitis, crohn’s, COPD, psoriatic arthritis, spinal stenosis, withdrawal from nicotine, opioids, benzodiazepines drugs, eczema, psoriasis and acne, reduces cholesterol, stress, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and rheumatoid/osteo-arthritis.

Other reports include enhanced memory, relaxation, improved mood, cognitive function and socialisation. Epilepsy patients with severe mental impairments have remarkably improved cognitively and behaviourally. And, diabetics have reported major improvements in their glucose control and reversal of their neuropathy.

The earth is a living library, and for every disease there is a cure in her natural abundance.

12. Environmentally conscious kids are our future

There is good news – more kids are watching BBC’s documentary Planet Earth II than the X-factor. Our kids are our future, and the most sustainable environmental action you can take is to help develop conscious and responsible children. We expect to see more and more artists, publishers and inventors jumping onto this awesome bandwagon to help create more tools to educate our kids about our amazing planet!

Take the challenges and changes of 2017 into your own hands with sustainable pro-life health and lifestyle choices.